Great Lakes Brewing Company

August 21, 2008 [ Updated October 1, 2008 ]
Stopped by for dinner on a Saturday while in Cleveland. It’s a little too affluent for my tastes, though the outside seating is nice, rustic, and green: lots of foliage. I liked the large chairs too, especially as the night wore on and sitting up become difficult. The service was mediocre, and the wait staff requires a ph# to call you via cell phone for a ready table. The beer selection was mediocre with only eight taps, especially as only one of them was pub exclusive, but it is a brewery after all and there was a decent variety. The food was pretty good, but I dropped $28 on the chedder soup (nice texture!), the steak appetizer (nice but too much spice), and one beer. The taps alone were $5+, and in general, it was quite an expensive menu. The gift shop had glassware, shirts, and some basic cases a few mixed cases were available, though those included were fairly standard. Overall it was nice, but it was far too expensive for too few options, and I didn’t walk away feeling like I’d been to something unique.

August 7, 2008
One of my favorite brewies, they deliver no-nonsense offerings that have taste, complexity and are quite sessionable for the most part. The portfolio is medium-sized, but expansive, paying homage to lagers as well as stouts and ales. If you enjoy a pleasant atmosphere with a warm, old vibe than this is your place to pull up a stool. If you can’t make it to the brewpub, at least buy some of the retail items as they will amaze you in that something truly spectacular can come out of Cleveland.

July 28, 2008
Visited here in late July ’08 - had dinner. Great atmosphere - jam packed with happy people enjoying good beer - in the bar - outside, in the restaurant, or downstairs in the pub area. Had about 8 on tap - wish they would have had something special that you could not find in other restaurants and bars - but no such luck. Excellent food - had the Walleye - tasty. A must visit if in the Cleveland area.

July 26, 2008
I really dig this bar/resturaunt. Usually I’m at the main bar or sitting out by the street, but they did just add a beer garden. The main dining areas and cellar/sports pub areas are great too. Anyway, the main reason to come here is for the ambiance and regular beers. My biggest complaint is the food prices are high for what you get. The management trys to run this place like an LA bistro in working mans Cleveland...not so good. Everything else is top notch.

July 5, 2008
From 2000, seemed like a real small place at the time. Small little bar area, small seating area, but still a neat little place-cozy. Took awhile to get our beers though, no biggie since we weren’t in a rush. The beer was great, was able to try the Nosferatu and the Cleveland Brown (two we couldn’t get in bottles. Would like to go now and see the diff.

June 22, 2008
Visited the GL brewpub and took the tour of the brewery with my girlfriend. In short, I was unimpressed. The tour guide didn’t seem to know exactly what he was talking about (for the most part he did, but the claims he was making about Edmund Fitzgerald were blatantly false - see my rating of it). The tour took only 20 minutes and was pretty surface level and uninformative. We got to sample about 6 ounces of one beer of our choice with only 7 to choose from, and the 7 most common ones - furthermore, the samples were from bottles not a tap. I really wanted to sample some BA Blackout stout or something special, but couldn’t. I didn’t eat any food, and their selection consisted of 8 to 10 taps of their own beer (and nothing special or uncommon from what I saw). The only thing I must positively comment about here is the pub. The actual pub, which is located below the restaurant is a little brick cellar place that was actually one of the cooler bars I have ever been in. Worth a stop if you are in Cleveland because it is free, and maybe the food is good (I don’t know), but I would not suggest anyone go out of their way to see this place. To be honest, I am stunned by all of these great ratings... maybe I missed something.

May 14, 2008
Nice cosy feeling, English-pub style. They had ten beers on tap, seven of them are available in bottles but three of them were tap only beers that have never been bottled. Of the seven taps that could be found in bottle there was the Blackout Stout so I’m not complaining. Crowd is a bit older, this doesn’t seem like a college kids hangout like Buckeye and others. Very laid-back and relaxing. Music was classic rock and blues at low volume. Very nice patio in the front. A very nice place to visit if you want to relax with some good beer. If you want a party place go to Buckeye Beer Engine.

April 21, 2008
Great Lakes is consistently great. There is something here that any beer lover can enjoy. The food is excellent, but it is a bit pricey. My only suggestion in addition to the others’ is to call ahead if you’re hoping to try a seasonal to make certain that it is still available.

March 30, 2008
Visited on March 29, 2008. What a handsome bar! Old school in the extreme, tucked away on a side street near the West Side Market. Refreshing to see a brewer take up in an actual bar instead of one of those cavernous joints which lack atmosphere. Dark wood, Elliot Ness paraphernalia, and a very convivial atmosphere. Many fine offerings on tap (including and especially things that aren’t bottled), awesome service, and very fine food (got some brats and peirogis when in Rome . . . ). A must when in Cleveburgh.

March 28, 2008 [ Updated September 1, 2008 ]
had the extreme pleasure of stopping by while i was in ohio on business. had the fried calamari, with elliiott ness beer batter phenominal! very old bar, bartender was super nice, great great spot! got a huge 70 oz growler of holy moses and a regular growler of elliott ness, cant wait to go back! be aware if you park on the main street past 4pm on a weekday you will get a ’rush hour’ ticket regardless of the meter. also spoke with one of the cooks who ventured out to the bar to get a drink.