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Lakewood bar offers its own house beers
When Ken George took over as manager at the Lakewood bar Eddy & Iggy’s, he knew he needed to do something to bring in more customers. As a former owner of the defunct Brew Keeper brewery in North Ridgeville, naturally his thoughts turned to beer. But not just any brand. He wanted an Eddy & Iggy’s beer — something customers would be able to buy only at his place. Today, the bar has 14 house beers, with about eight of them on tap at any given time.
"We are going through them like crazy," George said. "We’re starting to get a reputation for unique beers."
Eddy & Iggy’s — the name is a tribute to the rivalry between Catholic high schools St. Edward’s and St. Ignatius — isn’t a brewery. It’s just a small sports and karaoke bar with an eclectic and substantial beer menu. (It also is filled with St. Ed’s and Ignatius memorabilia.) The house beers are made on contract at Little Mountain Brewing Co. in Kirtland. Contract brewing for individual bars and restaurants is a rarity in Ohio.
Eddy & Iggy’s has just a handful of main beer recipes. But George plays with them by adding flavoring, boosting the overall number available. For example, Eagle Ale, an 11 percent alcohol cream ale, becomes White Storm thanks to vanilla flavoring. And George doesn’t skimp on the flavoring. The Loaded Lemon is mouth puckeringly tart. He also has started marketing his beers to other bars and restaurants.