Akron Ohio Beer bars

Anyone think Akron needs a better beer bar? There are a couple but nothing great. I made a thread about Grand Rapid being an awesome beer city.

Could Akron be like Grand Rapids? Both cities are similiar in size.

i was just at 69 taps. It was like a college bar. Dirty, dirty lines. Dirty, dirty glasses. selection was ok - 69 taps - but I bet at least 30 were BMC or BMC owned. price was right tho, 4 pints of craft for $13.

101 Bottles in Kent has a great Beer selection that is on constant rotation. Its a small bar inside thier bottleshop that has about 12 taps with no BMC in sight!

The Lockview in downtown Akron has a great selection of draft and bottled craft beers.
No BMC here, and the staff knows what they are talking about.
Also, the food is very good - specialty cheese sandwiches.

Bedford isn't too far away if you just hop up Route 8, go to Lizardville.

Melt! Bra and Grilled has a great selection and amazing food. They have 3 locations I'm aware of. Lakewood, Cleveland Heights and Independence. Worth the drive.

Hell, why not head straight to the source? Great lakes is on the west side of Cleveland...

unclephilly said:

Hell, why not head straight to the source? Great lakes is on the west side of Cleveland...

Click to expand...

IMHO there are several better brewpubs/ brewerys in the Northeast Ohio area. Fat Head, Brew Kettle, Market Garden Brewery to name a few.

In order for Akron to be like Grand Rapids, you need to be lucky enough to have great people decide to dedicate part of their life to beer-centric businesses. Here in GR, there are 4-5 business partners that decided that not only was beer important to enriching a community, but also that beer could be the backbone for a successful business. That type of person doesn't grow on a tree, so Grand Rapids is extremely lucky for those individuals/partners/groups to choose Grand Rapids as their home.

Maybe that type of individual is lurking on this forum somewhere - and wants to make Akron their home.

Downtown Akron has a surprisingly good selection at various establishments for a city of our size. (I won't mention 69 Taps because I've never been there, but the above description fits with what I've heard.) Here's my survey of the Downtown beer scene...

• Lockview (mentioned above) has a great selection that spans most styles (although I personally think they could use more big Belgians)
• Baxter's (next door to Lockview) just opened and has a very ambitious bottle selection with a dozen-plus drafts, although the staff could be a little better educated on what they're serving
• Restaurant Bricco has a very nice bottle selection, with a good variety of imports and American craft
• Crave carries a nice menu of 50+ bottles, which includes a lot of good beers but isn't really "curated"
• Ohio Brewing, just south of Exchange, has just opened a tasting room. Their beers are also available at Canal Park when the Aeros are playing
• Thirsty Dog, just south of downtown, has an excellent tasting room where they server quite a few handles that aren't available anywhere else. They really produce a lot of very good beers
• And this list would be remiss without mentioning Hoppin' Frog. While not in downtown, or offering a tasting room, they are producing some outstanding beers that are getting some national recognition

The problem is, outside of downtown, there isn't a whole lot else in Akron, aside from Winking Lizard in Fairlawn. But that withstanding, I think we're doing pretty well for a city our size. Good beer is just starting to become popular here. I'm thinking (hoping!) that we'll start seeing more good beer options around town (along with better restaurants).

Granted, I don't think we'll be trading shots with Grand Rapids anytime soon. But there are some good options available here in Akron. People here just need to Think Globally and Drink Locally.