Cleveland – Beer Search Party

June 30, 2014September 5, 2018

Cleveland Brewery Tour – Buckeye Brewing

Our final stop in the land of Cavaliers and Browns is Buckeye Brewing. They started back in 1997 and work on a 15 barrel system.

For my taster tray, I will start with their flagship….

Hippie IPA – “It is hopped five times with a combination of Northern Brewer and Cascade.”

Hipster Cream Ale – Just an obvious name pairing plus cream ales are quite tasty.

Sasquatch Pale Ale – “The Columbus variety is used to balance the brew, and later Sasquatch and I personally dry-hop it with Cascade. ”

Yuppie ESB – Yes, I am a sucker for names that aren’t hop puns. And again, I love seeing the ESB style.

Good Luck to both Manziel and Wiggins (except when he plays Portland)

June 20, 2014September 5, 2018

Cleveland Brewery Tour – Fat Head’s Brewery

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The mustachioed gent on the label doesn’t scream craft beer to me but any website that has a beer section for “wheat” beers gets my attention and that is why Fat Head’s Brewery is the second stop in Cleveland. This brewery gets filed under the category of places that I have yet to have a beer from. I may have seen them at GABF but that is the extent of it, seen.

That being said, here is what I would put in my taster tray…..

Alpenglow – A weizenbock that won silver at GABF in 2012. It is a style not oft seen in L.A. but one that is hearty and bubblegummy at the same time.

Starlight Lager – a German style lager with the Hersbrucker hop and lovely Carahelles malt.

Head Trip – They do Belgian too, not just Germanic styles. This tripel has “secret spices”.

Battle Axe – Another seldom seen style, the Baltic Porter would be a nice addition to the dark side of the taster.

They have hoppy offerings as well for those who can’t go without a blast of bitterness.

June 10, 2014September 5, 2018

Cleveland Brewery Tour – Great Lakes Brewing

Cleveland sports have not been in the news for prowess or playoffs of late, but they are in the news for draft picks and hope. The football Browns snagged Johnny Football and the basketball Cavaliers have been granted a #1 pick do-over from last year. But lets start with a truly great brewery for our month long visit and Great Lakes Brewing.

Great Lakes is part of the storied class of ’88 and is one of those breweries that you hear about even if you aren’t in their distribution path. Even with that disadvantage in L.A., I have (in my travels) had the good fortune to sample a couple of their beers. Their Dortmunder Gold lager is lovely and light. And their famous Edmund Fitzgerald porter is a layered and flavorful beer that really pairs well with food.

But if you are visiting then I would suggest the following beers for your taster tray….

Chillwave – their Double IPA with Mosaic and Nugget hops blended together.

Glockenspiel – primarily for the awesome name but also because it is a rare Weizenbock in a world of hops

Engine 20 – a hoppy offering with undertones of smoke

Ohio City Saison – with ginger, lemongrass and coriander from a local farm