Buckeye Beer Engine

sholland119

Pennsylvania

4.3/5  rDev -0.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Stopped in here for a couple of pints after dinner at Great Lakes. What a great spot!

A nice local pub feel, nicely dark, with about a 25 seat half-octagonal bar and tables all around. Close to 30 taps, with a couple of casks, all displayed on a lucite board behind the bar. Nice emphasis on Buckeye Brewing beers, which we can't get in PA, and otherwise nicely diverse. The bottle list was quite extensive but unnecessary on this visit given the great tap selections on our visit.

Service was warm, welcoming and friendly. I look forward to my next visit.

HV

05-04-2009 19:13:04 | More by sholland119

Dogbrick

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +3.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Finally stopped by the Beer Engine on a visit to Cleveland and encountering an hour plus wait at GLBC. BBE is located just a few miles from Cleveland in on Madison which is not too far from I-90. They have a small private lot and there is metered street parking right out front and in the surrounding blocks.

The Beer Engine is pretty small inside, and has a cozy feel. The bar is toward the center and runs in a semi-circle, with high table seating all around. There is also a small nook to the left with more traditional table seating. Great collection of bottles, steins and breweriana throughout the brewpub. There is a marker board behind the bar showing what is on tap and what price tier the beer is, and a printout is on each table with the same info.

Beer samples come in groups of 4 and run from $1.25-$2.75 each. There are around 25 taps with beer from Buckeye, Bell's, Brooklyn, Southern Tier, etc, as well as 2 cask beers. They also have around 100 bottles. There was a "Christmas In Belgium" event going on during our visit which was evidenced by the large number of holiday-themed Belgian beers both on tap and in bottles.

Service was good on a busy Friday evening. Our server was quick with everything and somewhat knowledgeable about the beers.

Our food was really good. Two pages of the menu are devoted to burgers but I went with pulled pork and was not disappointed. My wife got the Hippie Burger and loved it.

Overall I highly recommend a stop here, and not only if the wait at GLBC is too long. This is an ideal spot with great atmosphere, house beers, guest taps and food. I will definitely be putting in many visits to this place on future visits to Cleveland.

12-15-2008 22:50:32 | More by Dogbrick

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev -5.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

We stopped by here late last August on a run through Cleveland and we had such a solid time that I wanted to drop a positive BeerFly on them. The outside of this place is kind of unassuming from the outside, looking like a former Pizza Hut, but we were quite surprised by the inside. The interior screams "beer bar" with a lot of bright light and wood with tons of breweriana on the walls that gives off a welcoming vibe. A nice looking half-circle bar sits in the middle with plenty of seating and a couple of TVs for sports watching. This is just a nice all around atmosphere for enjoying beer.

The beer selection here was very good. 27 taps in total with 2 cask offerings and a fairly extensive bottle list. The tap list consisted of a nice mix of American Craft beer (including at least 4 beers from Buckeye Brewing) along with some solid Imports as well. I was pleased to see that all was served in appropriate glassware as well. Prices varied with the local Buckeye brews going for around $3.75 a pint while some of the Imports were more expensive. I think I paid around $6.24 for a 10 oz of Alvinne Extra Restyled IPA. As far as food went, we were lucky enough to be able to stop in on a Sunday morning and take advantage of the brunch that they offer. Lots of good options but I went with the BBQ omelet with pulled pork, mustard BBQ sauce, and pepper jack cheese. It was very tasty and filling and worth the $7 I paid for it considering that it also came with potatoes and toast. Service was commendable as well, being both knowledgeable and prompt despite it being quite busy at times during our visit.

This was a solid stop that exceeded our expectations and I would recommend it to anybody that is passing through the Lakewood area. Heck, you can team it up with a trip to the nearby Rozi's for a great local beer experience. I know that we'll be definitely be stopping back by again.

10-27-2008 15:56:21 | More by Kegatron

Deuane

Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev -4.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

A small but well laid out place. A nice U shaped bar with plenty of table seating around in little nooks and crannies. Brewerania stuff abounds on the walls.

The bartender was pleasant and responsive when we needed another round. More than happy to give us a sample of this and that when asked.

Everything we had seemed fresh, no problems concerning the quality.

With 27 taps, 2 beer engines and 125+ bottles how could you go wrong. Maybe a few more taps and this place would get a 5 from me. Nice to see a few, 3 or 4, Buckeye beers available along side some real heavy hitters. Clipper City Peg Leg Stout on cask, a few Rogue offerings and nice, Ommegang Rouge!

In addition to drinking in they offer good pricing on beer to go as well.

We had eaten lunch erlier up the street at Melt so food was not in the cards during this visit, maybe next time.

FOOD EDIT:Visited on a our return trip from Michigan on 12/1/08. Hit the BBE at lunch and enjoyed the $5 sandwhich and a side menu. For $5...and that includes tax...you get to choose from one of half dozen sandwiches and the same amount of sides. I got a BLT wrap and spicy tomato bisque. Both of which were full sized and very tasty.

Overall a very good beer bar I will certainly visit again when in the area. With close proximity to Rozi's, Melt and I-90 how could you go wrong?

10-26-2008 08:48:11 | More by Deuane

adamette

Ohio

4.13/5  rDev -4.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $

There is a great S shaped bar with about 30 chairs, 27 taps and 129 bottles available for purchase. In addition there are 12 tables and 4 booths for an estimated seated capacity of about 125 with a complete capacity of about 150. This is a MUCH smaller place than I thought it might be when I read about it online. My wife and I made a special trip to check it out tonight.

A Very good for a small place. Lots of beer signs, bottle lined the walls and current selections were clearly listed on a chalkboard above the bar. We arrived at about 6 30 pm on a Friday and there were still 7 to 8 tables available. That was not the case 45 minutes later as there were people waiting to be seated in this place that was the size of maybe a McDonald's. I could have done without the neon signs but really a nice atmosphere awaits.

Q Fair to good in my opinion. There is "bar food" but they make their own potato chips (get them!) and they had a nice "Oktoberfest" special list of German foods. The food was pretty good but portions were small I thought. The quality of the beer, however, raises the bar and it is excellent.

Service: It was fine. Our waitress Linda was pretty good, kept our water filled nicely and was attentive to the four beers that I ordered. She even provided a good description of cask ales upon my request.

Selection. Beer: excellent. Food fair to good again. They make their own potato chips (a big plus since they are so good!) but otherwise they have a basic selection, not unlike the Winking Lizard which is a chain bar/restaurant. Again, I did appreciate the German offerings in celebration of Oktoberfest. Beer selection is really very good. See the numbers above. Out of the 27 taps I had previously had two of them and out of the 129 bottles I had maybe 30 of those. Really great beer selection.

Food. I have been commenting on it all along...I will let you read above.

Value: Wife and I had sandwich and fries/chips and I had 4 premium beers and the tab was $43.00. I think that is very good. No beers and it would have been about $20.

Addendum 10 11 09: The selection of on tap beers and available bottles at Bucheye Beer Engine is world class. Anything less than a 5.0 rating is wrong. I am updating my rating from the previous (and wrong) 4.5 to the correct 5.0

10-18-2008 02:03:21 | More by adamette

frazbri

Ohio

4.33/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Buckeye Beer Engine is a brewpub & beer bar located a few miles west of downtown Cleveland and a short drive off of I-90. The building stands alone on the south side of the road, and parking is plentiful.

As you walk in, you'll see a wide open floor plan. The heart of the room is the long, u-shaped bar. Tables ring the outer edges of the tastefully decorated room.

The food at BBE is sandwiches, burgers and comfort food. The monthly specials were german themed for October. Schnitzel and a huge brat & smoked porkchop platter were highlighted. I opted for the cyclops burger. It was a three napkin special and was darn tasty. All burgers are served with homemade chips, and they are a hit.

You'll have plenty of great beer to chose from. There are 27 taps, 2 casks, and 5 pages of bottles listed. I tried a couple of their house beers, Sasquatch and Madison. The Sasquatch is a very drinkable 6% IPA. Madison is Buckeye's Kolsch. A wise man once told me to judge a brewer's ability by the quality of his lightest beer. Buckeye Beer Engine's brewer passes the Kolsch test. It was flavorful, flawless, and drinkable.

It took me too long to get to Buckeye Beer Engine. I will make it a point to return next time I'm in Cleveland.

10-17-2008 14:41:37 | More by frazbri

rhinos00

Colorado

4.45/5  rDev +2.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

The Buckeye Beer Engine is a must stop if you're in the Cleveland area.

Sporting a wall of over 19 beers on tap, there was more than enough of a selection to keep one satisfied. When I stopped by, there was at least 7 different Oktoberfests (i.e. Great Lakes Oktoberfest, Avery Kaiser, etc.) plus several other quality beers (i.e. Bell's Two Hearted Pale Ale, Bear Republic Racer 5, Chimay, etc.). Besides all this, there was a list of bottled beers that went well into the 30's. I ended up leaving the brew engine with 2 bottles of AleSmith Speedway Stout in hand.

Overall, this place offers a great selection beers with a great atmosphere. The bartenders are very knowledgeable about their beers and the food is pretty decent. Definitely worth a visit if in the area.

10-13-2008 12:48:48 | More by rhinos00

Yetiman420

Ohio

4.15/5  rDev -4.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 5 | $$

Stopped in on a Wednesday evening while in Cleveland on business. Seems like a nice neighborhood that might be moving from working class to the younger set.

Compared to some of the world-class beer bars I've visited in the past week, Buckeye comes in at a B.

Compared to the BW-3's I stopped at for a quick pint in Medina (s. of Cleveland) prior to calling it a night, Buckeye comes in at an A+.

The positives are cool neighborhood vibe, adequate tap list, 4 oz samples (which I'm a huge fan of), amazing bar food. In fact, the portabello burger with roasted red bell peppers and rosemary goat cheese is enough to convince you to become a vegetarian. The perrogis (sp?) were also awesome. Some of the best bar food I've encountered.

The negatives, which are hard to ignore, are the Buckeye beers and the strong representation from Barrel House out of Cincinnati. I had a couple 4 oz samples of Buckeye beer and don't have anything positive to report back.

They were doing a Christmas in July theme with their beers which I thought was interested. I wanted to ask how that was going over (one of my requests was out so I imagine well).

I went with their best offerings..

Buckeye Wheat 4oz
Buckeye 76 IPA 4 oz
Buckeye Yuppie 4 oz
an IPA sample
Cask Pint of Heavy Seas
Cask Pint of Bells Porter
Jolly Pumpkin Noel 4 oz
Hivernation 4 oz
Winter Beer (?) 4 oz
Weberbacher Winter 4 oz

08-12-2008 03:07:04 | More by Yetiman420

letsgopens

Pennsylvania

4.3/5  rDev -0.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Although we had a tough time finding it, we arrived at BBE in the early evening on a Saturday. There was plenty of people there but it wasn't overly crowded. We sat and I immediately ordered a Double Simcoe. The burgers were phenomenal and the service was exceptional (however we did luck in to some bar seats so getting the waitresses attention wasn't hard). There were a good 30 quality selections on tap in addition to a lengthy bottle list. The burgers were also enormous, so don't expect to have a ton of room for beer if you intent to finish the whole thing. I learned that lesson the hard way. In any case we had a great time and I will certainly return. No complaints at all. I'm a Pittsburgh guy but from what I hear it doesn't get much better than this place as far as Cleveland is concerned. Give it a try.

07-28-2008 19:02:37 | More by letsgopens

scoobybrew

Iowa

4.08/5  rDev -5.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

I stopped here with my wife on a recent trip to Cleveland. The outside looks like it was a fast food joint previously. As it was around lunchtime, the interior had a lot of natural lighting from the large windows along the front and partially along the sides. They have quite a large bar with plenty of table seating as well. The walls are decorated with a variety of craft and micro signs and banners, giving it a pseudo-sports bar feeling. There was only a manager and one waitress working that afternoon - with the manager seemingly tending to some business with a distributor - so the service was a little slower than perhaps desired. However, this doesn't mean the service was negligent, quite the opposite, but very busy. They had about 30 beers on tap ranging from wheats to Belgians to double IPAs - you name it. There own 'house beers' (smoked kolsch & altbier) were buried in the list and perhaps they should be emphasized a little more because they were tasty. Aside from the taps, there was a very large selection of bottled beers available. The food was very tasty: I had the fried bologna and veggie chips that went extremely well with their house altbier.

Overall, I'd recommend the place if you're stopping for a drink or want to get a sandwich with a beer.

06-21-2008 11:36:05 | More by scoobybrew