Hoppin Frog Brewery - Akron, OH

Our last stop in Akron was to the Hoppin Frog Brewery.  I have seen their beers all over, with tons of variety.  Their Christmas beer was one of my favorites I have ever had, but at 8-12$ a bottle I rarely buy their stuff because I just don't know if it's good or not.  So I was excited to finally visit the brewery.

We drove by it our first time, it is on the right side of the road right as the thruway ends, which is confusing.  Once we found it, we realized it a giant strip of offices all dedicated to Hoppin Frog.  Once inside the tasting room, we saw a nice big open room with tables and a double sided bar.  It was roughly 9pm and we were seated immediately.

We got a 5 beer sampler which included:
Fresh Frog Raw Hop Imperial Pale Ale which was excellent, really nice and hoppy and bitter..unfortunately this isn't released in bottles.
Gangster Frog IPA which was real good.
Hoppin To Heaven Double IPA was eh.
Mean Manalishi Double IPA was too strong for my taste, but good for what it is.
Hop Dam Triple IPA was very bitter but smooth.
I was happy with the beers, except that the sampler isn't a flat price and the last 2 beers were 3.50$ and 4.50$.

We got the 18$ cheese board which was worth it! Came with meats, olives, bread, and more! I enjoyed it very much.

Very easy decision..if you're in Akron, GO here! They also have a fun selection of merchandise including all different types of glasses, a Frog cutting board and the same beer sampler they serve theirs in (it was 50$ though). It is really good, service was top notch and beers while they can be pricey are good and there are LOTS of choices.  Stop by Trailhead, then Hoppin Frog and top it off with Thirsty Dog if you have time.  But for now, check them out! www.hoppinfrog.com/‎

Thirsty Dog Brewing Co - Akron, OH

I must say before I go into my review, this is based on my one and only visit to this brewery. I have had their beers in the past (Citra dog, 12 Dogs of Christmas) and I enjoyed them very much. 

 We went on Thirsty Thursday (2$ off growlers) 90 minutes before they closed. BIG mistake.  While it wasn't PACKED it was crowded enough to be uncomfortable and not a space at the bar.  Parking wasn't bad, but can be confusing since it is an industrial type area. I couldn't find any spot at the bar since there were quite a few larger beer drinkers, men and women, (I am big myself so I can say it), and they weren't drinking anything for a good 45 minutes but just wanted to hang out and chat.  I found a spot in the far corner that had extra tables piled up. I pushed a table out of my way, snuck into the corner and asked about samplers.  I was told samplers are ordered by the single, BUT there is no menu except on the wall that I couldn't see so I said give me any IPAs, stouts, or pale ales you have.  She brought me 8 beers as you can see below.

Now all these beers were very good, but I had no clue what they were!! And I wouldn't dare ask the ONE bartender who was constantly filling growlers and could careless about telling me what I'm drinking.  To add to it, some old man next to me sitting and drinking a growler by himself gave me the 45 degree head turn about 15 times no show his disapproval of either me crowding his corner spot or just drinking samplers. 

I wanted to buy some merchandise and a mixed 6 pack, but I waited 20 minutes at the bar and eventually gave up and left.  It is sad, because half the reason we stopped in Akron was for this bar.  So note to self...DO NOT go on Thirsty Thursday or before they close.  Very snobby crowd..and not sure why you live in Akron, it isn't the Hamptons.  But I do like their beer so check them out! thirstydog.com/‎

Trailhead Brewing - Akron, OH

On our way back from Columbus we stopped in Akron for the night to visit the two big breweries and I was lucky enough to come across Trailhead Brewing in my searches to add a third stop.  This place is a very small operation, one main brewer who is a really genuine and nice guy who you can tell loves to brew and takes pride in his work.  You may drive right past the place since it is located in a mini plaza.

 We tried all 4 beers which were the Gold which was real nice, the Winter which had a really good Christmas beer taste to it, the Black IPA which was very easy to drink..my girlfriend who doesn't typically like Black IPAs was a fan, and the Calvin and Hops IPA was excellent I ended up taking home a growler of this.

I was tired from a long day and since we were the only customers we were so into chatting I completely forgot to take pictures but if you check out their yelp page others have posted pictures http://splashurl.com/lmnpbqc  or you can check out their Facebook page for updates http://splashurl.com/n7mureh