Greetings, Great Beer Now fans and followers! This is the seventh entry in a multi- part series of blog posts relating to the Great Beer Now Rock and Roll Out the Barrel Beer Tour 2018, which took place in Cleveland, Ohio. I traversed the Cleveland, Ohio area making my way to some of the best known and most award- winning breweries in the United States, along with several hidden gems and up- and- comers. Open a can or bottle of your favorite beer and follow along on my journey through one of Ohio’s largest cities. Cheers!
Do you like things that are saucy? It’s an adjective that can mean many things. Sure, it could mean a food that is covered in a generous amount of sauce but it can also mean something that is bold, lively, and even stylish in its attitude or features. There is a brewery in Cleveland that could be defined by all of the above definitions and thus it is aptly named Saucy Brew Works, a brewing and dining establishment located at 2885 Detroit Ave. in Cleveland, Ohio.
Positive Vibes
Saucy Brew Works is a comfortable place for beer and pizza. Founded by brewmaster Eric Anderson and entrepreneur Brent Zimmerman, Saucy Brew Works is located inside the Steelman Building, an older building that once housed a machine shop and later a warehouse. The building was vacant for some time until Saucy Brew Works opened up in 2017.
This brewery is extremely cozy and welcoming, with communal- style seating, a fireplace, and even a second level lounge. The wrap- around bar is situated with the brewhouse behind it, in open view, so no matter where you sit, you can see the shiny steel containers and imagine which delicious beer is brewing or fermenting inside.
Saucy Brew Works has skeeball and pinball for entertainment and several televisions for sports viewing. The second level lounge and the back section, on the other side of the fireplace, have comfy chairs and couches for alternative seating. And if you’re looking for Saucy Brew Works beer, they presently distribute in Ohio and North Carolina with plans to open a brewpub in Columbus, Ohio this summer.
Lively Brews
At Saucy Brew Works, guests can expect to find about 16 beers on tap. Here is a listing of the beers I tried, listed alphabetically by name, followed by the style and my Untappd rating on a five point scale:
- Bahston, Imperial Stout, 4
- Festbier, Marzen, 3.75
- I Can’t Even, New England IPA, 4
- IPA ASAP, American IPA, 4.25
- Resilience Butte County Proud, American IPA, 4
- Separate Czechs, Pilsner, 4
- Three Hos, Spiced beer, 3.75
Overall Average Rating: 3.96
Saucy Brew Works brews solid offerings all- around. The IPA ASAP was my personal favorite, but I liked everything and my taste preference during my visit was more a matter of mood than anything. Serve me the same set of beers on other visit and I would likely select a different beer as my fave, and this is proof positive of the overall quality of everything Saucy Brew Works brews and serves.
A Saucy State of Mind
Cleveland’s Saucy Brew Works is a relaxing and ultra- friendly brewery located west of downtown. Opened only two years ago, the brewery has made great strides and is growing and expanding at a fast clip thanks directly to its solid lineup of beers, tasty pizza, welcoming personnel, and extremely chill atmosphere.
I visited Saucy Brew Works as part of my Cleveland beer tour based on the advice of others and the brewery’s reputation for both quality beer and food. I was ready for lunch and knowing Saucy Brew Works specialized in pizza, I knew there would be excellent, compatible food to go along with my beer. And with a name like Saucy Brew Works, the fact that pizza was the specialty made sense and I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into a delicious pizza pie while also flooding my palate with the goodness of fine craft brew.
Walking into Saucy Brew Works I felt so much at home it was indescribable. The warmth, the fireplace, the relaxed vibe, the non- pretentious folks and so many other factors made me feel like I walked into the living quarters of an old friend. I was tempted to sit right next to the fireplace on the couch, but since I was in a chatty mood and wanted to learn more about Saucy Brew Works and its place in the Cleveland, Ohio beer scene, I decided it was best to make my way to the bar. I went with my usual flight of beer and loved the fact that it was served in a cupcake/muffin baking pan. Again, it’s the little touches like this that make you feel at home when you visit Saucy Brew Works. You want to pull out your cell phone, call up your friends, and invite them all to join you for good beer, good food, and good times.
Saucy Brew Works isn’t just a place for finding great beer and food. Like any great brewery, they also support many causes, like Breakthrough Schools, and they donate spent grains to Fresh Fork Market, for use as animal feed. And when I visited, they were tapping their own version of Resilience Butte County Proud IPA, the Sierra Nevada Brewing inspiration that swept the nation and helped the California fire victims. The emphasis on community and the unyielding support of Cleveland and its economic revival are even more positive reasons to admire Saucy Brew Works and support its mission.
To say something is saucy can mean many different things and while Saucy Brew Works does, indeed, serve up saucy pizza pie, it’s the other side of saucy, the bold and lively side, that fits this establishment best and make it so endearing. It’s a place where you are certain to feel right at home even though you’re in the company of complete strangers, so be sure to pay a visit Saucy Brew Works the next time you’re in the Cleveland, Ohio area. And tell them Great Beer Now sent you.
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