Water wheel dining at Garrett's Mill

Garrett’s Mill & Brewing Co.: Wheel Deal

Garrettsville started with a single water-powered grist mill in 1804, and over two centuries later, you can dine and drink inside its olden building at Garrett’s Mill & Brewing Co. 

The brewpub ties into local history with the Ma Barker birch beer ($5-$6), named after the mother of a notorious mob that did a train heist in Garrettsville — when she was gunned down, she apparently had a recipe for hard birch beer on her. It’s made with birch extract, as well as lactose and local maple syrup, and it often fools customers. 

“Most people say, Oh my gosh, this tastes like root beer, and, Is this really beer? Yes, it is,” says co-owner Shelli Buchanan. 

The beer makes a reappearance in the barbecue chicken Gouda mac ($16.99) that’s served with a side salad. The dish has Gouda, cavatappi, bacon bits, fried onions and fried chicken breast covered in house-made barbecue sauce infused with the Ma Barker birch beer. The barbecue flavor is subtle, so the focus is on the creamy mac ‘n’ cheese and how, along with the birch extract of the Ma Barker, it conjures a nostalgic treat. “Just like you would like ice cream sodas with creaminess and root beer to make a float, it’s the same with Gouda mac ‘n’ cheese,” says Buchanan. “It pairs the caramels and everything so well with the mac,” adds manager and bartender Linda “Lulu” Marquard. 

The dessert’s inspiration is fitting for the restaurant that was recently featured on the Food Network’s “Restaurant Impossible,” during which celebrity chef Robert Irvine helped them launch a hot dog and ice cream counter and a canned beer line. 

Enjoy your meal from the revamped dining room or patio with a view of Eagle Creek and the mill wheel that produced so fast it was dubbed a “mega mill,” drawing farmers from a 20-mile radius to purchase grain. Now the brewpub is reeling in people for another reason. 

“It’s very historic,” Buchanan says. “You have the wheel underneath, and then you have the waterfall. You have a very scenic place to sit.” 

Craving more? Brew pretzels, $7.99, and Dizzy Deer India pale ale, $6, carryout available, 8148 Main St., Garrettsville, 330-527-8080, garrettsmillbrewing.com