Ohio's Best Beer Bars
10/5/2009 | Ivan Sheehan
If beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy, as famed tippler Benjamin Franklin once said, then the Almighty must have a particular fondness for the Buckeye State
Since its statehood, in 1803, Ohio has attracted wave after wave of beer-loving immigrants from Ireland, Germany and Eastern Europe. The Brits and Irish brought with them UK-style stouts, ales and porters. The Germans followed with lighter, crisper lagers and pilsners. By the late 1800s, Ohio was home to one of the most robust brewing industries in the nation – and boasted one of the highest per capita beer consumptions.
Cheers to that!
Scouting around modern day Ohio, it appears that little has changed. Our collective thirst for quality suds continues to be quenched in grand fashion. In towns big and small, world-class beer lists are drawing hopheads out of the cellar and into the saloon.
Northeast
In the 1870s, Cleveland was home to over 30 breweries. That rich history paved the way for some of the state’s best beer bars. In Lakewood, longtime brewer Garin Wright runs the popular Buckeye Beer Engine, a tavern that showcases selections from the best breweries around, including Wright’s own Buckeye Brewing. The cozy bar is a beer-lover’s paradise, boasting 25 hard-to-find gems on tap, including cask-conditioned ales and unique seasonals. The tap handles stay busy, but so too do the cooler doors, filled as they are with 200 top-flight bottle pours. Navigating the brews is made easy thanks to a descriptive beer menu that lists style, bitterness, alcohol, price and glassware.
Less than a half hour’s drive from the Beer Engine is the Brew Kettle Taproom & Smokehouse, located in a suburb outside Cleveland. Beer nuts flock here for brewer Chris McKim’s singular concoctions, which he sells under the Ringneck Brewing label. Sample the sobriety-crushing Old 21 IPA, clocking in at 9% alcohol, or dial it back with a quality session beer like Victory’s Prima Pils. All in all, some two dozen varieties are on tap for tasting. For those who’d rather brew their own, the attached brew-on-premises provides all the equipment, ingredients and know-how to craft an award-winner of one’s own.
Northwest
There are few better places in Northwest Ohio to fill a glass than Daddy-Oh’s (4044 Monroe St., 419-473-9100). The exterior of this Toledo haunt is a bit rough-and-tumble, as is the well-worn interior, but the atmosphere is friendly and the beer divine. Having absorbed the inventory of a neighboring beverage store, the bar stocks more than 100 bottles of micros and imports. Over a dozen seasonal taps keep things fresh, featuring such nuggets as New Holland Brewing’s Dragon’s Milk, as well as Founder’s Dirty Bastard, and Bell’s Amber and Oberon. Don’t worry; the macros are all here as well.
If you point your compass south of Toledo, you’ll arrive in the largely rural community of Upper Sandusky. The quaint town is the last place one might expect to uncover a killer beer list, but that’s exactly what folks find at
M.J. Mugsy’s (123 W Wyandot Ave., 419-294-5355). For more than a decade, owner Mike Meeker has been educating area residents on the finer points of beer. Sample Goose Island’s 312 Urban Wheat on draft or dip into the bottle category to plumb the stellar Belgian entries. The “100-Beer Club” encourages patrons to sample that impressive number of the bar’s offerings.
Central
If you’ve ever visited Columbus’ hopping Short North area, you know there is no shortage of spots devoted to pricey cocktails. Luckily, there is also a down-to-earth joint to knock back a few cold ones with the “girls.” At Surly Girl Saloon, owners Marcy Mays, Elizabeth Lessner and Carmen Owens blend a kitschy bordello-inspired décor with a penchant for strong drink and raucous times. A tastefully selected beer list features two dozen drafts, giving new meaning to the phrase Girl Power. Fans of the locally produced Columbus Brewing Company can always find a seasonal offering or two.
Roughly 30 miles east of Columbus is Granville, a charming small town with big appeal. Located in the heart of town, Brews Café & Deli is a multilevel shrine to hops and barley. A picturesque exterior gives way to a lively atmosphere, boasting more than two dozen seasonal draft selections representing all the major micro producers: Stone, Sierra Nevada, Dogfish Head, Rogue, Duvel, Avery... Hundreds of bottle choices are available in large coolers behind the bar, providing plenty of eye candy for even the most jaded beer snob.
Southwest
Chappys Tap Room & Grille is one of two excellent beer bars in the Dayton area. Named after the party-loving, Rolls Royce-driving eccentric, Abdul Raja – dubbed “Chappy” by pals – the pub belies its strip-mall surroundings thanks to handsome woodwork and comfortable leather seating. A detailed “beer book” features 100-plus bottles and 30 draft selections, with tasting notes for everything from Belgian Achel blond to Ohio-made beers from Cleveland’s Great Lakes Brewing and Akron’s Hoppin’ Frog Brewery.
Dayton’s Boston’s Bistro & Pub was dubbed by Stone Brewing Company as “The Most Arrogant Bar in America” for selling more of Stone’s Arrogant Bastard than anyplace else on the planet. Despite the title, guests shouldn’t expect arrogant service. Owner David Boston’s family has been serving drinks to Dayton residents since before Prohibition, and at his eponymous bistro and pub, that tradition of service continues. Visitors will find more than a dozen taps touting such limited-release suds as Boulder Beer’s Flashback 30th Anniversary Ale. What’s not on tap likely is represented on the 150-beer bottle list.
A solid beer bar with celestial aspirations, The Comet is a local favorite in Cincinnati’s Northside neighborhood. The Bohemian space may lack some creature comforts, and many of the hipster clientele can be found sipping oh-so-ironic PBRs, but the main draw still is the top-notch bottle and draft beer selection. Tap pours are typically micros from brewers such as Founders, Avery, Victory, Bell’s and Great Lakes. Guinness is a staple. Three overflowing coolers stash more than 100 additional labels, with all the German, Belgian and stateside micros present and accounted for.
Southeast
Thanks in no small part to the Ohio University, Athens has blossomed into one of the state’s most respectable beer-drinking burgs. The best place to order a cold one is at the lively Casa Nueva Restaurant, Cantina & Bodega. Students and locals flock here to enjoy daily specials that highlight beers from around the state and beyond. The Ohio-centric draft beer selection includes seasonal specialties from Buckeye Brewing, Great Lakes Brewing, Marietta Brewing, and Athens-based Jackie-O’s. For a uniquely potent potable, sample the pawpaw wheat, an Ohio-brewed beer made from locally harvested fruits.