Cleveland Yuppie

Today starts the much-anticipated Cleveland Beer Week, which technically is a week and a day but hey, who’s counting (or complaining).

I’ll be honest… pretty much every week is beer week to me, but I’ve been looking forward to this celebration of craft brews since I first heard about it several months ago and the site was no more than a landing page. My, how far it’s come.

The Cleveland Beer Week Website hosts lots of information, including details on the more than 100 events taking place throughout the week. If you have the time and the desire, check them out for yourself here, where you can sift through it fairly easily by date, venue or event type.  You should also grab a Scene magazine, which includes a printed version of the event listing.

However, if you don’t have time or just feel the laze creeping in, following are some of the events that have caught my eye:

Four Course Beer, Fondue and Raclette Dinner
Tonight, Friday Oct. 16 from 7-9 PM, Moxie will host a 4-course dinner paired with beer selections from Merchant du Vin, featuring beers from Lindemann’s, Ayinger, Rochefort, Samuel Smith’s and Celebrator and food including breads, meats, fondues and domestic raclette. Holy yum, Batman. $45 per person.

Ommegang Beer and Cheese Pairing
Saturday, Oct. 17, head to the Beer Engine for a pairing of four Ommegang brews with four different cheeses. Cost is $10, and the event runs all day or until they run out of the goods.

Kegs and Eggs with Dogfish Head
On Sunday, Oct. 18, grab your breakfast at the Beer Engine, where they’ll be serving up some special Dogfish brews  — Festina Peche poured through peaches and blackberries, and Palo Santo poured through coffee beans. 10 AM – 1 PM.

Dogfish Head Pint Night
Meet Adam Lambert from Dogfish head and have a $4 pint with him at the Coventry Winking Lizard on Monday, Oct. 19 from 5-7 PM.

Crop/Stone Beer Dinner
Next Monday, Oct. 19, 6-8 PM, Crop Bistro will host a dinner a five-course dinner paired with Stone Levitation, Vertical Epic, IPA, Pale Ale, and Smoked Porter.  Cost is $55 per person.

Greenhouse Tavern School of Hops
The Greenhouse is hosting two different pairings:  The first (School of Hops Volume I) will be on Tuesday, Oct. 20 and feature tasting dishes will be paired with brews from New Holland Brewing. Second option (School of Hops Volume II) is on Thursday, Oct. 22 with tasting dishes paired with beers from Ithaca Beer Co.  Either choice from 6-9 PM and costs $25 per person.

Lilly Chocolate Pairings
Lilly Handmade Chocolates will showcase their favorite pairings at the Lilly Handmade Chocolates store every day during beer week. However, for special tastings off-site, check out one of the following:

• Wednesday, Oct. 21 — Lindeman’s Lambic and Lilly Handmade Chocolates at the Beer Engine. All day event. $15 per person.
• Also Wednesday, Oct. 21 — New Holland Vintage Dragon’s Milk with Chocolate at the Gateway and Coventry Winking Lizards. 5-7 PM. $7/each (each pairing, I assume?)
• Thursday, Oct. 22 — Beer and Chocolate Dinner This. Sounds. Scrumptious. Five courses, savory and sweet, hosted at the Bistro on Lincoln Park, featuring chocolates from Lilly and beers from  Hitachino, Two Brothers, Dogfish Head, Nogne O, and Eisenbahn. This one is a bit pricey at $75 per person, but I’m guessing if you can swing it, it will be worth it. 6:30 PM.

Night of the Living Dead Scavenger Hunt and Haunted Houses
Next Friday (Oct. 23), in Tremont from 6 PM- midnight, dress up and scavenge around the neighborhood with other Halloween-clad beer lovers. The event begins at Southside, stops at several haunted locations including Lava Lounge and Treehouse, and concludes at midnight at Treehouse. The winner gets a trip for two to the Magic Hat Margi Gras parade in Burlington, Vermont. Can it get any better? Oh yes, the event is free! (Seriously though, it is pretty lame to go to bars and not buy anything so you should still expect to spend some cash.)

BREWzilla
This is the macdaddy of all Beer Week events, the closing ceremonies, BREWzilla. This is a huge craft beer and food festival taking place next Saturday, Oct. 24, from 6-11 PM at the Arcade. Beer from more than 5 breweries including Ommegang, Sam Smith, Lindemann’s, Dogfish Head, Stone, and Cleveland’s own Great Lakes and Indigo Imp.  Appetizers from Winking Lizard and Heinen’s, and also some treats from Lilly if you can get them fast enough.  Ticket options:

• Brewer’s Circle. 6-7 PM early access to the event, tasting glass, 25 tasting tickets, 5 appetizer tickets, access to “circle only” brews and a Cleveland Beer Week t-shirt. $75. Worth it? I’m seriously considering it. (DD = $65 for everything but the beer tastings)
  
• General admission. Admittance begins at 7 PM, tasting glass, 20 tasting tickets, 3 appetizer tickets. $50.  (DD = $40 for everything but the beer tastings)

Cheers!