Great Lakes Brewing Company

masterbruewer

Ohio

3.8/5  rDev -10.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 3

We ate there on a slow Sunday afternoon.

The place is very cool looking, Old wood bar with an outdoor patio and a very cool cellar bar. The atmosphere was hard to judge since there weren't too many people there. Those we saw seemed pretty cool.

Service was spotty. Despite making professions of my beer geekness and trying to engage the bartender in conversation, she seemed more interested in talking to other staff and folding napkins. To her defense, it seems many restaurant employees do this when business is slow.
I was beginning to get a complex from being ignored, but the bartender pulled out a good save. After the napkins were folded, she began asking me about my vacation that was just ending and about the four other breweries I had been to that week. She made me feel a little better and turned out to be very nice and helpful in my purchase of glassware. (By the way, of all the breweries I'd been to: Pearl Street in Buffalo, Martha's Exchange in Nashua, NH, Wachussett Brewery in Westminster, MA and Northampton Brewing Co in Northampton, MA, Great Lakes had the best prices on glassware.

The quality of all Great Lakes brews I've had has been great. The two I tried that day, Owen's Olympic Pilsener and the Elliot Ness, were fine. Strong flavored and smooth.

The beer selection is pretty good. About 10 choices in a variety of styles.

The food was a little high priced and not too much variety, but it was pretty good.

08-23-2004 02:56:44 | More by masterbruewer

tommyguz

Pennsylvania

4.28/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.75 | $$

Review from 07/21/12
(as posted from my blog)

We were fortunate enough to do a tour and eat at the brewpub.

The tour was pretty cool as they took you around the whole building. It was just like a lot of other beer tours. Good stuff.

The food at the brewpub was really awesome. They had 10 different beers to choose from with a couple that weren't offered in bottles. We sat outside and ate. It was a beautiful day, the atmosphere was fun and it was pretty crowded. We enjoy stopping here anytime we go to Cleveland.

05-08-2013 03:40:03 | More by tommyguz

dailyminefield

North Carolina

4.89/5  rDev +14.8%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

The best brewpub I have ever been to, and I've been to a few dozen. The atmosphere is awesome. There is a throwback, rathskeller-type cellar adorned with a couple fermenting tanks and an old school wooden bar. The main taproom features a huge mahogany bar. There are two different dining areas on the main floor. I understand they have remodeled the upstairs into more dining space. They also feature a tree lined patio on the sidewalk. The building must be atleast 100 years old, very close to downtown Cleveland. They actually do all the brewing across the street, so it almost feels like a little beer campus. There is also a nice gift shop next to the brewpub. The food is above average for a brewery and the service was great.
I really don't know how you beat the atmosphere at Great Lakes.
Oh yeah, and the beer is world class to boot. All of their beers are solid.
If you find yourself anywhere near Cleveland, you must check it out.

05-02-2013 23:25:13 | More by dailyminefield

AlphaKingKegger

Ohio

4.35/5  rDev +2.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.25 | $$

this place is cool and the people are super friendly. Haven't really tried the food here, but the beers are great. Wish I lived closer to sample some of the pub only beers. parking blows, but you're in a busy part of downtown Cleveland. Be sure to check out the basement area when you are there.

04-15-2013 05:32:00 | More by AlphaKingKegger

dbrauneis

New Jersey

4.11/5  rDev -3.5%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.75 | food: 4 | $$

There are several areas at the brewpub location in the Ohio City section of Cleveland and I did not explore all of the areas - in includes a downstairs bar, a main dining area, and a gift shop (I stayed within the main dining area). The vibe is very much what I would expect at a brewpub including the visibility to the tanks and the heavy amounts of wood for decor. It was a Monday night, so the place was very laid back but that was exactly what my table of folks were looking for.

Beers were served at the proper temperature in mostly proper glassware, they were good pours with nice heads and served promptly.

Service was friendly and attentive without being overbearing or lurking at your table - every time we needed something, we looked up and the server was there but I do not recall her ever just showing up or being pushy in any way.

There are 10 beers on tap and they represented a number of different styles (maybe the only duplicate style was there were two different porters available). Seems like they had something on the menu that would appeal to most anyone.

The food was good for pub food and I really enjoyed my selection - burger on the pretzel roll with some very good fries. Nothing super exotic in the food but solid and tasty.

The prices were reasonable and I went to Great Lakes knowing that the beers would be good quality so I was satisfied. Also, coming from the NYC area it seems like prices are always a little cheaper than at home.

03-05-2013 12:11:24 | More by dbrauneis

Browns149

4.6/5  rDev +8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

This brewery makes some of the FINEST beers in the world. They have won multiple GLOBAL awards for their beers. The Christmas Ale is the best Christmas beer I have EVER had. It is a Cleveland tradition to get a 6 pack the day it is released. And now they have Christmas in July were you can go to the brewery and get Christmas Ale on tap in July.

01-12-2013 19:24:31 | More by Browns149

ckraft77

4.05/5  rDev -4.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

Very reasonable prices. Great amount of selection with seasonal beers included.
Amazing tasting food. Huge portions and space for larger groups.
Good tour with history included. Friendly staff. Great for a date, family fun and a day out with a group of friends. Would go again!

01-05-2013 23:20:09 | More by ckraft77

adams82

Michigan

3.85/5  rDev -9.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

Finally visited GLBC! It was *packed* on the particular night of our visit, and there was an exceptional wait, but it was worth it!

The interior was reminiscent of a local joint which made it feel "homey" and the experience was everything that I had hoped for. We sampled fresh pours of Nosferatu, Dortmunder Gold, Edmund Fitz and others that escape me and had an excellent meal to boot. I've been dying to try their beers from a fresh tap, and they did not disappoint.

Service was a little slow, but given the fact that we waited almost 90 minutes to get in and the place was at (over) capacity, it was acceptable. I would prefer to visit on an off peak time/day, but I will not mark down the service as our server was 1) attentive 2) accurate and 3) efficient despite the throng of people that visited this night.

I don't know when my next trip to Cleveland will be, but I'll defiantly stop back at GLBC!

01-04-2013 21:17:04 | More by adams82

LJRat

Ohio

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

The Great Lakes Brew Pub is a nice little place with a great atmosphere The staff was knowledgeable and very helpful and attentive. The price was very reasonable All in all, I'd say that Great Lakes is certainly worth hitting. I'm certainly glad I did!
Old historic building near the Market so you could make this a half day's visit The market across the street is a great place to check out for all your fresh food needs-meat, cheeses, breads, fish and produce. For such a large, multi-level building, the bar is rather small. The beer selection is mostly what they offer in bottles with the exception of maybe one or two. Quality of the beer was actually pretty good, Served in the right glassware at the right temperature. The gift shop was nice and things were reasonably priced

12-18-2012 18:31:09 | More by LJRat

Brubaker

Virginia

2.8/5  rDev -34.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 2.5 | food: 2.5 | $$$$

Visited July 2012: after 10 pm on a Saturday evening.

We were seated outside under a canopy and had a large party 12 people. The food portions were small and pricey 15$ for 2 brats and three small pirogi's.

We tried the beer sampler, which included 5 oz of each of the beers on tap (10). A very hoppy Summer selection. Would rather have a malty Winter selection so our timing was poor.

The area we sat in was near empty, and the service was moderate. Server was often hard to find for refills on soda's.
We were very excited to go here, having heard great things about the brewery. We had a good time, and enjoyed ourselves, but that was more the company we were with than the food or beer.

I can honestly say several of the beers tasted so similar as to not be able to really taste the difference, and mixing an IPA with honey, was NOT a good idea.

08-16-2012 22:00:31 | More by Brubaker