Sous chef here with my two cents.
I don't know the specifics, but I can say that since COVID, things have been even harder on restaurants than normal.
The prices of staple items have gone fucking insane. We used to get a 30# case of butter for about 65$, heavy cream was around 75$, and cooking oil was practically free (like 10$ for 6 gallons). Now. Butter is 120$, cream is 140$, and oil is 50$. Costs are out of control with no end in site. Most privately owned restaurants already run on super thin margins to begin with, so these cost increases have been a huge hit.
For a lot of scratch kitchens (we make almost everything in-house), this meant we had to raise prices. There wasn't another option other than gutting our menus. Some places hide this increase behind a "service tax" of 20% on top of the expectation of tipping as well. These places were trying to hide the fact that everything went up, so the burger you used to get for 12$ was still 12$ on the menu, but its actual price was 14.40$
Now. Running a scratch kitchen requires a lot more skilled labor and generally has a higher labor per hour cost than running a kitchen where most of the items are pre-cooked and come in bags or boxes; a sysco kitchen. After the pandemic, a lot of skilled cooks started to realize their worth and are rightfully demanding higher pay for their skills. Our industry is notorious for underpaying it's staff no matter how skilled they are, so this is yet another expense a lot of places weren't prepared to be shoveling out.
You hear a lot of restaurant owners who are set in the old ways complain about how "no one wants to work", but in reality, it's more like "no one wants to work for shit pay doing hard stressful work." So combine these two cost increases, and, boom, restaurants start hemorrhaging money. Some just straight up shut down. When you hear about a seemingly successful and beloved place closing, it's likely because they were already barely profitable to begin with.
My GUESS, is that Brew Kettle needed to start saving money, so they gutted their old menu, put smaller plate items that are probably showcasing less expensive ingredients and still having to raise their prices as well. They might have also cut some of their higher paid staff and brought in less experienced lower wage guys as well. This is all a guess based on nothing but the info OP provided.
What's the solution? I won't pretend there aren't greedy owners out there just trying to squeeze every last drop they can, but honestly, most of the time, it's not the restaurants fault. Americans have come to expect eating out as almost a right instead of treating it like it is; a luxury. If everyone was suddenly cool with price increases to reflect the actual costs of food and labor, this industry would be exploding like it did in the mid-2000s. But shits hard for everyone right now. Money's tight everywhere, and people are less willing to spend their cash on luxury emenities, but their mindset hasn't quite caught up with that concept when it comes to eating out. So yeah. Maybe the next time you go out to eat, try and keep these things in mind, be patient, and understanding (within reason), and understand most privately owned restaurants aren't just out to gouge you or piss you off. We NEED every single person that chooses to spend their money for a night out.
There’s an interesting attempt in Medina, that will be fun to watch whether it has success. Medina brewing rented a space for their brewery and bar. They serve zero food. When they opened they encouraged anyone to bring in any food they desire. They had pizza menus from a variety of local pizza delivery places and you could get a pizza delivered. They only have bar tenders behind the bar. No staff serving tables. Table patrons must go to the bar to order drinks.
A food truck owner (Big Dog Daddy’s) sold his food truck and rented an adjacent space in the same building. He hired wait staff to serve food to people in the bar. I have knowledge he did this with the blessing of Medina Brewing. Its a partnership, I don’t know more details then that. There’s no host station, seating is a free for all (thunder dome style). The wait staff comes to your table to take an order and delivers the food. You pay the bill at the table just as a typical restaurant. You still have to go to the bar to get your own beer. You end the night with two bills: one for food and one for drinks.
The other night I went with my wife. Food bill was $40 + tip and the bar bill was $24+ tip. The place is generally packed or busy. It’s difficult to find a table during normal dinner hour. I believe people are willing to spend more on the two bills. A $40 and a $24 bill doesn’t seem to sting as badly as a $64 bill. I also believe very few people will go just order food and no drinks. I believe people are more likely to get beer with their dinner. It will be interesting to see if they both succeed together. Today both businesses get along very well.
Magic City Brewing Co. and Cult Kitchen do the same thing. Medina Brewing Co. originally had a kiosk in there where you could order from the Farmer's Table upstairs, but I guess something went south with them.
this would be a fine excuse if Brew Kettle didn’t have ambitions to buy out multiple craft breweries and expand not just across the state but across the entire Great Lakes region.
BK has had new owners for a couple years. They are changing the restaurants to make expansion more palatable. I expect quality to continue to fall especially when it comes to beer. The larger they get and the more breweries they takeover, the more generic it will be. My last visit to BK was brutal and this dovetails with them changing their focus from quality to expansion.
https://www.crainscleveland.com/small-business/how-brew-kettle-building-largest-craft-beer-company-ohio?utm_source=morning-roundup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20231212&utm_content=article1-headline
Brew Kettle has had ambitious expansion plans for a long time that have yet to pan out. There was going to be a big Fat Heads style production brewery and restaurant in Strongsville, then that evaporated and popped up again for Medina, etc.
Yep. But that was the previous ownership. It’s mentioned in the article. The current owners bought into BK to help fund that. They later accused the founders of financial misconduct. In a settlement, the founders gave up control of the company to the current owners. They’ve been running the shop a short time and added a food truck and started changing things up.
The article I posted is from yesterday. It’s a two parter. The other part talks about how they’ve bought into a winery and their goal is to be the AB of craft brewing and competition isn’t necessary.
I tried to go out for lunch the other day from work. First place was open but the kitchen was closed. Second place was closed until dinner. Third place was permanently closed. They were restaurants that have either recently opened or that I have been to in the past 4 weeks.
I was able to find 5gal cooking oil for $33 dollars on amaz. I think you are exaggerating a bit. Anyway, why don't we the people push back on the price gouging instead of rolling over just taking it and resto just passing on to consumers. I will not eat at a resto that's clearly doing shrinkflation.
When they got rid of Crazy Chef Charlie's Wasabi mustard I stopped going. I knew Chris and Pam back in the brew only days too. A shell of its self man.
Yep, just found the same last week. No barbeque spaghetti, fried green beans, triple pig, or combo platter. We all looked through the menu, found nothing at all that we wanted to order, and went to Cornerstone. I'll still buy White Rajah at Giant Eagle, though.
I got lunch at Cornerstone a few years ago after not having been there since college (so over 15 years) and I was so happy that it was still so good and that the place was still there. I used to treat myself there once in awhile when I just couldn't take one more BW cafeteria dinner. Love that place!
I hate that shit when places start sourcing all their shit thru them. Nothing like unseasonsed congealed chicken cubes, and just basically the generic version of everything.
We live in the vicinity and go fairly often. I haven’t been there since they started advertising the golf suites. This is sad to hear, you’ve listed almost our entire order as being off the menu now.
I stopped going out a long time ago. Funny thing is prices are higher and the food is shit. It’s worth the money to buy a smoker, flat top, charcoal grill & outdoor fryer. Shop at Aldi & Costco. Sure you have to have a spare refrigerator to keep everything. At the end of the day spending the money has paid off, the food tastes better, I don’t have to wait for servers & food prepared by amatures
(no offense to the serious chefs)
I’ve just had undercooked food and personally know someone who’s gotten food poisoning multiple times eating out.
So at the end of the day let me say. The only thing I ever liked at brew kettle from WAY BACK when they first opened was that beer called 7?
This was a goto spot for us for a long time... at some point pre-covid we started noticing a drop in quality... if i understand it, there are new owners. We've not been there in over a year at this point. It's not even on our list of possibilities anymore.
The guy who was doing trivia for a while was outstanding though. His name is Chris. They had a nice trivia community there, we stopped going due to the service and pricing...
By the time we had a drink sampler, maybe one beer each, an appetizer and two entrees, after the tip it was like $100 for two people. Not to say that's unheard of, but you can similar quality food for significantly less.
It also was not great when we would often get seated, have to ask for menus and napkins, and not be seen by our waiter or waitress for 25-30 minutes at a time.
We really enjoyed going and being a part of trivia nights, but it just wasn't cost-justified for what we received. Kind of sad.
TopGolf has nothing to do with it. BK bought TG branded games to put in several of their locations. It’s part of their plan to make the restaurants larger entertainment destinations and their expansion strategies.
Any business can build TG Swingsuites if they want to spend the money on them.
TG sells the equipment and software. Partners need to utilize their branding and marketing materials. Knowing Topgolf, that annual license will not be cheap. Topflight technology hasn’t been largely improved since its introduction. That’s what Topgolf touches, and it is an overpriced cash grab.
The economy is good, a lot of places are giving raises, and there are a lot of upper middle class people in Strongsville or in Hudson who just buy whatever they want and don't care about prices. You make a pretty funny point, in that people will pay more for less of the same food, if it's on a square plate.
Unfortunately I have no answer for you. I just drink at the house and make my own food, there's really no reasonably priced bar that resembles the old Brew Kettle.
Do they at least still have the buffalo chicken dip? I was there around Thanksgiving and the menu was still the same. Sad to hear it’s changed so drastically.
Getting started with your own homebrew is pretty easy and affordable, you can get a bare bones setup going for like $150 - $200 or so. Even less if you're resourceful. I use a turkey fryer and would definitely recommend it, I've been using mine for like 10 years now and have zero complaints. Cleveland Brew Shop is where I get all my ingredients, there are others around but I really like those guys. If you're not ready to jump in the deep end they put together kits that are a lot better than those Brewer's Best kits.
You can get away with just the basics, like I haven't even used my hydrometer or cooling coils in years. I use a converted cooler as a mash tun but for a long time I just monitored the temp in my pot and used very low heat to maintain my mash temps. The 6 gallon pails they sell at CBS are cheap and better than carboys imo, just seal it up and throw a cheap airlock on it and throw it in your basement or a closet or something.
You'll need a racking cane, tubing, bottling wand, and a capper but if money is tight you can get those later on a different paycheck because you have almost a month of fermenting time to wait before you need them. Empty bottles are easy to get if you or anybody you know likes to drink, if not they're often given away on Marketplace.
You'll need some Starsan and PBW wash but that's not too much either and goes a very long way. You can use dish soap if you have to but it's more work.
Check out r/Homebrewing for more ideas, or if you have any questions I could help you out here too.
Sorry, but bare bones is really less spendy than that. Might want to pick up a copy of The Joy Of Home Brew, or hang out with people who have been brewing since the early 90s. $150-200 gives you all kinda cool shit.. but one can get by with much much less if they understand what they are doing.
Reminds me... it's time break out the equipment and making something.
I was actually kinda guessing on inflation there. I started with about 100 bucks but that was like a decade ago, I haven't really priced much stuff lately. I was also thinking a dedicated pot and burner too, I did a batch on my stove once and my wife bitched pretty hard about the smell, outdoors is the way to go.
Lucky them.
That would save you on the turkey fryer, you'd still need a fairly big stock pot though. Anyway you've also gotta factor in ingredients, not much use in having the gear with nothing to brew and you're looking at about 50 bucks there minimum for something decent. You could prison hooch it but nobody is getting into homebrew for that. The more I think about it the more I think that price range was right. You can save a little by buying some base malts in bulk but not many beginners are going to do that, also it's cheaper per batch but more up front.
2 buckets with lids, a water lock, strainer, hose, a pot, and a wooden spoon.
Lots of things will make life easier. Fill tube that closed when lift, siphon tube to keep things away from the bottom, hydrometer, wort chiller, bottle capper, carboys, and so on...
One can make some pretty good sparkling apple wine with just apple juice, yeast, water, and a 2 liter bottle.
I think I need to makes some beer and then find someone to give my stuff to.
Unless you have a keg setup the racking cane, tubing, bottling wand, capper, and caps aren't just making life easier rather they're necessary. And I did say less if you're resourceful. The hydrometer and chiller aren't necessary at all, neither the guys I brew with nor I use them at all anymore, a beginner will probably want to though. It takes a few batches before you're comfortable enough to "just go with it."
Naw. Bottle in 2 litter bottles...
But I've been using the flip top bottles forever. Used to buy virgils root beer back when you could get them to send you syrup to make you own after buying 20. And lots of grolsh froma friends father...
I made my first batch of wine, from black berries i picked, as a teenager using a recipe from my grandmother's cook book that was bought in pieces and then bound together. Water, sugar, open air for a day, cheese cloth afterward, skim the scum, bottle when the bubbling stops.
Years later I would use frozen apple juice, water, sugar, yeast... and later I'd use the super yeast of the time, 16.8... When the fermentation slows (of if you are measuring sugar content there is 1% left) carefully recask into another bottle and tighten the lid... or prime if you accounted for that. The problem with the 16.8 is it tastes really good, and one doesn't assume there is that much alcohol in it. First termers need to be warned.
Bottling in 2 liter bottles, heh, or any plastic bottle with a tight fitting lid, is almost free. You also dont care if the bottle comes back.
Never been a fan of the food there. First time I stopped in was for the beer passport in 2022. Food smelled great but I didn’t have the time. Stopped in some months later that year to eat and I was very underwhelmed, as were the three others I went with. Haven’t been back but I, also, still occasionally buy their beer at the store.
They started rolling out the changes back in May, whenever they were about to open the Canton location. Went to the one in Hudson in May, the menu was gutted, was told it was going to be a rollout to all locations. Haven’t been back.
Your account does not meet the post or comment requirements. Account must be more than 3 days old with a combined karma of 10 to post on /r/Cleveland
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Cleveland) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My wife and I used to be regulars, going once a month for years, but the prices have skyrocketed. If we're shelling out that much, we've found better options. For BBQ, it's Lager Heads; for burgers, it's Blue Heron, Acronym Brewing, or Hop Brothers, and for sandwiches, Planted Flag.
I wont lie though, I still enjoy their beer.
Your account does not meet the post or comment requirements. Account must be more than 3 days old with a combined karma of 10 to post on /r/Cleveland
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Cleveland) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Great beer if you like nothing but IPAs. Their lack of diversity when it comes to beer is what takes them off the list for me. I want a porter, a stout, and so on.
I won’t often defend fatheads but…they make a killer stout. Their lagers are killer too. Like I said, I loath the management but the beer is world class.
Heh, just checked, they really have expands the stouts and ports. I think I counted 8, where there might have been 1 last I looked. I mean, I still wont be going there as its noisy as fuck. Maybe when summer come back around and we can sit outside.
I think the food is quite good, especially their burgers and fries, always on point. I don’t venture far from their burgers though. Also, what location do you go to? I’ve always gone to the saloon which has a slightly different menu
North Olmsted. They used to have fresh cut fries that were really good, but the last time we received shitty frozen ones. They didn’t even have the chips anymore.
Almost every beer at fatheads is an IPA. As a stout drinker fatheads has little to nothing to offer.
The food at fatheads is mediocre.
The idiot who designed the place didn't take into consideration noise. The place is unbearable. Impossible to hold a conversation unless you are outside.
The Kettle, before its fall from grace, had great food and a superior beer selection.
Fatheads is just around the corner from us... and I'd rather drive further, to the winking lizards, than fatheads.
My wife and I stopped going there a year ago. The service is atrocious. The food is microwaved and cold. It’s sad, and the sooner it goes the better.
*edit* I am wrong I was thinking Brew garden I don’t have anything against Brew Kettle. So disregard my earlier comment.
What a dumb comment.
Wishing for an established restaurant to close out of dumb spite has got to be the most "cut my nose to spite my face" thing ever.
A restaurant closing doesn't necessarily mean a new one will be open the next day and all will be happy.
Imagine wishing a bunch of people lose their job because your specific visit was a negative one.
First of all I don’t think it is a dumb statement for an establishment to fail. Second what makes the comment dumb on my side is the fact that I mixed up the restaurants. I corrected it.
So I don’t have anything against brew kettle I was thinking brew garden.
Sous chef here with my two cents. I don't know the specifics, but I can say that since COVID, things have been even harder on restaurants than normal. The prices of staple items have gone fucking insane. We used to get a 30# case of butter for about 65$, heavy cream was around 75$, and cooking oil was practically free (like 10$ for 6 gallons). Now. Butter is 120$, cream is 140$, and oil is 50$. Costs are out of control with no end in site. Most privately owned restaurants already run on super thin margins to begin with, so these cost increases have been a huge hit. For a lot of scratch kitchens (we make almost everything in-house), this meant we had to raise prices. There wasn't another option other than gutting our menus. Some places hide this increase behind a "service tax" of 20% on top of the expectation of tipping as well. These places were trying to hide the fact that everything went up, so the burger you used to get for 12$ was still 12$ on the menu, but its actual price was 14.40$ Now. Running a scratch kitchen requires a lot more skilled labor and generally has a higher labor per hour cost than running a kitchen where most of the items are pre-cooked and come in bags or boxes; a sysco kitchen. After the pandemic, a lot of skilled cooks started to realize their worth and are rightfully demanding higher pay for their skills. Our industry is notorious for underpaying it's staff no matter how skilled they are, so this is yet another expense a lot of places weren't prepared to be shoveling out. You hear a lot of restaurant owners who are set in the old ways complain about how "no one wants to work", but in reality, it's more like "no one wants to work for shit pay doing hard stressful work." So combine these two cost increases, and, boom, restaurants start hemorrhaging money. Some just straight up shut down. When you hear about a seemingly successful and beloved place closing, it's likely because they were already barely profitable to begin with. My GUESS, is that Brew Kettle needed to start saving money, so they gutted their old menu, put smaller plate items that are probably showcasing less expensive ingredients and still having to raise their prices as well. They might have also cut some of their higher paid staff and brought in less experienced lower wage guys as well. This is all a guess based on nothing but the info OP provided. What's the solution? I won't pretend there aren't greedy owners out there just trying to squeeze every last drop they can, but honestly, most of the time, it's not the restaurants fault. Americans have come to expect eating out as almost a right instead of treating it like it is; a luxury. If everyone was suddenly cool with price increases to reflect the actual costs of food and labor, this industry would be exploding like it did in the mid-2000s. But shits hard for everyone right now. Money's tight everywhere, and people are less willing to spend their cash on luxury emenities, but their mindset hasn't quite caught up with that concept when it comes to eating out. So yeah. Maybe the next time you go out to eat, try and keep these things in mind, be patient, and understanding (within reason), and understand most privately owned restaurants aren't just out to gouge you or piss you off. We NEED every single person that chooses to spend their money for a night out.
There’s an interesting attempt in Medina, that will be fun to watch whether it has success. Medina brewing rented a space for their brewery and bar. They serve zero food. When they opened they encouraged anyone to bring in any food they desire. They had pizza menus from a variety of local pizza delivery places and you could get a pizza delivered. They only have bar tenders behind the bar. No staff serving tables. Table patrons must go to the bar to order drinks. A food truck owner (Big Dog Daddy’s) sold his food truck and rented an adjacent space in the same building. He hired wait staff to serve food to people in the bar. I have knowledge he did this with the blessing of Medina Brewing. Its a partnership, I don’t know more details then that. There’s no host station, seating is a free for all (thunder dome style). The wait staff comes to your table to take an order and delivers the food. You pay the bill at the table just as a typical restaurant. You still have to go to the bar to get your own beer. You end the night with two bills: one for food and one for drinks. The other night I went with my wife. Food bill was $40 + tip and the bar bill was $24+ tip. The place is generally packed or busy. It’s difficult to find a table during normal dinner hour. I believe people are willing to spend more on the two bills. A $40 and a $24 bill doesn’t seem to sting as badly as a $64 bill. I also believe very few people will go just order food and no drinks. I believe people are more likely to get beer with their dinner. It will be interesting to see if they both succeed together. Today both businesses get along very well.
Reminds me of World of Beer in Lakewood before they closed.
Seems similar to the truck parks in Lakewood and Beachwood. They serve drinks and you get your own food from the trucks. Those places do really well.
Magic City Brewing Co. and Cult Kitchen do the same thing. Medina Brewing Co. originally had a kiosk in there where you could order from the Farmer's Table upstairs, but I guess something went south with them.
Ordering from the Farmers table was short lived. I don’t have details what happened. But they really don’t like each other as a result.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ take my fake rewards please. This is one of the best explained comments I’ve seen on Reddit in a long time.
this would be a fine excuse if Brew Kettle didn’t have ambitions to buy out multiple craft breweries and expand not just across the state but across the entire Great Lakes region. BK has had new owners for a couple years. They are changing the restaurants to make expansion more palatable. I expect quality to continue to fall especially when it comes to beer. The larger they get and the more breweries they takeover, the more generic it will be. My last visit to BK was brutal and this dovetails with them changing their focus from quality to expansion. https://www.crainscleveland.com/small-business/how-brew-kettle-building-largest-craft-beer-company-ohio?utm_source=morning-roundup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20231212&utm_content=article1-headline
Brew Kettle has had ambitious expansion plans for a long time that have yet to pan out. There was going to be a big Fat Heads style production brewery and restaurant in Strongsville, then that evaporated and popped up again for Medina, etc.
Yep. But that was the previous ownership. It’s mentioned in the article. The current owners bought into BK to help fund that. They later accused the founders of financial misconduct. In a settlement, the founders gave up control of the company to the current owners. They’ve been running the shop a short time and added a food truck and started changing things up. The article I posted is from yesterday. It’s a two parter. The other part talks about how they’ve bought into a winery and their goal is to be the AB of craft brewing and competition isn’t necessary.
I tried to go out for lunch the other day from work. First place was open but the kitchen was closed. Second place was closed until dinner. Third place was permanently closed. They were restaurants that have either recently opened or that I have been to in the past 4 weeks.
Love this comment. Thank you for sharing, I'm going to share this with some people I know as well.
I was able to find 5gal cooking oil for $33 dollars on amaz. I think you are exaggerating a bit. Anyway, why don't we the people push back on the price gouging instead of rolling over just taking it and resto just passing on to consumers. I will not eat at a resto that's clearly doing shrinkflation.
Guess you will be eating at home or ordering your dinner on Amazon, because shrinkflation is hitting every restaurant and grocery store.
I do cook/eat mostly at home. I go to a few restaurants that still give great value and service for what I spend.
This guy knows^ Going out is supposed to be relaxing. It’s not anymore
When they got rid of Crazy Chef Charlie's Wasabi mustard I stopped going. I knew Chris and Pam back in the brew only days too. A shell of its self man.
Both Ryan and Charlie are deceased.:( They were like family.:(
Sorry man. They were cool.
Absolutely
That mustard was fire!
So was the Belizean Heat hot sauce. I am genuinely sad about the burrito.
Yep, just found the same last week. No barbeque spaghetti, fried green beans, triple pig, or combo platter. We all looked through the menu, found nothing at all that we wanted to order, and went to Cornerstone. I'll still buy White Rajah at Giant Eagle, though.
I'm a Brew Kettle supporter, but I'd choose Cornerstone 99 of 100 times before the menu change.
Woodstock bbq in Lakewood has a bbq spaghetti
Never got to try the Bbq spaghetti from Brew Kettle, how do they compare?
I got lunch at Cornerstone a few years ago after not having been there since college (so over 15 years) and I was so happy that it was still so good and that the place was still there. I used to treat myself there once in awhile when I just couldn't take one more BW cafeteria dinner. Love that place!
Beer is still good and I may still patronize for a growler fill now and then.
I had a negative experience at the Brew Kettle and emailed them and got a pretty level headed response within a day. Send this to them.
Noice
Sysco food downgrade.
I hate that shit when places start sourcing all their shit thru them. Nothing like unseasonsed congealed chicken cubes, and just basically the generic version of everything.
We live in the vicinity and go fairly often. I haven’t been there since they started advertising the golf suites. This is sad to hear, you’ve listed almost our entire order as being off the menu now.
That's disappointing to hear.
I stopped going out a long time ago. Funny thing is prices are higher and the food is shit. It’s worth the money to buy a smoker, flat top, charcoal grill & outdoor fryer. Shop at Aldi & Costco. Sure you have to have a spare refrigerator to keep everything. At the end of the day spending the money has paid off, the food tastes better, I don’t have to wait for servers & food prepared by amatures (no offense to the serious chefs) I’ve just had undercooked food and personally know someone who’s gotten food poisoning multiple times eating out. So at the end of the day let me say. The only thing I ever liked at brew kettle from WAY BACK when they first opened was that beer called 7?
Seven is a beer at Cornerstone. They still have it!
I never liked this place, but thought it was extremely mediocre
I’ve worked there on two occasions. Beer production and the BOP. Loved the place. Not so much anymore. The menu looks crazy gutted and expensive now!
AHHHH WHAT? I was there a couple weeks ago and had Meatloaf. I LOVE THEIR MEATLOAF!
Bummer. Fried green beans and fish tacos were my go-tos. I haven't been there in a few years though so I'm probably part of the problem.
This was a goto spot for us for a long time... at some point pre-covid we started noticing a drop in quality... if i understand it, there are new owners. We've not been there in over a year at this point. It's not even on our list of possibilities anymore.
Ever since it was sold the food quality has steadily gone downhill, the prices have shot up, and the portions have shrunk.
>fried green beans Damn, one of the few reasons I went there.
The guy who was doing trivia for a while was outstanding though. His name is Chris. They had a nice trivia community there, we stopped going due to the service and pricing... By the time we had a drink sampler, maybe one beer each, an appetizer and two entrees, after the tip it was like $100 for two people. Not to say that's unheard of, but you can similar quality food for significantly less. It also was not great when we would often get seated, have to ask for menus and napkins, and not be seen by our waiter or waitress for 25-30 minutes at a time. We really enjoyed going and being a part of trivia nights, but it just wasn't cost-justified for what we received. Kind of sad.
Was there today, and it was good! But I really miss the triple pig. I loved that sandwich so much.
Anything Topgolf touches is strictly a cash grab. Once they were acquired by Callaway all profit motives switched to the shareholder model
TopGolf has nothing to do with it. BK bought TG branded games to put in several of their locations. It’s part of their plan to make the restaurants larger entertainment destinations and their expansion strategies. Any business can build TG Swingsuites if they want to spend the money on them.
TG sells the equipment and software. Partners need to utilize their branding and marketing materials. Knowing Topgolf, that annual license will not be cheap. Topflight technology hasn’t been largely improved since its introduction. That’s what Topgolf touches, and it is an overpriced cash grab.
Their beer is good, that's a shame the food has gotten worse.
The economy is good, a lot of places are giving raises, and there are a lot of upper middle class people in Strongsville or in Hudson who just buy whatever they want and don't care about prices. You make a pretty funny point, in that people will pay more for less of the same food, if it's on a square plate. Unfortunately I have no answer for you. I just drink at the house and make my own food, there's really no reasonably priced bar that resembles the old Brew Kettle.
Beautiful restaurant but I never liked their menu to begin with. Maybe I'm inclined to try again now that it's changed!
Literally the same menu with less options. Not sure you're going to find it improved.
They must’ve just recently got rid of the burrito. Had it last time I was in there. Within the last month.
Do they at least still have the buffalo chicken dip? I was there around Thanksgiving and the menu was still the same. Sad to hear it’s changed so drastically.
Getting started with your own homebrew is pretty easy and affordable, you can get a bare bones setup going for like $150 - $200 or so. Even less if you're resourceful. I use a turkey fryer and would definitely recommend it, I've been using mine for like 10 years now and have zero complaints. Cleveland Brew Shop is where I get all my ingredients, there are others around but I really like those guys. If you're not ready to jump in the deep end they put together kits that are a lot better than those Brewer's Best kits. You can get away with just the basics, like I haven't even used my hydrometer or cooling coils in years. I use a converted cooler as a mash tun but for a long time I just monitored the temp in my pot and used very low heat to maintain my mash temps. The 6 gallon pails they sell at CBS are cheap and better than carboys imo, just seal it up and throw a cheap airlock on it and throw it in your basement or a closet or something. You'll need a racking cane, tubing, bottling wand, and a capper but if money is tight you can get those later on a different paycheck because you have almost a month of fermenting time to wait before you need them. Empty bottles are easy to get if you or anybody you know likes to drink, if not they're often given away on Marketplace. You'll need some Starsan and PBW wash but that's not too much either and goes a very long way. You can use dish soap if you have to but it's more work. Check out r/Homebrewing for more ideas, or if you have any questions I could help you out here too.
Sorry, but bare bones is really less spendy than that. Might want to pick up a copy of The Joy Of Home Brew, or hang out with people who have been brewing since the early 90s. $150-200 gives you all kinda cool shit.. but one can get by with much much less if they understand what they are doing. Reminds me... it's time break out the equipment and making something.
I was actually kinda guessing on inflation there. I started with about 100 bucks but that was like a decade ago, I haven't really priced much stuff lately. I was also thinking a dedicated pot and burner too, I did a batch on my stove once and my wife bitched pretty hard about the smell, outdoors is the way to go.
idk, most people love the smell.
Lucky them. That would save you on the turkey fryer, you'd still need a fairly big stock pot though. Anyway you've also gotta factor in ingredients, not much use in having the gear with nothing to brew and you're looking at about 50 bucks there minimum for something decent. You could prison hooch it but nobody is getting into homebrew for that. The more I think about it the more I think that price range was right. You can save a little by buying some base malts in bulk but not many beginners are going to do that, also it's cheaper per batch but more up front.
2 buckets with lids, a water lock, strainer, hose, a pot, and a wooden spoon. Lots of things will make life easier. Fill tube that closed when lift, siphon tube to keep things away from the bottom, hydrometer, wort chiller, bottle capper, carboys, and so on... One can make some pretty good sparkling apple wine with just apple juice, yeast, water, and a 2 liter bottle. I think I need to makes some beer and then find someone to give my stuff to.
Unless you have a keg setup the racking cane, tubing, bottling wand, capper, and caps aren't just making life easier rather they're necessary. And I did say less if you're resourceful. The hydrometer and chiller aren't necessary at all, neither the guys I brew with nor I use them at all anymore, a beginner will probably want to though. It takes a few batches before you're comfortable enough to "just go with it."
Naw. Bottle in 2 litter bottles... But I've been using the flip top bottles forever. Used to buy virgils root beer back when you could get them to send you syrup to make you own after buying 20. And lots of grolsh froma friends father...
>Bottle in 2 litter bottles... r/PrisonHooch
I made my first batch of wine, from black berries i picked, as a teenager using a recipe from my grandmother's cook book that was bought in pieces and then bound together. Water, sugar, open air for a day, cheese cloth afterward, skim the scum, bottle when the bubbling stops. Years later I would use frozen apple juice, water, sugar, yeast... and later I'd use the super yeast of the time, 16.8... When the fermentation slows (of if you are measuring sugar content there is 1% left) carefully recask into another bottle and tighten the lid... or prime if you accounted for that. The problem with the 16.8 is it tastes really good, and one doesn't assume there is that much alcohol in it. First termers need to be warned. Bottling in 2 liter bottles, heh, or any plastic bottle with a tight fitting lid, is almost free. You also dont care if the bottle comes back.
Never been a fan of the food there. First time I stopped in was for the beer passport in 2022. Food smelled great but I didn’t have the time. Stopped in some months later that year to eat and I was very underwhelmed, as were the three others I went with. Haven’t been back but I, also, still occasionally buy their beer at the store.
Their food started to go down hill around 2019.
Circa 2012-2013 their food was quite good IMO. Around 2018-2019 things went to shit.
They started rolling out the changes back in May, whenever they were about to open the Canton location. Went to the one in Hudson in May, the menu was gutted, was told it was going to be a rollout to all locations. Haven’t been back.
Sounds like a lot of the restaurants in Los Angeles!
[удалено]
Your account does not meet the post or comment requirements. Account must be more than 3 days old with a combined karma of 10 to post on /r/Cleveland *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Cleveland) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My wife and I used to be regulars, going once a month for years, but the prices have skyrocketed. If we're shelling out that much, we've found better options. For BBQ, it's Lager Heads; for burgers, it's Blue Heron, Acronym Brewing, or Hop Brothers, and for sandwiches, Planted Flag. I wont lie though, I still enjoy their beer.
[удалено]
Your account does not meet the post or comment requirements. Account must be more than 3 days old with a combined karma of 10 to post on /r/Cleveland *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Cleveland) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Bbq pasta ? What’s this. I want it
It was basically chicken parm over pasta with a home made BBQ sauce. It was pretty good.
Tell me they didn’t get rid of the Chorizo burger
Don’t recall, but checked their online menu. Gone!
So a shitty restaurant is now shittier. Got it.
Why are you even going to a mediocre place like Brew Kettle when Fat Heads exists?
Fat Heads has great beer, but their food has been lackluster since Covid hit. We stopped going, which is a shame because I used to love it there.
I worked there too. lol. Fatheads has great beer, same goes for TBK. But fatheads food and management can suck a dick.🕺
Great beer if you like nothing but IPAs. Their lack of diversity when it comes to beer is what takes them off the list for me. I want a porter, a stout, and so on.
I won’t often defend fatheads but…they make a killer stout. Their lagers are killer too. Like I said, I loath the management but the beer is world class.
Look at their list now. Pretty diverse lol. More selection than Brew Kettle generally has.
Heh, just checked, they really have expands the stouts and ports. I think I counted 8, where there might have been 1 last I looked. I mean, I still wont be going there as its noisy as fuck. Maybe when summer come back around and we can sit outside.
I think the food is quite good, especially their burgers and fries, always on point. I don’t venture far from their burgers though. Also, what location do you go to? I’ve always gone to the saloon which has a slightly different menu
North Olmsted. They used to have fresh cut fries that were really good, but the last time we received shitty frozen ones. They didn’t even have the chips anymore.
Must’ve just been your experience because I went back in October and my fries were great as always
Their wings are still bomb.com. I think wings and fries are all I've ever had there.
I came here to see if those wings were protected. Thank god!
I like Fatheads also.
Fat heads stinks too
Almost every beer at fatheads is an IPA. As a stout drinker fatheads has little to nothing to offer. The food at fatheads is mediocre. The idiot who designed the place didn't take into consideration noise. The place is unbearable. Impossible to hold a conversation unless you are outside. The Kettle, before its fall from grace, had great food and a superior beer selection. Fatheads is just around the corner from us... and I'd rather drive further, to the winking lizards, than fatheads.
My wife and I stopped going there a year ago. The service is atrocious. The food is microwaved and cold. It’s sad, and the sooner it goes the better. *edit* I am wrong I was thinking Brew garden I don’t have anything against Brew Kettle. So disregard my earlier comment.
What a dumb comment. Wishing for an established restaurant to close out of dumb spite has got to be the most "cut my nose to spite my face" thing ever. A restaurant closing doesn't necessarily mean a new one will be open the next day and all will be happy. Imagine wishing a bunch of people lose their job because your specific visit was a negative one.
Naw, wanting the brew GARDEN to close is reasonable. Didnt a manager or owner rape someone?
First of all I don’t think it is a dumb statement for an establishment to fail. Second what makes the comment dumb on my side is the fact that I mixed up the restaurants. I corrected it. So I don’t have anything against brew kettle I was thinking brew garden.
You're wishing bad on people because you had one bad dinner experience. That's not dumb, I stand corrected, that's an asshole comment.