The Brew Kettle

September 24, 2008
This place looks like anything but a brewpub from the outside in a row of strip malls and with a tiny door and no windows, but step inside and you enter a beer oasis. Relatively narrow, but very, very long bar, rather dark, but welcoming. On top of their exclusive Ringneck beers (a couple of which are also available for takeout), they have around 20 beers including some top notch micros from all over the country (though perhaps not necessarily all that rare) and a few European ones. You expect a place of this kind in NYC, but in Strongsville? I wish I had hit Mad Brewers as well, because their beers were very well brewed indeed and the staff seemed as knowledgeable as you get, inquiring on the places we visited and would visit on our road trip.

July 22, 2008
Really nice pub feel to this place. Featuring about 5 of their own (Ringneck beers) along with another 20+ taps of great American Craft Brews and a few Belgians. Food was very solid, they focus on BBQ, but I got a Burger and it was really good. The other amazing thing about this place is that they are a brew on premise place. So you can go in and brew your own batch of beer, leave it there to ferment and have bottled up to take home a few weeks later. They also have a few of their own beers available for sale in 22 oz bombers!

June 22, 2008
Have a great time every time I visit. The staff is very pleasant and knowledgeable. 24 taps from breweries such as Founders, Bear Republic, Avery, and Stone and there is usually 5-7 Ringneck/Brew Kettle beers on tap as well. The choriza sausage and beer gumbo alone is worth the trip.

May 15, 2008
Even though I don’t really live near this place, I am constantly drawn back. Great food, Great service, Great Owners, and of course Great beer. Always an impressive tap list. Seasonal beer theme fests cant be beat. One of the must see beer stops in the cleveland area.

May 15, 2008
Located is some kind of mall strip. Looks like an old folks restaurant. 24 taps all total when I was there. Four of the taps were homebrews and the twenty others were from reputable American micros (Bell’s, Stoudt’s, Founders, Bear Republic, etc.). The four homebrews were good to very good. The 20 guess taps were mostly good beers that you find in just about any beer bars except for the Rogue Black Brutal (Skullsplitter) which I more than happy to find on tap. Super friendly service. I was recommended the BBQ spaghetti by fellow ratebeerian crizay who happens to work there. And I’m doing the same to anybody reading this. Get the BBQ spaghetti, a regional speciality I was told, this is a pretty tasty and original meal.

April 30, 2008
Stopped here on a late Sunday afternoon, post-Dark Lord Day. Lots of interesting stuff on tap, although I was disappointed to see the Ommegang Dry Stout had disappeared in the last day or two. Tucked into a strip mall, there’s a nice long bar, plenty of tables, and very friendly (and cute) waitstaff. My friend and I ordered some of their standard Ringneck beers, the hefeweizen and a red ale, which were both pretty solid. Great food, and probably one of the best portobello burgers (with roasted red peppers and three kinds of melted cheese) that I’ve ever had. Tom enjoyed all the traditional German fare. Plenty of 22oz bottled beers, cheaply priced ($3.50), in the far back brewing area. Very solid establishment, and less then two minutes off of the highway. Definitely worth a stop.

March 28, 2008
first trip there, and a good one.. we arrived early around 510pm on a weekday, place was full, no open bar seats and a few open tables, we were seated in 2 minutes, ordered our beer and browsed the menu/tap list... Food was excellent, and beer list was pretty good, all the RN stuff was decent not outstanding but certainly easy drinking and palatable for a BMC drinker... 25 taps with good but not great stuff.. a definite place to visit if you are in the Cleveland Area. 5 dollars for half pound burger = win.

March 15, 2008 [ Updated July 26, 2008 ]
My neighborhood bar. Nice, comfortable ambiance. Service is always top notch and knowledgable. Food is solid if not great. My only complaint is the beer list is too timid at times and tends to be boring, but I am spoiled. Bottles and BOP are in back. Must stop if you have a chance.

February 9, 2008
This place is by far my favorite brewpub. Every one of the staff is very knowledgeable about the beer selections on tap. Its the only place I have been to where you can sit at the bar and have 18 quality craft beers on tap, excellent BBQ (the wings, gumbo, pulled pork nachos and ribs are all outstanding choices), and have a brew it yourself setup in the back. Way cool! They constantly run specials. For example, on Thursdays they tap a firkin and call it Firkin Thursdays. This week they are doing OGRE FEST where 18 beers on tap will all be Imperials or Doubles. Again - Very cool! This is just a great place and I’m gland I live close to it!

February 5, 2008
This place is really cool. Stopped in on our Wyay to Cincinatti form Jersey. Aromas first of all are out of this world because the food is great and they are brewing in the back. And not just the brewers, anyone. People are racking, boiling, filtering, man this place is awesome. I love that smell. The food from what I had was great and the bartenders were really nice and friendly. You can get anything on the tap beer menu as a sampler size. They have this menu you circle and they pour them and put them in an order you can recognize. Good chance to try several before you hit the road. The staff knows the brews they are pouring which is great. They have takout in the back which I picked up the Imperlial Porter which was really good when I was there.