Once again, I sifted through the Cleveland Beer Week event list and put together my picks: These are, in my opinion, the events that are most worth attending if your schedule and bank account permit.
If you make it to any Beer Week Events (either that I suggest here or not) let me know what you think!
Monday, Oct. 18
Dogfish Head Takes Over the SouthSide
This is another full-day event, at the SouthSide. Not sure which will be available in full glasses, but several special, tough to find ales from Dogfish will be available in tasting flights. The full lineup includes: 60 Minute, 90 Minute and 75 Minute IPAs; Punkin Ale; SouthSide cellar-aged Burton Baton, Sahtea; Midas Touch; Theobroma; Black & Blue; Immort Ale and Bitches Brew. Cost: TBD. I’ll try to update if I get details.
Exotic Beer Night
From 8 PM – close, La Cave du Vin will feature unique brews from Europe, including: beers brewed with smoked tea leaves, chili pepper, absinthe leaves, mustard seed, chinotto (a bitter citrus, according to Wikipedia) peel and oysters. They’ll be selling the beers individually, and “discussing each one at length,” per the nice gentleman I spoke with on the phone. This definitely sounds like an interesting stop for anyone looking to sample simply something a little different and out-of-the box. Cost: price of beers.
Tuesday, Oct. 19
Cellar Offering
Warehouse Beverage will bring some 2008 Stone Vertical Epic out from the cellar, on sale from one day only (and likely won’t last long at that). No idea what this will be going for, but if you don’t have the 2008 and are interested in the Vertical series, you’ll probably be able to get this at Warehouse for less than you’ll be able to find it online.
Collaboration Day
Rocky River Brewing Company will have each of the six Ohio-brewery collaborative beers on tap. The beers include:
- Smoked black lager from Thirsty Dog and Indigo Imp
- Strong barrel-aged ale from GLBC and Cellar Rat
- Rye kolsh from Brew Kettle and Willoughby Brewing Co
- Imperial American porter from Hoppin- Frog and Rocky River Brewing Co
- Alt bier from Buckeye Brewing Co and Cornerstone Brewery
- Wet-hopped IPA from Fatheads and Black Box
Cost: price of beers. Oh, and they’ll be selling burgers for $6 as well.
Side note: a 12-pack on this collection in bottles will also available for sale at any Heinen‘s location at some point soon. They’ve had some delays in releasing it, but if you check Heinen’s out on Facebook, the store will update when it’s available.
Wednesday, Oct. 20
Crop Bistro Beer Tasting
Crop Bistro will feature six small plates paired with six craft beers — Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, Indian Brown Ale and Saison du Buff; Great Divide the Denver Pale Ale; Hoss Rye Lager and St Bridgets Porter. Each pairing will be available on its own, or as a full tasting menu. Cost: varies.
Thursday, Oct. 21
Meet the Brewer of Stone Brewing
From 4-7 PM at Fathead’s Brewery will have Mitch Steele of Stone Brewing on site, with the promise of some very special beers from Stone as well. Cost: price of beers.
Brewing Demonstration with SNOBs
From 6-9 at the Lakewood Winking Lizard, there will be an interactive demonstration on homebrewing, sponsored by the Society of Northeast Ohio Brewers. Though I’ve never seen SNOBs in action, I can say from experience that homebrewing is enjoyable and rewarding if you’re a beer lover, so if you’re interested this might be worth checking out.
Friday, Oct. 22
Beer Floats!
Lilly Handmade Chocolates will make four different floats with craft beers and artisan ice cream — Lindeman’s Framboise with Mitchell’s vanilla bean, Vintage Stone Russian Imperial Stout with Handel’s double chocolate chunk, Cantillon Gueze with Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream’s cherry lambic sorbet and Trappist Rochefort 10 with East Coast Custard’s buttered pecan. And as if that weren’t enough, each will be topped with one of Lilly’s truffles. I’m drooling just thinking about this. Cost: $15.
Spaten Boot to the Face
Starting at 5 PM until they’re gone (limited quantities available) the Gateway, Lakewood, Coventry, Bedford Heights and Independence Winking Lizard locations will sell 2-liter boots filled with Spaten Oktoberfest for $45. And, you get to keep the boot. Beer Fest, anyone?
Hops! The Spice of Beer by Mitch Steele
From 7-9 at the Bedford Heights Winking Lizard, Mitch Steele (of Stone) will do a presentation centered around hops,: its history, the life of a hop vine, varieties, characteristics, how it’s used in brewing and how important it is to beer. Can you think of anyone better to talk about hops than the mastermind behind some of the most aggressively hopped ales around? There will also be beer and food samples. Cost: $25. Reservations are suggested, so give the Wink a call or check out its website to confirm your spot.
Saturday, Oct. 23
BREWzilla: A Monster of a Beer Tasting
This is the official event of Cleveland Beer Week, taking place 6-11 PM at the Galleria. The evening will feature craft and imported beers from more than 80 breweries; a dedicated area for Ohio Breweries that will feature the six Beer Week collaboration brews; and food from the Winking Lizard, Heinen’s and Lilly Handmade Chocolate (sandwiches, cheeses and truffles). Cost: $75 for “Brewer’s Circle” (includes early admission at 6, special appetizers and beer, 25 drink tickets and a other specials) or $50 for general admin (admission at 7, 20 drink tickets). Get tickets in advance.
Alrighty kids (21 and over), there you have it. I hope you enjoy Beer Week. (Responsibly.)
Cheers!
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