Southern Tier Microbrewery Tour

This past weekend, husband and I toured the Southern Tier Microbrewery in Lakewood, New York. And being the fantastic examples of parenting, we took our almost 4-year-old along. Afterall, in her 42 months of life, she has developed quite the palate. The Southern Tier Brewery is quite the find! For you Clevelanders, you're probably familiar with their Pumpking or Krampus. I had the great fortune of testing 6 different beers, taking a tour and coming away with a wonderful "juice" glass. We even picked up our first growler of Gemini IPA. Super duper strong ale, that's for sure. I'm also looking forward to cooking with their Chokolat and Porter. They were absolutely yummy during the tour. I also loved the small group informal tours they conduct. There was probably 20 of us - and you could tell by the joking that everyone appreciated a good beer and loved to talk about it. For $8.50/pp, the tour was the best way to spend a Saturday evening.

It's a great day trip being just 2.5 hours from Cleveland (1/2 hour east of Erie, PA). Although after imbibing in their generous pours of six beers, you might want to stay at some kind of roadside lodging.

Top Places to Get a Microbrew in Cleveland

Last night we dined at Deagan's. Can't say enough fantastic things about this place. The microbrew draft beer list is spot on. Amazing selection. I had a Boulder Mojo IPA (a first for me) and a Founder's Porter. Greg had three beers that their combined alcohol percentage would equal 5. Lovely place. Food was phenomenal, too. Bonus points for good food and great beer. But it got us thinking - what are some of the best places to find a good selection of microbrews. We bantered about whether the criteria would include bottles or tap, or both. I'm opting for both in this post. So here's our unofficial list. And keep in mind, we're beer snobs and independent restaurant supporters. So I don't care if Applebee's carries the latest ale, I'm not going to frequent that place.

1. Tremont Taphouse. I dare you to find a place in Cleveland with a better food/beer combination.

2. Harbour Inn. It's a Cleveland Institution and one of the largest microbrew bottle beer selection. As a bonus, if you wear your best jeans to this place, you're probably overdressed.

3. Beer Engine in Lakewood. Best overall beer tap to bottle ratio and amazing burger selection. Cool atmosphere, except for our water who freaked out when he saw my daughter sipping the remains of one of my taste samplers. Chill out, she took in less than an ounce. She doesn't start dancing on tables till we hit the 4 ounce limit.

4. Happy Dog. This has become known as Robin's Birthday place. My last birthday I celebrated here with a hot dog and a PBR. My second drink was an amazing microbrew. Hot dogs with 50 different toppings, tater tots and microbrews. Seriously, is there somewhere better to celebrate any occasion.

5. Deagan's. After tonight, we're definitely adding this place to our list. I was equally impressed with their tap and bottle selection and besides, who else can carry off a tasy burger with damn fine brussel sprouts?!

If you have more recommendations, share your knowledge!