Great Lakes Brewing Co. | TropiCoastal Tropical IPA

The audacity of time, to go super fast! It’s already September, and it feels like summer just got here. Thankfully, one of Cleveland’s finest breweries has a solution, with a new year-round offering to quench your thirst whether grilling for your next backyard BBQ or huddling up around the fire on a cold winter day. Great Lakes Brewing Company TropiCoastal Tropical IPA has a juicy mixture of flavors and hoppiness, enhancing the brewery’s expanding repertoire of spectacular IPAs on tap.

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Great Lakes Brewing Co. | Crushworthy Lo-Cal Citrus Wheat Ale

Receiving good news can be a thrill, but receiving good beer news is even better! Months ago, when Great Lakes Brewing Co. (GLBC) in Cleveland, OH introduced their beer lineup for 2021, a newcomer to the ranks appeared on their list. I saw the style, and grew excited at this new option for a new year. Soon after that, we received fresh can art and more tantalizing details about this beer. Now, Crushworthy Lo-Cal Citrus Wheat, one of GLBC’s next offerings, has finally arrived right on target, a year-round ale for those thirsty for something different.

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BREAKING | Great Lakes Brewing Co. Launches New Canning Line, Warehouse Facility

Three years ago, Great Lakes Brewing Company  (GLBC) made the leap and began canning various beers, including seasonal favorite Rally Drum Red Ale and an earlier offering, Turntable Pils. Starting in 2020, the brewery moved their flagship beer, Dortmunder Gold Lager, to cans, as well as their Great Lakes IPA. Another year-round superstar, Hazecraft IPA, soon found its way into the lineup as well. And just this week, GLBC shared more exciting news: a new canning line and warehouse facility recently opened in Strongsville, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb. GLBC now has the ability to can its beer closer to home, and offer a larger variety of brands starting in 2021.

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Great Lakes Brewing Company | Hazecraft IPA

Buckle up! Great Lakes Brewing Company (GLBC) has some exciting new hardware, and they have already released it through the stratosphere. A year-long favorite that will not disappoint has arrived to wet your whistle during these waning summer weeks, deep into winter. I am talking about Hazecraft IPA, available now everywhere GLBC distributes.

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Great Lakes Brewing Company | Mexican Lager with Lime

Summer has arrived like it always does, even in these rather unusual circumstances. Now that my favorite season is here, a spectacular variety of warm-weather refreshments have appeared. Great Lakes Brewing Company (GLBC) is no stranger to providing summertime tipplers and this year they have released multiple beers set to quench the thirst of the most parched beach-goer and barbecue attendee. Here’s a beer that will entrance the multitudes: Mexican Lager with Lime.

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BottleHouse Brewery & Meadery | Rising Star Stout

It’s not a shock that I’m a fan of BottleHouse Brewery & Meadery. I’ve shared this love before when I wrote about one of their award-winning ales in 2018. Since it’s Stout Month, I felt it appropriate to share another stellar example from the Cleveland area and one of my personal favorites: Rising Star Stout.

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Great Lakes Brewing Company | Midnight Moses

Cleveland-based Great Lakes Brewing Company has created a vast array of beers over the many decades the brewery has been in existence. They recently resumed brewing and distributing an old favorite, Holy Moses Belgian White Ale, year-round in 2018. Not too long after that, raspberries were added to the recipe and we had Holy Moses Raspberry White Ale filling our glasses with fresh fruit and hints of summer. Not to be outdone, Great Lakes is bottling another variation of their original Moses recipe this year. Great Lakes Brewing Company’s Midnight Moses is a dark Belgian-style ale that rounds out the collection of Moses beers for one and all to sip and enjoy.

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Great Lakes Brewing Company | Great Lakes IPA

Year-round offerings, especially for long-standing breweries, are special for various reasons. With Great Lakes Brewing Company (GLBC), one would be hard-pressed not to have a beer of theirs that has become a mainstay, a fall-back favorite. In 2019, Great Lakes has done something really, truly special: not just creating a new year-round, but also commemorating the people who make the brewery what it is and keep it a sustainable community. Great Lakes IPA is a welcome addition to the brewery’s already stellar cast of characters. It’s a beer I foresee fitting in nicely with old favorites.

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Platform Beer Co. | High Brow Barista

Like many of Cleveland’s newer craft beer bastions, Platform Beer Co. is attuned to the desires of beer connoisseurs and consumers. They have tackled many popular varieties from New England IPAs to saisons and goses. Platform is willing to experiment and re-evaluate their styles, releasing many offerings throughout Ohio, sometimes for a limited time (like their Small Batch IPA series, for example). Whenever I enter a local supermarket, I’m amazed by how prolific they have become. Still, some of their tried-and-true mainstays are what keep me coming back. One of Platform Beer Co.’s seasonals, High Brow Barista, is a particular favorite of mine.

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Fat Head’s Brewery | Sunshine Daydream

This is it, my friends. We are in November. At least for many of you throughout the country, the weather has shifted. The jet stream has begun to re-calibrate. Winds are picking up, the clouds are more uniform, and the precipitation has already started to solidify into the four-letter word most people loath to use. It’s inevitable, though. Unless you are in Yuma or Miami, or you have your sights set on Hawaii for a month, that thermometer isn’t going to budge much over 60 degrees for awhile. Your bright and sunny days are going to be at a minimum. Thankfully, a well-known brewery has just the antidote to shoo away the clouds and bring back the warmth for a little while. Fat Head’s Brewery’s Sunshine Daydream is at your beck and call; this session IPA is available all year long, rain or shine.

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The Bottlehouse Brewery & Meadery | Spring Gruit

In the Cleveland, OH area, there are breweries that most of the locals and others who are not so local mention right away as must-visits. The Bottlehouse Brewery and Meadery has become a steady favorite for many craft beer fans. This taproom and brewery has been receiving a larger number of recommendations from those who have experienced the beer, the mead, the cider and the sours created over the past six years.

Today, the beer gracing the spotlight is a more exotic ale, one that has received a bit more press this past year. It also happens to be on tap and in bottles this month, so the time was ripe to share this beautiful beverage with a wider audience. Let me introduce you to The Bottlehouse Brewery and Meadery’s Spring Gruit.

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Great Lakes Brewing Company | Holy Moses Raspberry White Ale

Last January, I waxed nostalgic a bit. Great Lakes Brewing Company decided to re-introduce Holy Moses White Ale as a constant, everyday staple in the beer fridge at the local, and not-so-local, supermarket. I quivered with anticipation when I heard the news, and then I balked at their seasonal May release. It was a beer that would add raspberries to its refreshing citrus undertones, and at the time I did not think I would be ready for that transition. After GLBC’s foray into Holy Mimosas after the Holy Moses release earlier this year and after trying to make them myself—I used mango juice—the idea that there would be another form of Holy Moses to grace our shelves and our bellies was more exciting than the initial reveal. Now, Great Lakes Brewing Company and Holy Moses Raspberry White Ale has arrived, just in time for the warmer weather—FINALLY.

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Great Lakes Brewing Company | Holy Moses White Ale

As a wee lad of 21, I waltzed into the Great Lakes Brewing Company brewpub before a baseball game with my family, and I was able to buy a beer there legally for the first time in my life. This was a wildly new experience for me, as all I had encountered in the past had been Budweiser, MGD and similar beverages. Craft beer was uncharted territory. Therefore, as I stood there with a much larger selection, I opted for something I never bothered to try before, a beer whose label stood out from the others, a beer named after the founder of the city of Cleveland: Holy Moses White Ale.

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Great Lakes Brewing Cans Are Now Available!

The wait is over! Great Lakes Brewing Company cans are now available for purchase. The brewery made an announcement in March that it would begin packaging some of its products differently. GLBC has been creating a solid product for 29 years, and what better way to continue this legacy than by promoting some of their newer offerings just in time for the summer season?

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Platform Beer Co. | Shanghai Noon Gose

ABV: 4.2% | IBU: 4.3

When people think of Cleveland beer, the first name that comes to mind is Great Lakes Brewing Company – and rightly so. However, as the craft beer market in Cleveland has flourished, other names are coming to the forefront.

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Great Lakes Brewing Company | Turntable Pils

Turntable Pils graphic courtesy of Great Lakes Brewing Company, artwork by Darren Booth.

ABV: 5.3% | IBU: 35

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Ultimate 6er | Cleveland Indians

It has been nineteen years since the Cleveland Indians made it back to the Fall Classic. But I suppose we cannot claim to have the biggest drought at the present especially with the opponent we have…

This time around, we have a scrappy, injury-laden team many have considered underdogs the entire way by almost all the sports analysts out there. But we like it that way. It’s just like Cleveland to be a fly in the ointment, the ones who people count out immediately. So in this Ultimate 6er we include  some of the best of Cleveland’s beer scene – with a few surprises that some people may not have considered to try as they head to their favorite bar to check out the Tribe battle with the best of ’em, or perhaps even watching the games in the comfort of home with a few close Cleveland Indians baseball fans.
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Great Lakes Brewing Company | Steady Rollin’ Session IPA

Image courtesy of Great Lakes Brewing Company. Label artwork by Darren Booth.

I fell in love with a beer last summer. It was during Burning River Fest; Great Lakes Brewing Company had just released a new brew to the attendees of the festival. I enjoyed that beer immensely back then, and I waited patiently for it to make its inevitable return the following year. That following year is now, and make a return that beer did: Steady Rollin’ Session IPA has now been on the market this spring in sampler packs and hopefully can sneak into your cooler for retreats out on the water or at the park this summer.

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Fat Head’s Brewery | Pimp My Sleigh

ABV: 10.5% | IBU: 30

We’re still getting into the holiday spirit; almost two weeks until the 25th arrives! Once again, I have a Belgian Ale for your enjoyment, this time from Fat Head’s Brewery brewed in the sunny Cleveland area. I’m not joking this time around; we’ve actually had a mild and somewhat sunny late fall with little snow. Hopefully that will change soon. As we wait for the wintry weather, I would advise you all to stock up on your heavy ales, and Fat Head Brewery’s Pimp My Sleigh is a perfect choice for your evenings around the Yule Log this holiday season.

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Platform Beer Co. | Esther Belgian Christmas Ale

ABV — 9.5%

IBU — approximately 20

It’s that time of year. Yes, Christmas is coming up, quickly, and this year the amount of early Christmas seems to have reached an even higher level! Hints of the season have already begun popping up all over the place: in department stores, specialty shops, on your friends’ Facebook feeds. Truth be told, you don’t have to go to Bronner’s in Michigan to get your taste of the holidays early anymore. Additionally, Christmas ale releases have already happened, much to many people’s delight. Even though one the biggest cult beer followings in Cleveland is the Christmas Ale from Great Lakes Brewing Company—which is awesome this year, by the way, better than the last couple of years—Platform Beer Company has released a very nice, very different style of ale for your holiday imbibing needs: Esther Belgian Christmas Ale.

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