| rev:text
| - I don't know what it is about Northeast Ohio, but people are brewing some fantastic beers up here.
Came in late on a Friday night and found the place pretty much empty, save for a few tables and a full, small patio out front, where patrons were enjoying the cool evening and the pleasant atmosphere in Downtown Berea.
We requested the sampler, and the bartender offered up the list and said that she would give us a little taste of something if we found it interesting. I looked it over and then explained that everything was interesting and that she could just charge us for the sampler. $9, which is a little high.
But they have some really good, interesting beers on tap. My personal favorite was one of several seasonals they had on that night: a Belgian pale (I don't recall the name and it's not available on their web site). I really like these hybrid beers in general and have noticed them making their way into the Midwest from the West Coast more recently. This was a very good one. It was more heavily Belgian than pale, with the strong yeast taste, but that just worked to mask the heavy hops, which actually came out in the flavor much more than in the bitterness. My companion, usually not one for hops, really enjoyed this one also. This came out at 8% according to the board, but didn't taste anything near that.
They have a very good IPA as well, which is especially typical of Metro Cleveland brewers. Very balanced, good body. I also really liked the heffeweizen, which I guess was also a seasonal. I don't like the wheat taste in this style typically, but really like them when they're done well. This was one that is done very well. The flavor is nothing but bananas and cloves, and the color and body are absolutely perfect. Really one of the best heffe's I've had.
Then there was the red (another seasonal), which was hoppier than most reds but had a nice flavor, in general.
The standard lagers should really be divided between lager and marzen. The marzen (Sandstone) really did taste like a marzen, or at least most of the ones that I've had. The lager tasted somewhat like a pilsner.
The one fail here was a berry beer. I was really excited about this one, based on its description, but it came out warm and uncarbonated. The result was pretty much undrinkable. We asked the bartender about it, but she had nothing to add about it, so that's a point off.
Also a point off for the early closing time: midnight on a Friday. I know it's the suburbs, but it seemed like the people there wanted to stay longer, and it limited us to only the sampler and no pints.
No food review at this point because we didn't have any. I liked their menu, so I hope to be back at some point to try the food.
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