WEBSITE: greatlakesbrewing.com

Great Lakes Brewing Company, located just west of downtown in the Ohio City neighborhood of Cleveland, stands as the state's first microbrewery. The brewpub occupies two historic buildings on Market Avenue in Ohio City. The Taproom features the Tiger Mahogany Bar—Cleveland's oldest. Bullet holes in the bar are said to have been caused by Cleveland Safety Director, Eliot Ness, the same who would later take down Al Capone in Chicago during the prohibition era (with the help of Sean Connery). The downstairs, Rathskeller, features distressed brick walls and another wooden bar. Adjacent to the brewpub is an indoor/outdoor beer garden, the perfect setting for a sunny day. In 1988, a brewery was added to the historic six-building complex, as well as banquet facilities, and a gift shop.

History:

The Great Lakes Brewing Company started crafting beer in 1988, at the beginning of America's fascination with microbrews. They were the first such brewery in Ohio. The Conway brothers, who still own the facility, employed a master brewer, Thaine Johnson, who had worked in the last of Cleveland's historic breweries, thus tying the old with the new. They produced 1000 barrels that first year. Today, they produce 70,000 barrels annually.

The Beer:

Great Lakes is best known for its amber beer, Dortmunder Gold. The brewery also produces Burning River Ale, Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, Eliot Ness Amber Lager, and Holy Moses White Ale. Seasonal brews, such as Moondog Ale and Christmas Ale round out the selection. Great Lakes Brewing Company distributes in Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. In addition to the brewpub, Great Lakes beers are available at most beer outlets in Cleveland.

WEBSITE: frankenmuthbrewery.com

Frankenmuth's founding fathers brought the tradition of brewing to the mid-Michigan forests in 1845. John Matthias Falliers founded Frankenmuth' first brewery in 1857. Cousins William Knaust and Martin Heubisch opened the Cass River Brewery just north of the Fallier property in 1862, where the Frankenmuth Brewery continues to stand today.

The Cass River Brewery was purchases by Johann Geyer in 1874 and renamed Geyer's Brothers Brewing Co. For the next 112 years, the facility operated under many names including the Frankenmuth Brewing Co.

Ferdinand "Fred" Schumacher from Duseldorf, Germany, purchased the brewery one year before a fire destroyed most of the structure in 1987. The microbrewery continued operation following the ownership acquisition by Randall E. Heine in 1990. The nation's second oldest microbrewery was at peak production in 1996, distributing more than 30,000 barrels of locally produced microbrews across 25 states, when an F3 tornado struck our facility, causing several million dollars of damage. A brew pub was opened in 2003 and closed three years later.

The Frankenmuth Brewing Company, housed in the historic 4 story, 28,000 square foot building is an exciting destination for food lovers and beer aficionados alike. We provide banquet and meeting facilities, along with seasonal outdoor dining to accommodate your needs. Frankenmuth Brewing Company will be developing new, exciting varieties of craft-brewed beer as we continue to grow. Our most popular blends will be distributed and marketed initially in Michigan.

Frankenmuth Brewing Co. beer will be available to our guests across the country as our popularity grows and increases.

WEBSITE: rrbc.squarespace.com

R ocky River Brewing Company is an award-winning brewpub and restaurant located in Rocky River, Ohio. The 5,000 sq. ft. dining and pub area, styled in a turn-of-the-century architectural style, offers a casual and family-friendly dining experience for lunch, dinner or late night excitement.

Chef Bill Fogarty creates an eclectic array of menu selections using only the freshest and most delectable ingredients to put new twist on old favorites. Our exceptionally hand-crafted beers are brewed with expertise by our award-winning brewmaster, Jim Lieb. The food, the beer, our friendly and courteous staff, and our patrons all make visiting R.R.B.C. a fantastic and memorable experience. We welcome you to enjoy your visit through our web site but, more importantly, we would like to welcome you to visit R.R.B.C. with your family and friends to enjoy the the pleasant atmosphere, fresh food and great beers in person.

WEBSITE: marketgardenbrewery.com

Andy Tveekrem is the Brewmaster and partner in the Market Garden Brewery in Cleveland, Ohio. Currently under construction, the brewery, restaurant, beer garden and distillery will be opening in early 2011. Andy has been a professional brewer for 20 years and prior to this venture has been the Brewmaster at Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Delaware (2004-2009), Frederick Brewing Company in Maryland (2000-2004), and Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland (1991-2000). He grew up in Akron, is a 1985 graduate of the College of Wooster and now lives in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland with his wife, Vickie. Many of his interests seem to involve the letter B: beer, bicycling, bowling, and barbeque, to name just a few.

WEBSITE: jwdover.com

Black Box Brewing Company of Westlake, Ohio is run by Jerome Welliver and has gained widespread accolades for their brews.

WEBSITE: cornerstonebrewing.com

Enjoy casual atmosphere and fine food. Come in and try our delicious menu and our wide variety of drinks. We know you'll love it here at Cornerstone Brewing Company. We are located in the historic Berea Triangle. Minutes from the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and Baldwin Wallace College.


Of Cornerstone, Scene Magazine said, "This good-looking microbrewery just about has it all: good pub fare, laid-back style, and a handcrafted collection of above-average beers, ranging from the crisp Grindstone Gold (an American-style lager) to the Big Creek Porter, a dark, hefty potion loaded with chocolate, roasted malt, and hops flavors."

WEBSITE: thebrewkettle.com

The BREW Kettle opened its doors in the fall of 1995 as Ohio's First Brew-On-Premise Microbrewery.

From that first day it has been our goal to provide our customers with the guidance, equipment and the freshest ingredients to produce quality, hand-crafted beers in an environment that is professional, safe and fun.

Eight years and 15,000 batches later, we are still committed to our customers' needs and desires.

We invite you to visit our brewery to have a "look-see", visit with our expert brewing staff, or try brewing a batch from our "tried-and-true" recipe list. we guarantee you'll be hooked!

At The BREW Kettle you are the Brewer. We'll provide the recipe, ingredients and assistance while you brew and bottle your favorite style of beer. The BREW Kettle offers over 70 different recipes to choose from. Chris McKim, our Brewmaster and winner of 9 National Brew-On-Premise Medals (including 5 GOLD'S!), has created each recipe to be technically accurate as described in the style guide for America's largest beer event, The Great American Beer Festival.

The BREW Kettle is a social gathering place where small and large groups of brewers are invited to reserve one to six kettles. Your brew session will last approximately 2 1/2 hours. While you're brewing, relax and enjoy a beer or homemade soda from our great selection. After brewing, we'll help you cool and transfer your brew into a fermenter and we'll look after it during fermentation. When you return two weeks later, your beer will be chilled, filtered, carbonated and ready for you to bottle. A brew session produces 6 cases of beer(22oz bottles). Or if you prefer, we'll keg your brew for parties or home draft systems.

The BREW Kettle offers a wide variety of label options for you to personalize your brew. Choose form over 200,000 clipart images, or provide us with your own design. From simple black& white "stock" labels to color scans from you personal photo library, our designers can meet your needs. Commemorate your next special occasion such as birthdays, weddings, baby announcements and holidays with your own unique label design.

The BREW Kettle is your source for homebrew supplies. We offer by the pound, whole grains and unhopped malt extracts and by the ounce, pellet hops.

The BREW Kettle and Ringneck Brewing Company also offer a wide variety of carry-out bottled beer and soda. And don't forget our logo gear and gift certificates are always available. Your personalized brew can be a great gift, a unique addition to any party, or simply the best and freshest beer for enjoyment at home.

The BREW Kettle invites you to Brew with the Best. Our expert brewing staff is always ready to help you brew your own. We promise you'll be proud to exclaim, "That's my beer!". And every batch comes with our "complete-satisfaction-guarantee". We look forward to serving you.

WEBSITE: thirstydog.com

H ere at the Thirsty Dog Brewing Company, full flavor, delicate balance, texture & aroma combine to make beer an infinitely complex experience, and one that can be thoroughly enjoyable.

Each of our beers are meticulously hand crafted in small batches using the finest ingredients. High quality malted barley is the source of the beer’s sweetness & body. Select American & European hops are used to balance the malt sweetness, and , at times, add special flavors & aromas to the beer.

Our careful selection of ingredients, along with specially designed recipes & brewing processes, give Thirsty Dog beers their unique flavor profiles that can be hard to find in today’s mass market. “one size fits all” society.

Our microbrewed beers are far more diverse in range and character then the small spectrum of mass-marketed beers offered to the American public by the large national breweries.

Welcome to Thirsty Dog Brewing Company, and welcome to great beer!

WEBSITE: buckeyebeerengine.com

Buckeye Beer Engine (Buckeye Brewing Company) in Lakewood, OH brews some of the finest craft beers in the area. Buckeye Beer engine was voted one of the Top 5 Brew Pubs of 2007 by Cleveland Scene Magazine.

Of Buckeye Beer Engine, Scene raved, "More than a bar, far less than a stuffy restaurant, The Buckeye Beer Engine offers more than two dozen top-quality drafts -- "breakouts, hot stuff, and things you've never seen before in your life," says brewmaster Garin Wright. The selection includes rare Belgianlambics, cask-conditioned ales, and three or four of Wright's own brews -- and it gets rotatedregularly, giving beer-lovers an excuse to drop in time and again. If you need an excuse to drink (you shouldn't, but we're just saying), grab something to wash down from the menu of burgers, soups, sandwiches, and salads -- the perfect ballast for a blast of chilly brews."

WEBSITE: lagerheads.us

Established in 2004, Lagerheads Smokehouse and Brewery has been striving to provide the areas finest barbecue and sauce... and by sauce we mean, beer (though their barbecue sauce ain't bad either).

Rick Armon, of the Akron Beacon Journal, visited Lagerheads, and noted, "Brewer Steve Bagley has a major goal for the new brewery at Lager Heads Smokehouse: Make sure each beer pops with flavor.

"'I don't want wimpy beers, period,' he said. 'All the beers should be brewed to style but with bold flavors.'"

Though the Kienes have owned this historic restaurant since 2004, it wasn't until recently that they had all the equipment in place and were ready to hire Steve Bagley as their brewmaster. In June of 2010, the first batches were out of the hopper and ready for consumption. Among those initial offerings were a dortmunder and hefeweizen, so the tilt towards German styles was readily apparent.

After winning several national medals for his homebrewing, Steve was hired as the brewmaster of the Roadhouse in Medina before moving on to the job at Lager Heads.

Lager Heads is located at 2832 Abbeyville Road, and is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.

WEBSITE: fatheads.com

Alandmark in the Pittsburgh area, Fatheads has opened a new location in the North Olmsted building that once housed Danny Boy's Farmers Market. Matt Cole, formerly the brewermaster for Rocky River Brewing Company, is the Director of Brewing Operations for the new Fat Heads establishment.

"The Fat Heads concept circles around a laid-back, casual atmosphere with quality beer and fun, creative and innovative food," said Cole to a Plain Dealer reporter. "You mention Fat Heads to anyone who knows Pittsburgh and they will tell you they've been there."

WEBSITE: gordonbiersch.com

Conveniently located in the heart of downtown Columbus on Front Street near the Nationwide Arena. This classic location in the arena district can accommodate seating for 425 people, with additional seating in the outdoor patio. The private banquet room seats 60-70 guests and is available by reservation only. A billiard area adjacent to the bar provides an excellent gathering place.

The recipe for Gordon Biersch beer contains only four ingredients as dictated by the 500-year-old German purity law called Reinheitsgebot: water, hops, barley, and yeast.

WEBSITE: buckeyebrewing.com

Buckeye Brewing company of Cleveland was established in 1997.

WEBSITE: willoughbybrewing.com

N

estled in the heart of Historic Downtown Willoughby, Ohio lies Willoughby Brewing Co. Established in February of 1998, we are a full-service restaurant, bar and award-winning brewery in a 100-year-old building that was originally a rail-car repair depot for the Cleveland to Ashtabula Interurban Rail Line.

Renovated and updated, our facility provides a spacious yet cozy dining experience. Our bar comes complete with a stage and state-of-the-art soundsystem--home to the finest rock and blues acts inthe Greater Cleveland area.

Willoughby Brewing Company offers a mouth-watering array of dishes for your dining pleasure. From cheeseburgers to sirloin, pizza to pasta, one thing is for certain - This is no ordinary brewpub dining experience.

The atmosphere is friendly and casual. Wide open spaces are offset by a divided dining room so you'll feel cozy without feeling crowded. High ceilings and natural brick walls with large, arched windows round out the reasons why you will feel completely at ease in this delightfully restored century-old building.

WEBSITE: gooseisland.com

W

hen the first Goose Island Brewpub opened its doors in 1988, domestic, mass-produced beer was deeply ingrained in Midwestern culture. The craft beer industry was still in its infancy, with only a handful of brewpubs in existence in the Midwest. In his travels across Europe, beer-lover John Hall had enjoyed a distinctive local brew in each region he visited. Hall was convinced that Midwesterners could produce beers as good or better than those he’d tasted in his travels. Living on the shore of the largest system of fresh water on the planet Earth, in a city with rapidly evolving tastes – John decided that his hometown, Chicago, would be the ideal place to do just that.

The key to building interest in craft beer, Hall decided, was to allow consumers to watch the brewing process – while providing them with the then-novel experience of enjoying a wide variety of distinctive beers that had been produced on-site. Hall wanted to not only cater to his customers’ tastes, but to challenge them as well. Goose Island’s brewers set to work crafting a diverse selection of unique beers – and on Friday, May 13, 1988 the Goose Island Brewpub was born.

It turned out that John was right; Chicagoans palates evolved rapidly once Goose Island’s Brewpub opened its doors and introduced the city to distinctive craft beer. By 1995, the brewpub had become so popular that John Hall and his son Greg, who had by then become Goose Island’s brewmaster, decided to open a larger brewery and bottling plant to keep up with demand. Finding still more room for growth, in 1999 the father-son team opened a second Goose Island Brewpub just a stone’s throw away from historic Wrigley Field.

Today, Goose Island continues to brew an innovative selection of over 50 craft beers at the brewpub, the best of which are then bottled at our Fulton Street brewery. Goose Island also produces a small selection of craft sodas. The company currently ships its beers to 15 states and the U.K.

WEBSITE: ratbrew.com

C

ellar Rats Brewery, located in Madison, Ohio opened in June of 2008 with two flagship beers, Rat Trap Lager and Rat Tail Ale.  The new brewery facility is connected to Debonne Vineyards, Ohio’s largest estate winery, making Cellar Rats Brewery the first brewery/winery combination in the state.  The term “Cellar Rats” is often used to refer to the workers down in the wine cellar making wine.  Since the owners of the brewery started in the wine cellar, the name seemed fitting and fun.

So how does one go from the wine industry to the beer industry?  It really isn’t so complicated.  First it takes a great brewer and Debonné was lucky enough to have one working on staff.  Brian Burns, former assistant winemaker, has been home brewing beer with his family for over 18 years.  His excitement for the brewery shows, with his ideas of brews currently producing over nine beers with more to come.  Some of the more popular brews include the Black Plague Porter, Stall 3 Stout, and Field Rat Wheat.   The brewery always has its flagship beers available but the real fun comes in the seasonal brews such as Infestation, Pack Rat Pilsner, and a Ratzberry Porter.  Assisting Brian in the brewery is head winemaker and chemist Ed Trebets and assistant brewer Tony Debevc Jr.   This trio is always thinking of something new to try.

Cellar Rats Brewery brews monthly on a 3-barrel system, which holds 95 gallons.  This is small considering what a traditional microbrewery normally brews.  The small size gives lots of flexibility for experimentation with unique ingredients.  Currently Cellar Rats Brews are sold on premise and in take home growlers in addition to some area pubs and restaurants.

All the brews are named after a “rat” theme of some sort with the cartoon labels being produced by a local artist.  This fun theme is very fitting with the atmosphere of the brewery.  The beer bar is located adjacent to the winery and tastings can be done all week long.  The facility features live entertainment every weekend and grilled sandwiches and tasty appetizers are available as well.

WEBSITE: ohiobrewing.com

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he Ohio Brewing Company is located at 222 S. Main Steet, in the heart of downtown Akron. They occupy part of the old O’Neil’s Department Store, which served Akron area customers for over 60 years, finally closing in 1990. The City of Akron purchased the building, completely renovated it in the 1990’s and found new occupants ranging from accounting and law firms to eateries.

Two of the principal owners of the Ohio Brewing Company, Chris and Michael Verich, discovered the charming building after a long search in North-East Ohio for a site for their dream brewpub. Chris Verich has a long history in designing and producing award-winning beers at his former brewery in Niles, the original Ohio Brewing Company. Chris also has ties to the Akron area having graduated with Bachelor and Master’s Degrees in Political Science from Kent State University. Chris’ diverse backround includes time spent as an Ohio State Representative and extensive work for the State of Ohio in consumer advocacy. Chris also holds the position of Manager of Brewing Operations at the new Ohio Brewing Company in Akron.

Michael, the other Verich brother and owner, also has ties to the Akron area, having graduated with a law degree from the University of Akron Law School. Michael then spent over sixteen years as a State Representative before becoming a labor relations board member and adjudicator. After an extensive time planning the project, funding was secured to purchase the space from the City of Akron.

Another key member of the organization is Dennis Holland, the Head Brewer. Dennis has a long, stellar career as a brewmaster for various craft breweries, including stints at Great Lakes Brewing in Cleveland, Leavenworth Brewing in Leavenworth, Washington and BOB’s House of Brews, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Dennis has won multiple medals at the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup.

WEBSITE: msg-brew.com

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he Main Street Grille and Brewing Co. resides in an 1804 historical building that was a water powered grist mill on the banks of Silver Creek. Now a restaurant and brewery owned and operated by Pete & Peggy Kepich since March of 2007, they offer a wide variety of foods... from their savory Pot Roast dish to a phenomenal Main Street Burger, great steaks and seafood escalating to live Maine Lobster. Their Brewery, which opened in May of 2008, offers a variety of unfiltered handcrafted brews. Guests can enjoy a delicious lunch or dinner along with a specialty brew while overlooking the scenic falls on Silver Creek.

The Main Street Grille and Brewing Co. is about more than just great food and hand crafted beers. They embody an ethic of hospitality and exceptional service that keeps their customers coming back for more, and all at a customer conscious price. Understanding that they only have one shot to make a customer happy and gain their repeat patronage, they pride themselves on only using the finest and freshest ingredients from their menu to their beer list. Be it a special meal request, holding a favorite table, or just remembering a guest's name, it's the little things that set The Main Street Grille apart from the run of the mill.