Platform Beer Co.

I went to Platform for the first time this past Monday night, to my surprise it was trivia night! Let me tell you this is no novice trivia either so if you have some competitive friends great night to go! Of course the beer was great and the atmosphere is fun. They also have the super market serving a selection of their wonderful goodies. I of course had to have the green apple grilled cheese and jambalaya, which if you haven’t tried either, what are you waiting for! Overall a pleasant place to have a fun pick me up after the Monday snooze all day.

Trivia night is gun! Awesome variety of brews. Like that they offer other breweries also!

After seeing all of the positive reviews for Platform Beer Co., I decided I needed to visit to sample a flight of their beers/​ales.
I following beers were in my flight:
Cerealism Stout (8.0% ABV)
Cherimoya Project w/​Kafir Lime IPA (7.0% ABV)
Brown Study Ale (4.0% ABV)
Red Cup RIPA (6.8% ABV)
Speed Merchant White IPA (6.0% ABV)
Saison De Mure (7.7% ABV)
Symon Says Saison (6.0% ABV)
My two favorites were the Speed Merchant White IPA and the Symon Says Saison — which was very citrusy for a Saison! Tasty and interesting! The two guys working the taps/​bar were very knowledgable about the local craft beer scene — so it was interesting to chat with them about it.
Overall, enjoyed tasting all of their offerings!
I also ended up having a pint of Ale from another Ohio craft brewery — the Dalton Session IPA from Columbus Brewing Co.:
Also a pretty good Session IPA!

Loved this place! Great selection of house beers, plus some amazing guest beers like BFM. The pop-​up kitchen from Chef Dick was great as well.

Biggest complaint is NEVER enough seating. We try to go for brunch and wait and wait around for a table IF we’re lucky to get one. Also, we always smell burnt after leaving. Needs better ventilation.
Beers are good. Like local brew. Just need some freakin tables!!!

Another Craft Beer Brewery in a saturated market of Cleveland, Ohio. Street parking. Home type of feeling when you are in the bar. Grab samples of the beers so you know what ones you like and what ones you don’t. Then you are man up and get a big boy drink after you figure our which one you like. Rotating beer menu so it is never the same. A place you have to at least hit once if you are in the Cleveland area.

Platform is hands down my favorite Cleveland brewery and one of my favorite bars in the city. I really like their indoor space, but the patio is the best!
I really enjoy that they do unusual things with beer — add fruit, chocolate or the one time it had bacon. Not all of them are crazy but I appreciate that they take risks with a few styles. I also enjoy that there is usually a food truck or someone selling sandwiches for when you need a snack.
I am really happy for their success so far and thrilled I can pick up a six pack in the store!

Platform popped up just over a year ask and it’s a great addition to the Cleveland Craft beer scene!
They are a shining example of small but mighty. They have a great variety of beers ranging from kafir like to pig rib infused brews.
While they don’t have a kitchen they bring in local chefs and restaurants to provide food most weeknight as and weekends. It’s a great way to sample some of Cleveland’s up and coming.
In addition to helping chefs they are advocates to helping further the Cleveland beer scene with their home brew program. It helps home brewers become serious about beer!
This establishment is about beer and so much more! If you are a fan a Cleveland and beer this place is a must visit!

I really enjoyed the environment here. The place is huge inside and I love that they have Platform beers as well as other beers to choose from. My friends and I came here on a Saturday and got to indulge in a few items made by The Grocery. I love the idea of having a guest restaurant each day of the week they are open.
I can’t wait to come back!

Great Cleveland brewery. Visited for the first time this past weekend and was very impressed by the variety of beer and the knowledge of the staff. Great outdoor patio! Will definitely return.

I loved it all. The Grocery was there with some delicious brunch items and six shooter coffee was providing the caffeine. My group got samplers of all the platform beers plus some other brews that were on tap that sounded interesting. This place was way busier than I thought an 11am on a Saturday would be, which made it fun. The patio was reserved for a beer tour group, but our table was close enough to the open wall that we got to enjoy the fresh air.

Our final stop on the brewery tour! Platform is a pretty cool spot. They have quite a list of beers between their own and other breweries. I stuck to their beers for the night.
I really liked their porters– Vanilla, Bone and Raspberry. The bartender didn’t recommend the Blood Orange one. They were very smooth and had great flavor. I don’t think they had an IPA, except for a black IPA, which was just OK. I was sort of surprised because IPA’s are so popular. I’m not mad at it though. I know IPA’s tend to dominate the draft lists. Platform definitely had a good variety of beers on draft.
The space is pretty open. Loved the outdoor seating. We had a beautiful night and enjoyed it very much!

Happy (belated) one year anniversary Platform! I’m not sure Cleveland was aware of the greatness brewing here last Fourth of July, but it definitely knows it now! Platform has evolved into one of the top beer spots in Cleveland. This brewery has some of the tastiest and creative beers, a few of my personal favorites being the Humblebrag Saison and the Sweet Potato beer (from the fall), but their one year anniversary party had four varieties of a Chocolate Rye Porter that was aged with: 1. Blood Oranges 2. Raspberries 3. Vanilla 4. BONES! A bit creepy, right? I’m not sure whose bones, but I tried all four varieties and bones was my second favorite– blood orange took the gold. I try to keep my eye on their Facebook for upcoming taps or new draught list.
Along with the crafty brews, Platform’s brew masters and bartenders have a depth of knowledge on the brewing process for the different styles of beers. Even the guest beers! I’ve had extensive conversations with the staff to learn about the style of beer I happen to be drinking/​sampling, and they are happy to enlighten me. Platform even has an incubator program to help get a home brewer established and even tap a few of their beers at Platform. High five to expanding the Cleveland beer community!
The have an open modern warehouse setting. Practical for a brewery. Picnic tables are out on their patio for Clevelanders to enjoy those rare rays of sun.
I’m very excited that Platform recently started canning and distributing some beers– the Cleveland Palesner and the Speed Merchant. I hope more are to come! Maybe on a seasonal basis?
Platform’s focus is beer– They feature a rotating list of local food vendors for sustenance. Oh! If you’re a beer yogi, they also host Balance and Brews. Yoga at a brewery? Yes, please!

Definitely one of my favorite bars in C-​town. It’s very open and modern inside and they have an awesome patio. They always have outstanding guest beers and they brew some very, very good beers as well. They have an ipa that is fantastic (can’t remember the name) and for a while in the winter, they brewed an amazing bourbon barrel aged stout. They don’t have a kitchen, but they do have a rotating list of other restaurants preparing food. Yesterday they had Ninja City and I have seen momocho as well as the Grocery there in the past. They open at 10 on Saturday for brunch (or drinks) but are closed on Sundays, which would be my only complaint about the place.

Platform is a great place to go with a group of friends. They have a great selection of beers on tap and a back yard type feel to the patio. There are several picnic tables outside and large tables inside. It has a very modern and upscale feel. Would definitely return!

Hey alright this is my favorite new brewery! I’ve been coming here since they opened in June/​July 2014. At first the beer was only ok. Then they made some really cool ones, then they brought a larger brewing system online but stopped brewing for a few weeks in the process, and now they’re back to building up their stock of great house made beers.
They’re making some cool stuff that you won’t find many if any other breweries in Cleveland doing. Their Black Eagle, a lightly smoked 4.5% grodziskie style beer is wonderful, and I’ve never encountered anyone else brewing that style commercially. They do a pretty good job with my favorite style, saison, though they’re usually a little sweeter in the finish than I prefer.
The New Albion ale is a recreation of the original craft beer of America — New Albion brewing started in 1976 and closed a few years later, but not before inspiring the likes of Sierra Nevada and others. Platform re-​brewed the original recipe alongside Jack Mcauliffe, the now old original brewmaster, and it’s wonderful. Just make sure to get a fresh taste of New Albion, like within a week or 2 of brewing, it seems to get a little long in the tooth after long. But when it’s fresh, wow, it’s good.
Also prices are better than most other breweries in Cleveland, especially for happy hour, growler hour, and now and later. Party on.

If you’re in to beer, I mean really in to beer, this is your new favorite spot.
Cleveland is turning into a craft beer Mecca, but don’t go here expecting a list of your favorite breweries on tap. Nope, here’s the place to check out some lesser known brewers, and some obscure beer styles.
Two tips:
1) Unless you’re completely familiar with the style (and the style is clearly stated), get a sample. You’ll avoid getting a full glass of something… Interesting. Better to drink a shot glass of something a bit too funky than pay for a pint.
2) Friday happy hour. 4:00pm-7:00pm is $ 8 growlers. Yes, you read that right. Eight bucks for 64 oz of one of their weekly specials. Can’t go wrong there, amirite?
Go on a Friday late afternoon, try a couple beers you’re not going to find anywhere else, and take home a cheap growler. Oh, and they bring in someone new each week to cater food. They’re basically your one stop shop for something new each week.

I can’t believe I forgot to review this place. I’m so glad to see they are really starting to overhaul my neighborhood. I always wanted somewhere nice and CLOSE to drink at. I even saw a cute little Pomeranian in there! No food when I stopped in but we were looking to drink only.
I had a cider, which was awesome not too sweet and really crisp. My friend got a local porter and he raved about it. Parking when it’s busy would be the only downside, I could lose the calories!

Exposed brick walls? Check.
Lightup, round, nondescript beer taps (think Monk’s, P.J. Hanley’s or Bier Market)?Check.
Some unrecognizeable Indie (chill music) playing off someones Apple product? Check.
Stark wood and chrome contrast décor? Check.
Table of young professionals head-​to-​toe in American Apparel garb having seemingly intelligent yet vapid conversation? Check.
Food truck serving something «asian inspired» or something in taco form? Check.
Tshirts with the words «Ohio» and «beer» somewhere on them? Check.
Outright this would be a place I would run from but being a beer slut I had to check it out. Came for happy hour and the bartenders were more than friendly about telling us the specials for said happy hour and even ringing one in before the 7pm hour came upon us. The «vibe» and «space» (both words which need to be exiled from the English lexicon due to cheese-​dickness) were kinda unoriginal and remind me of every bar in Brooklyn or the homogenized W. 25^th street area now but the BEER is what will keep bringing me back! The sour hefe was awesome as well as the dark saison. They have a great selection of guest beers but were priced rediculously high for what they are. But if ya drink the house beers you cant go wrong. Thats the point anyway, right?! So, I will let the lyrics from Queen sum it up for all you kids out there:
Oh oh people of the earth
Listen to the warning the seer he said
For those who hear and mark my words
Listen to the good plan
Oh, oh, people can you hear me (oh, oh, people can you hear me)
(Oh, oh, people can you hear me)
Now I know (now I know) (now I know)
Now I know (now I know) (now I know)
Now I know (now I know) (now I know)
Now I know that you can hear me (now I know that you can hear me)
(Now I know that you can hear me)
If ya like really good beer run, dont walk to this place. Only drawback for me is I like my places with a lil more history and grit. This newfangled hip, hotspot stuff was done years ago in other cities and suprisingly just now catching on here in Clevo. Great for the city but not anything groundbreaking. Now, if someone could recreate the days when I drank warm Black Label and read a 70s copy of Juggs magazine in my Grandpas basement I would be right at home…
P. S. When its 90 degrees out, the bartender’s faux hawk is drenched and the young professionals are sweating through their salmon colored shorts its time to turn the friggin AC on…

This is gonna be hard for me, but I’m gonna try to keep this review short and sweet. Will I succeed? The excitement is palpable.
The Platform Beer Co. One part killer Cleveland craft brewery. One part craft brewery university and new business incubator. About a five minute drive from the overhyped, overcrowded, overeverythingness of the chunk of West 25 St. that has become synonymous with Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, a gutted and repurposed piece of the city’s history is home to its newest craft brewery.
It’s still got that new business smell. Breathe deeply denizens as that smell doesn’t tend to linger long. Exposed brick, old-​fashioned yet brand new incandescent lamps overhead, vintage games, patio out back, plenty of seating. I really did like the look and feel of the joint. Once inside you soon forget that your on the no-man’s land between «safe» white-​bread Cleveland and the real city. An area in transition, that’s for sure. I really hope this remains a safe haven for the true worshipers of craft beer and not some snobby, smaller version of its older brother up the street.
The beer selection is, of course, amazing. It took some time for Platform to get their feet planted firmly on their new grounds but they’ve finally got a decent selection of their own beers on tap. Five different brews, to be exact. I ordered a flight of all five and was in craft beer geek nirvanaland. Sure, at $ 2 a shot the samples were on the pricey side, but pricey relative to what? I didn’t really mind. You might. I once heard a guy complain about $ 4 craft beer. Whatever.
I don’t know why you wouldn’t at least start with some of the house beer, but if you want to they’ve got plenty to choose from on the guest beer side of things. A total of 24 different taps. Groovy. The brewery is right there, in your face. Big stainless steel tanks, insulated draught lines, the brewmaster busily brewing as you enjoy the fruits of his labor. You can’t help but appreciate his hard work because you can’t help but see it all around you.
During the time of our visit, sometime around 6pm, Friday, the crowd was quite sparse. Not really good for business but good for me. The music an eclectic mix of everything. American bluegrass, top 40, it worked. Brightly lit and wide open the space is airy and inviting. I bet it looks cool at night under the wash of the yellowish lights over the bar. Service was relaxed and friendly. Not pretentious. Efficient some of the time.
For food, it’s all done truck style. Platform doesn’t have a kitchen. They’ve decided to leave the culinary concoctions to the pros by partnering with several local food trucks. Every day of the week they’ve got a different truck to tempt your buds. Check their Facebook page for more details.
This is my kind of place. It’s a bar that’s in love with itself and what it stands for. Not in a narcissistic way. In a way that’s full of confidence and self-​assuredness. You can feel it. They know who they are and what they are setting out to do. They want to bring even more great beer to the city of Cleveland. I can get behind that. No doubt.
I know. It wasn’t short. Oh well.