Saucy Brew Works, Sandusky OH

17 June 2023

I stopped at the Saucy Brew Works in Cleveland a couple of years ago. Sandusky seemed like a good stopping place this year and since I’d been to Small City Taphouse on my last visit, I decided to try the new Saucy Brew Works here. (Spoiler: I’ll definitely do Small City if I come this way again.)

Although you can’t see from this photo, Saucy is right near the water of Sandusky Bay on Lake Erie and I imagine they do a huge business in the summer; there’s an outside area in addition to a lot more inside space than I show here:

Since I arrived shortly after 2pm and didn’t want to sit outdoors, I figured I’d do the “seat yourself at the bar or a high-top table” option; since a high-top would require ordering at the bar anyway, I sat at the bar. And sat. And waited. And sat. And waited. The bartender – who turned out to be quite nice even though not quite on top of things – noticed me right away and said she’d be right with me, but her sense of time and mine must have been quite different.

Eventually, I was able to order a flight (and food … although she forgot what I ordered and came back about ten minutes later to ask what I’d wanted):

All of these beers were decent, but they all reminded me of new wine – somewhat rough around the edges. The descriptions run left-to-right on the top row, then the same for the bottom row.

Separate Czechs (4.1% Czech Pilsner) – This was very acceptable, quite pleasant, and good on a hot day.

Up the Hill (4.9% Munich Helles lager) – I actually liked this the best of the six and ordered a pint of it later (which was an odd experience in itself … but more on that after a bit).

Swing Juice 2023 (4.9% Kölsch) – I love a good Kölsch, and while this was tasty, it wasn’t what I was expecting from this style. I briefly considered doing this as the pint but thought better of it the more of the flight glass I drank. It just wasn’t right for today.

Kado (4.1% Japanese style lager) – This is brewed with toasted rice and Japanese Sorachi Ace hops and I was worried that the rice might be too much, but it wasn’t. In the end, this was a very close second to the Helles for a pint.

Juicy Asap ( 6.5% American IPA) – It was a beautiful color – as were many of these – and I did like it, but not enough to repeat. They say this is their best-selling IPA and I can see why that is, but it wasn’t quite what I was looking for today.

Electric Lettuce (7.5% American IPA) – I love the name, but of the two IPAs, I’d take the first. I can’t even quite say why, but this one just didn’t make the cut in some way. Perhaps it was the wild mix of fruit flavors?

Even though I’d planned to get something else, I ended up ordering the exact same meal I’d had at their Cleveland location, the pepperoni pizza, and it was even better here. That crust is thin and crispy, just the way I like it, and I love that it’s the perfect size for a meal. No bloated feeling after!

Finally, there was the pint of Helles:

I don’t know, maybe she thought I wanted it to go? Is that even a thing here? At any rate, I took the sippy cup lid off and drank it straight out of the plastic “glass.”

So, having tried Saucy Works in two different locations … they’re not a bad choice, but far from what I’ve come to expect on these drives. I’ll give them a miss in the future unless I’m out of choices.