The Beer Geek’s Guide to Cleveland

ENLARGE

What's brewing at Great Lakes Brewing, a Cleveland craft beer pioneer. Photo: Great Lakes Brewing

Cleveland’s story, at least in terms of beer, reads like many of its midwestern neighbors. Founded as a lager town (Gehring Brewery, est. 1852), Cleveland brewed for the working-class European masses who flocked here for factory work. And it brewed a lot. By the turn of the century, the city had almost two dozen breweries. But the midwest knows best how industrial-scale fortunes change: eleven breweries soon consolidated as the Cleveland and Sandusky Brewing Co., which, of course, went under come Prohibition. Few re-opened, and when C. Schmidt & Sons closed in 1984, the city was dry. For four short years, at least. Craft beer came to Cleveland early — 56 small breweries opened in 1988, a first wave that included Brooklyn Brewery, Rogue, Deschutes, and Great Lakes Brewing Co. A generation of drinkers raised on Great Lakes beer is riding the next craft brew wave, opening their own breweries in what has become a miniature brewing district, anchored by GLBC mere blocks from the ruins of Gehring.

Cleveland’s Essential Beer Bars

TownHall
No time to visit all of Cleveland’s half dozen — and counting — breweries? Try beers from them all at TownHall. The bustling bar-cafe-restaurant-sports-lounge-scene is a wunderkammer of Ohio-made curiosities, from Columbus-based Land Grant’s raisin-infused stout to Platform’s cherimoya-and-kafir-lime pale. Bonus: their Monday vegan menu is a treat in this pierogi town. 1909 W 25th St. (216) 344-9400, townhallohiocity.com

Jukebox
An expertly picked taplist of the midwest’s best — special-edition sours from Jolly Pumpkin, local collaborations from east-side nano BottleHouse — plus, while its namesake is stocked with discs from Steely Dan to Sleater Kinney, thirsty audiophiles flock Tuesday’s bring-your-own-vinyl night. 1404 W 29th St, (216) 206-7699, jukeboxcle.com

La Cav du Vin
This east-side grotto is a dimly lit sliver of sophistication on a boisterously collegiate street—leave the stumblers on the sidewalk above, and enjoy a handful of rare taps and a bursting fridge of vintage sours. 2785 Euclid Heights Blvd, (216) 932-6411, lacaveduvin.com

The Brewer to Know

One of those newcomers is Karl Spiesman, whose tiny Brick and Barrel brewery operates a stone’s roll downhill from Great Lakes, on the banks of the Cuyahoga. Spiesman has been brewing for only a year, but his beers plumb old-school depths. “I don’t go by what everyone else is making. If I did, I’d have an IPA, a session IPA, a black IPA… I’m using a glorified homebrew setup, closer to the direct-fire systems before Prohibition, and I like traditional European styles: British beers, German beers.” His kolsch is one of the best around, grainy and bittersweet like white bread with marmalade. And his McTavish Wee Heavy Scotch ale is rich as molasses and, even better, available pulled from a traditional British cask.

The Must-Try Beer

Platform Beer Co. opened its taps in 2009 with 26 unique batches, and the brewery continues to push Cleveland’s beer scene in unconventional directions, from ancient smoked wheat beers (their Black Eagle gratzer won gold at the Great American Beer Festival) to a Count Chocula-brewed porter. But one beer that’s stuck around is their New Cleveland Palesner, a hybrid style, part snappy pilsner, part aromatic, floral pale.