Category: Alcohol

Getting Saucy

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, RestaurantsLeave a comment

Cleveland just keeps them coming. Saucy brew works is just a couple streets over from the main west 25th strip of Ohio city. This large space, including an outdoor patio, is a nice addition to the Hingetown neighborhood. This brewery opened up a little over two months. While the ordering setup was a little confusing, the staff quickly noticed my awkward standing around while I tried to figure it all out and they came over to direct me to the right place. Good customer service is always appreciated.

The beers were pretty good. While the TPS IPA was ok, but nothing extraordinary, the Save Room for Pie vanilla pumpkin porter was a sweet porter that drinks really easily. The Punchline fruit beer was delicious as well and I think I could easily pound 10 of those back like they were a glass of Welch’s fruit punch.

The pizza was very good as well. The large comes out on this huge serving tray. A large pizza indeed. We had the margherita and was very pleased with it. Overall, it is a great new spot with a pretty extensive tap list for a new brewery with quite a few seasonal brews that I will have to try out next time.

Back to Beer and I’m all Jacked Up

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Trips, vacations1 Comment

When I visit multiple breweries in a short span, I usually combine them into one post. However, Jacked Up Brewery in Escondido, California deserves its own post for their excellent service and crisp clean beer.

The place has been open since January and is run by a husband and wife duo. Michael and his wife Caroline were enthusiastic and appreciative of my business. Caroline took the time to explain their story from home brewing for their neighbors to entering brewing contests where they started to pick up awards regularly. With the knowledge that their beer was officially good, they soon started the plans to open their own brewery and a couple years later were able to officially open their doors and let the taps flow.

The beer was excellent here. Their NE Hazy IPA was a delicious beer and a great take on the increasingly popular style.

They are planning to launch a membership club and the details of it sound like something beer lovers in the area should definitely join. Expansion plans are in the works as well. This is a place that I see will grow and standout in the San Diego area beer market and it starts with the service provided by these owners.

Day 2 & 3 Asheville

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

Day 2 and 3 were each filled with more beer and some hiking on day 2. Asheville contains many breweries and we went to several. Wicked Weed Brewing and Blue Mountain on Day 2. Day 3 included Catawba, Burial Brewing and Green Man.

Wicked Weed had fantastic beer and the house chips and beer cheese were very good. Artery clogging cheese is one of my favorites. Their Riverkeeper IPA was a well done and consistent. A great beer.

Blue Mountain had some of the best pizza around and was right down the road from our AirBnB in Weaverville. The small little brew pub also had some good live music that we managed to catch the end of, plus the waitress was this nice sweet grandma type if your grandma smoked weed daily.

Day 2 we also did a bunch of hiking. It was a bit foggy but we still caught some great views at various overlooks along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

On Day 3, we explored Downtown Asheville and did a mini brewery trail with Catawba, Burial and Greenman. The triple IPA at Burial Brewing packs a big punch and Greenman provides a no frills dog friendly tasting room with clean crisp beers. Additionally, the small batch brews at Catawba were delicious and unique. The Red Rhum IPA was a good one.

Asheville has great food, some of the best beer and hiking with majestic views. It is a fairly manageable city and doesn't overpower you or leave feeling like you didn't see much. A great weekend spot. The art was beautiful and this is coming from someone who has little interest in art usually. Take a trip to the mountains and see what you find. You'll enjoy it.

Asheville Day 1

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

So we made it. Asheville day 1. Some may say I am neurotic for spreadsheeting my vacations, but it allows for maximum intake.

On the first day here, we managed to check out two breweries, Asheville Brewing Company and Hi-Wire Brewing. Both cool spots. Asheville had a very good DIPA (double IPA) and their tater tots with Queso were like a Mexican fried heaven in your mouth. Hi-Wire has a small industrial tap room and plenty of good beers. Both are essential parts of the beer scene down here.

Additionally, we checked out Sky bar and it's amazing views of Asheville and Battery Park Book Exchange along with the River Arts District. Battery Park Book Exchange is a really cool spot where you can drink wine, beer and buy used books. You also trade in your used books for bar credits. Shoutout to my old teachers who got me to keep my books each year. I'm finally going to be able to buy booze with them. Day 2 I'm looking forward to you.

Small Town, Big Flavor

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, RestaurantsLeave a comment

A good buddy of mine moved south of the Akron/Canton area of Ohio a couple months ago. I've been meaning to get down there to visit him and Friday I finally got that chance. I also got to try out Lockport Brewery in Bolivar, Ohio. A great excuse to try out a different brewery.

This brewery opened towards the end of 2016 and is an open concept brewery with everything out in the open. This place may be small but the beer was very flavorful. I had a beer sample with an amber Ale and various IPAs. The Tomahawk Double IPA was my favorite of the bunch. This high alcohol beer provided a nice flavor and was done very well.

For dinner, I had their cubano sandwich and it was toasted well and the pork was a nice smokey flavor. This was a great small brewery overall with a great knowledgeable staff combined with a relaxing atmosphere located in this small town of Bolivar, Ohio. Definitely worth the trip south from Cleveland.

Weightless Beer

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

Lakes, beer, dogs. What better way to spend Memorial Day weekend? Over the holiday weekend, I went to Northern Michigan and on my way up there I stopped in Milan, Michigan at Original Gravity Brewing Co. I had quick beer there while enjoying a delicious turkey chipotle sandwich. I tried their witbier while I was there and was greeted by the very friendly staff. The small little brewery has a great staff and was the perfect lunch time stop on my way up north. The bartender and I talked about kayaking and was attentive throughout my time. The witbier was called Wheeler Witbier and was very refreshing on the warm summer day. If I wasn’t on a long drive I definitely would have tried more. An excellent stop in the Michigan beer scene that is overall one of the best states for beer. IMG_1962

Earthly Beer

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, BreweryLeave a comment

Cleveland’s ever-growing beer scene added another one at the end of April. Terrestrial Brewing Company opened up in the Battery Park area of Cleveland and this past weekend I made my first trip there. Surrounded by some of the best townhouses this city has to offer, Terrestrial is in a great location as the primary spot now for those residents looking to grab a quality beer.

The open concept of the place allows you to see all the fermenters up close. Combined with the patio this place opened up just in time for Cleveland to come out of hibernation. Plus they allow dogs and that is always a good thing!

Their beer was pretty good too as I enjoyed a couple of them and particularly liked the Pocket Flower. This is a Double IPA that packed just the right amount of flavor.  It is a well done beer. They also included many guest taps as well which I always appreciate from a brewery because it shows confidence in their own product to not get over matched by other beers and also is great for the industry as a whole. Terrestrial Brewing is another great new Brewery to the area and provides residents another area to visit and hangout in. Check it out, Terrestrial may mean “of or relating to earth”, but your visit will be out of this world.

Craft in the Flats

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, RestaurantsLeave a comment

It is getting difficult to keep up. A new one is popping up left and right. Again, Cleveland welcomes another new brewery in the city. Collision Bend Brewing Co. opened up last week on Cleveland’s East Bank of the Flats. The Flats has received a well talked about makeover in the last few years and this brewery adds to the revitalized area. The place was once known as the Watermark and sits right on the water. The views from this place are some of the best and the huge patio is sure to become a clear Cleveland favorite.

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To go along with the views, this place brewed some pretty good beers. Personally, I enjoyed the IPA and my girlfriend said the Lake Erie Sunset beer tasted like you would imagine a sunset to taste. The place will continue to expand its product line, I assume, as there were a few openings on its list.  The quality beer combined with the nautical theme is a great fit to this location  and go very well with the view. I expect this brewery to fill up quickly this summer as people flock to the flats to check out Cleveland’s newest brewery. Well, newest for now. The Cleveland beer scene grows with another new brewery this week but Collision Bend will continue to draw people in this summer.

Commerce Craft Brews

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, RestaurantsLeave a comment

While I visited Griffin Claw Brewing in Michigan one night last weekend, I also visited two others on Saturday night. Saturday my friend Phil and I went to a couple of the Commerce, Michigan area breweries: Kickstand Brewing Company and CJ’s Brewing Company. These were two more new ones to cross off my list.

Kickstand had some great beers. This small brewery situated in a strip mall has a industrial mixed with rustic feel to it with the re-purposed wood pallets hanging from the ceiling. The Mort’s Buck Brown Beer was a delicious beer. Very drinkable for a brown ale. I really enjoyed the smoothness of it. The staff was great and friendly and all three bartenders helped us out. It is a well run establishment that I see having a bright future.

CJ’s brewery had a great patio. It’s always nice to sit outside after a long winter. The Summer Brew beer was pretty tasty wheat beer similar to an Oberon. That summer beer is definitely a popular type among breweries lately. The tater tots there were very unique. I love a good tot (see previous posts) and these were rectangular shape instead of the traditional cylinder type tots. A nice complement to the beer and another great tot for my list.

These two are great additions in the recent years to the Commerce area and a part of the ever growing craft beer scene in Michigan and Nationally.

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Kickstand Brewing Company

Jesus would have drank craft beer

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, RestaurantsLeave a comment

I know it is Good Friday, I shouldn’t be drinking beer and eating meat but Jesus would have drank craft beer. That I am sure of. Can you think of anything more Jesus like then drinking something that is kind of anti-establishment? I mean the man liked wine and didn’t appreciate those in positions of power. Jesus would have drank craft beer.

Tonight, I tried out a brewery in Birmingham, MI 15 minutes from where I grew up. Griffin Claw Brewing Company has made a big name for itself the last few years and it lived up to its reputation.

The GC brewery was packed for dinner this Friday night. And luckily my buddy and I were able to snag a table. I tried out a couple brews including the Norm’s Raggedy Ass IPA, which is their award winning beer and definitely deserved its award. For dinner I had the above pictured Mac and Cheese. It was very good and the chicken on top was perfect, not over cooked or under cooked. A true contender for top 5 Mac and Cheese. Overall, this was a great spot and whenever I am back visiting my family in Michigan I will have to stop back in. Griffin Claw Brewing Company is a true gem of the mitten state craft beer scene.