This past Saturday evening was the end of Cleveland Beer Week, which capped things off with the packed beer tasting, Brewzilla at the Galleria at Erieview. Members of the Buzzbin Magazine staff have attended a lot of these festivals over the course of the year, and we must say this was by far the largest turnout of 2011.
Over 70 breweries participated in the event with each offering a handful of their best beers. The Brewer’s Circle, the special VIP section of the event, offered some rare beers along with some tasty appetizers. Among the standouts in the Brewer’s Circle were: Goose Island Minx (an IPA), Bells Oracle (a double IPA), The Brew Kettle’s Funk Works Oak Aged Grand Cru (a sour ale), and Great Lakes Bourbon Barrel Aged Black Out Stout.
The event took place on both the lower and upper levels of the Galleria making the festival quite a luxurious size. Regardless of the spread out space of the event, it was a packed house throughout the establishment. The lower level contained not only the Brewer’s Circle but also the Ohio breweries section of event, one of the highlights of the event. Fat Head’s brought along its just released Yakima Sun (a golden ale) while Willoughby offered up its fan favorite Peanut Butter Cup Coffee Porter. Columbus Brewing Co. gave attendees the chance to taste their recently award-winning Bohdi Double IPA, though the tap would later be blown before everyone would get a chance to sample it.
The upper level boasted some more unique craft beer brews such as Jolly Pumpkin’s Luciernaga (a sour ale) and Three Floyds’ Alpha King (an IPA). Southern Tier and their highly popular Pumpking was in the house as well as their I-90, a pale ale created exclusively for Cleveland Beer Week.
Overall the event was well-worth the price of admission and is a prime example of how much of a presence that Cleveland embodies in the craft beer scene.
