Review: One Chance for a First Impression — Green Valley Brewing Company
Over the past several years, the craft beer industry has boomed and this is most certainly true in northeast Ohio. My wife and I have really enjoyed creating date days out of visiting these locations and even build overnights and vacations to other places in the country around other craft breweries like Southern Tier Brewing Company in southwest New York and coastal Delaware at Dogfish Head Brewing Company and Dewey Beer Co. In northeast Ohio, not all of our favorites have survived but others continue to open and thrive, finding their niche in the picky craft beer market.
Enter Green Valley Brewing Company in Hudson, OH. Located near the downtown shopping area, they opened on Oct. 28, 2023. They have a fun birth story that is a great read via their Facebook page that they launched back in August 2022. From the purchase of the building that housed escape rooms, demolition, the out-pouring of support from the local community and businesses, inspiration for their logo and name… it’s all there. Our introduction was on April 27, 2024 so we’re just now getting caught up and to be honest, it would have been fun to be on this journey with them from the beginning! It is awesome to see such a community effort come together to help two couples realize their dream. But for us? I’m an admittedly snobby craft brew fan and many others have set the bar high and others have fallen flat. How did GVBC do?
We arrived on the first WARM Saturday in late April around 6pm and the parking lot was full as was the neighbor’s business lot. A sign was posted that parking was available next door because “our neighbors are awesome.” I can think of another local brewery where that’s not the case and we always have to park down the street so this was great to see! The outdoor patio was bustling with filled picnic tables and kids throwing a football around in the wide open green space. We headed inside, unsure if we’d find an open seat but quickly found two open bar stools at the bar. First impression? GREEN! The woods and green both in paint and actual plants, curated by the Hudson Plant Co. were super welcoming. It was also impossible to miss the chairs and bar stools, all made by Northern Ohio Lumber and Timber. On the back of each one, founding community members purchased custom plaques that are affixed to the chairs. Some breweries have mug clubs… GVBC has a founding chair club!
Brews. For our preferred tastes, I’m a big hazy IPA fan. I have grown fond of Hoof Hearted, Magic City, Other Half, and Missing Mountain breweries to name a few and their hazy creations. My wife leans more towards the heavy stouts, often filled with aromas of chocolate or coffee or the more creative ones found at Hoppin’ Frog, another place you’ll find us often. For this first impression visit of GVBC, they had 3 versions of their imperial milk stout, “Derailed.” She opted for the chocolate one and it quite literally tasted like they melted the chocolate bar into the glass! Not thick and chunky like some, it was rich with chocolate and delicious. I opted for their top seller, Happy Daze, a 6.7% abv hazy IPA. Juicy and delicious and a solid 4.25 rating in my UNTAPPD app. We’re not pilsner or lager fans so we didn’t venture out to other brews but I did order a second glass… the coffee version of Derailed. Again…delicious but a more “calm” stout with a perfect level of coffee present.
Food. Not all craft breweries offer it. For those that do, the spectrum is wide for what you get. From Magic City partnering up with Cult Kitchen (love those pretzel bites!) to basic offerings at Missing Mountain to more elaborate creations at Hoppin’ Frog, everyone does it a little different. We began with the chips and dip. Think kettle chips meeting a homemade interpretation of the Lawson’s Chip Dip from the 80s (but still sold at local Circle K gas stations). SO good! You must order these! They reminded me of Eighty-Three Brewing’s interpretation of chips-n-dip. They give you an entire bag of Hartville potato chips with their homemade dip. Also great! Eighty-Three is over off of I-76 in Akron near the Goodyear Theater and world headquarters…and steps from a Handel’s Ice Cream!
Other than some apps, you’ll find a few sandwiches, salads and then a slate of wood-fired pizzas. Given our front row seat to watching food come from the kitchen, we got to see them all before we ordered. We stuck to an ‘ol traditional… pepperoni. However, I would’ve had any on the menu and they do frequent specials and new creations so I’m already looking forward to the next visit. It was delicious and not too heavy at all. It paired quite well with my Derailed coffee milk stout.
In the end, we ran into two friends while there and really enjoyed ourselves. We always debrief our visits and ask “So what did you think? Would you come back?” The answer isn’t always yes! There are several we have never gone back to. Not this time. We loved it! From a business perspective, I really appreciate and admire how the community rallied around this venture to support them. You see it everywhere. From a passion perspective, it is awesome to see a dream realized and thriving. I remember several years ago talking to Ron Shea down in the Valley. Remember when he had food trucks and Lab Rat Wednesdays? I loved his passion for unique brews and vision for his dream. Sadly, it ended as some passions do. Enter GVBC, another example of human beings coming together to carry the torch forward.
Connect on untappd (garageboxnick) — Instagram
