Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Voodoo Brewing in Meadville, PA

Just about an hour and a half away from Cleveland is a small town called Meadville, PA where you'll find Voodoo Brewery.  The brewpub didn't catch our eye from the street, but when you enter and have a few beers you'll understand what Voodoo is all about!  Thanks to a very good social media presence, we knew ahead of time what beers would be on tap when we arrived.  Six different year round brews and four different seasonal brews were on the menu for the day.  In order to try all of the different brews we decided to do a sampler of all 10.  
First, we started with the six year round brews (which you can see in the picture to the right).  My wife's favorite of the six was Wynona's Big Brown Ale, which had a mild body with well-balanced sweetness.  My favorite of the six was between two different brews.  I really enjoyed the 4 Season's IPA, which was not overly bitter, but very refreshing.  I had this once before, but here at the brewpub the freshness of the hops really made this one stand out.  My other favorite was the Gran Met, which was a well-rounded Belgian tripel.  After trying the first six, we were really impressed that all brews were very good with no off flavors.
We then moved on to the four seasonal brews.  My wife's favorite was the Big Black Voodoo Daddy, which was a big, bold imperial stout. I also really liked that beer, but to me the super simcoe hopped Ergot was my favorite at the pub.  This crystal rye pale malted brew was super hopped with nearly 22lbs of simcoe hops and both the nose and flavor were outstanding.    Again, these 4 beers were super clean with no off flavors, which made Voodoo have a perfect 10/10 beers on tap that were all very tasty.  After chatting with several of the employees throughout the afternoon/evening at Voodoo, we learned just how much they care about their beer, especially the cleanliness of their lines and kegs.   This attention to detail is what really can potentially make or break the beer.
Seasonal Sampler
Big Black Voodoo Daddy
All of this chatting lead to one of the bartenders offering us up a little sample of something that they had just bottled, Pappy Van Winkle Big Black Voodoo Daddy.   The bottles will be released sometime in the spring at a major bottle release party. Although it was a little oxidized because it was in a growler, the beer was simply out of this world.  The balance of the Pappy with the bold flavor of Voodoo Daddy was truly something special.   When I get more information on the bottle release party I'll be sure to pass it along!

On a takeout note, Voodoo offers 4 packs of most year round beers, and 22oz versions of select year round beers.  They also offered 22oz bottles of the Big Black Voodoo Daddy too (no growler fills of this one).  If you are looking to take home any of the other pub only brews though, bring your growler because they also do growler fills.

Voodoo Brewery is not only about beer, but they are also about high quality locally sourced food.  The pizza we ordered was made with spent grains and topped with grilled chicken, spinach, house made marinara, feta, tomato, and a thick balsamic dressing. The thick balsamic dressing was simply outstanding when combined with the spinach and feta cheese. The spent grain crust was cooked perfectly and had a great crispy bottom.  This was the best tasting pizza I've had in probably the past year!  If the other food on the menu is this good, Voodoo has something really amazing going on with the great food and beer they are offering!
I was so excited to eat this I took a bite before I remembered to take a picture!
If you are looking for a weekend away from Cleveland, but you don't want to travel too far, I urge you to make the drive due east to Meadville Pennsylvania to Voodoo Brewing.  They are open Thursday & Friday: 3PM–12AM and Saturday & Sunday: 12PM–12AM.  You'll find updates on their facebook page about what the beer and food offerings are for each week too!

Here are some more pictures we took while at the Brewpub/Brewery!

Voodoo Brewery & Brewpub on Urbanspoon

3 comments:

  1. Great review Brad. I had recently been to VooDoo for the first time as well, and thought it was excellent all around. Cheers! Renee

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  2. I must agree with your review! We was at VooDoo the beginning of Dec., for the first time. The bartender said he was was also the Brewer, Kurt. All of the samples was very good, very drinkable. We made the same comment, that every beer was a hit. There isn't a bad pick there. The atmosphere was relaxing and very laid back. We had the homemade humus plate with pita bread and the Buffalo Bleu Cheese Pizza. He told us that they send the spent grains out to a local baker to make the pita bread, pizza dough, and other baked goods. Also they try to source other foods locally. We will definitely make that trip again, soon I hope! Loved the bill presentation.
    Karen Misier

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  3. I knew essentially nothing about this brewery before you shared a Big Black Voodoo Daddy. I had heard the name, but had virtually no association with it. That beer certainly left an impression and so did your review! I look forward to visiting VooDoo sometime soon. Hopefully we'll even come home with some Pappy bottles!

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