Good non-mainstream beers

Where to start???


NE Ohio has some good microbrews distributed there. You should be able to find something to your liking. Two places to start looking in the Cleveland area are Chuck's Fine Wines in Chagrin Falls and Warehouse Beverage in Cleveland- probably the two best beer retailers around. You have some great stuff available from Ohio breweries: Great Lakes (as you mentioned), Hoppin' Frog from Akron (B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher is one of the highest rated Russian Imperial Stouts anywhere and their Mean Manalishi Double IPA is outstanding); Buckeye Brewing makes good beer. As for brewpubs, the Brew Kettle in Strongsville is very good, one I never miss when in the area.

Outstate micros available in OH are AleSmith from California (try the Wee Heavy or the Speedway Stout- bourbon barrel aged if you can find it); Three Floyd's (Munster, IN) can be had there- love their Alpha King Pale Ale and Dreadnaught IPA (edited- got one of the names wrong), the Gumballhead Wheat and, if you can find it, the Dark Lord RIS (usually only sold for one day at the brewery in very limited quantites). MI micros available there are Bell's (not a fan of their beer, but some swear by the Expedition Stout, Cream Stout and Oberon summer ale): Founder's (Dirty Bastard is a great Scottish heavy, Devil Dancer is a Triple IPA that rocks and Kentucky Breakfast Stout is one of the hottest (and more expensive) beers around these days); Jolly Pumpkin makes fabulous Belgian-inspired beers- very quirky and not for everyone but I love 'em; New Holland doesn't have a bad beer in their lineup, but I find their bottled offerings don't quite measure up to what you can get on draft.

Huggy mentioned Motor City Brewing's Ghettoblaster- a very good mild ale, but about the 150th best beer available in Michigan alone- gotta get you rolling with some Dragonmead Final Absolution or Kuhnhenn Brothers's Raspberry Eisbock!!

I've had both Yuengling and Fat Tire....meh. Yuengling is just another macro lager to me, while Fat Tire is very drinkable but nothing special that distinguishes itself.

Leinenkugel is now owned by Miller...but they at least still use their old recipes and brewery. Not a huge fan of Leinie's.

Too bad New Glarus isn't distributed there (good call Gutter). I love Spotted Cow and the Belgian Red.

The hottest microbrewery around is Surly Brewing out of suburban Minneapolis. They make great beers that aren't exactly "to style" but taste oustanding. Their Bender (a brown ale/porter amalgamation) is fantastic, Furious is a killer DIPA hop-bomb that has huge malt profiles as well, Darkness is a limited brewed stout that gets horded by those who can get it. Unfortunately, Surly doesn't get found much outside the Twin Cities.

One brewery to watch in the near future is Short's Brewing out of Bellaire, MI. Joe Short makes killer beer but has limited brewing capacity at this time up in the Traverse City area. He's currently building a new brewery a few miles down the road, that should make it more readily available in other areas. The Huma Lupa Licious Pale Ale is one of the most drinkable, tasty pales you will find, and his Bellaire Brown is the best London-style brown I've tasted.

EDIT: Three Floyd's is no longer distributed in Ohio...forgot they cut way back on where they send their beers. Still if you can find some, it's worth picking some up.

 

I second Gutter's New Glarus Spotted Cow nomination - a superb beer. Not sure if it's even made anymore, but Celis White is excellent. And always loved Baderbrau while in Chicago.

 

I will heartily support the Sunset Wheat. Mmmm. Also: Pyramid Apricot Hefeweizen. Abita Purple Haze. Yuengling (if it fits the category). I'm huge on Stella Artois right now, but I don't know if that fits the category either.

 

The Celis line has been ressurected and is contract-brewed by Michigan Brewing Company. They indeed do the Celis White. It's distributed throughout Michigan, as well as Oregon, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and New York.

 

It's a Belgian beer and it's mainstream there. I'd recommend Hoegaarden if you want a really good Belgian beer.

 

God I hate parsing Steak Snabler's posts, but ...

Abita is very, very good.

Irony! I'm with Pallister on this one ... Fat Tire sucks.

I don't know if this counts, and I have to swallow my own vomit a little bit, but I like this MINNESOTA beer ...



Pallister and I need to drink together. We can get drunk cheap.

 

Crap! I forgot about Hoegaarden. I have had it. It's fantastic.

 

Celis used to be brewed in Austin. I drank one of its last bottles available in 2002. It was stale as hell, but I still shed a metaphorical tear.

 

That looks like the bottom rung of the beer "aisle" at the Brookfield, Wisc., Courtyard by Marriott.

Other beers:

-- Upland Wheat out of Bloomington, Ind. Unfortunately, it doesn't distribute outside the state line yet, so mainly I stock up at the Indianapolis pizza joint a good friend of mine owns, especially because he sells it to me by the case at cost. Fortunately for me, I've now discovered it's sold in Highland, Ind., only about a 20- to 30-minute drive away.

-- Anything by the Sprecher Brewery of Glendale, Wisc., particularly the Amber Ale and the Hefe Weiss.

-- Any Belgian ale, with priority to Duvel and Chimay Red or Blue. Bonus: they're higher in alcohol content!

 

Sprecher does make good beers, and their sodas are excellent as well- love their Puma Cola, and the kid likes their Root Beer (I did, however, despise their Ginger Ale, which is disappointing cuz I loves me a good ginger ale/ginger beer).

Can't wait to get back to WI this summer. Been a couple years since I've been and am missing some of the beers only available there. Looking to get to Ale Asylum in Madison, hearing good things about them, and possibly Tyreana or Lake Louie Breweries.

 

Ah, the method to my madness.

 

I will echo these.