History of Beer: The Cleveland Craft Brew Scene

The craft brewing booming business in Cleveland has been happening for several decades. The booming centrals of places like Ohio City used to be empty, almost lifeless communities. Each one had to start somewhere, with that one place that would change everything. For Ohio City, the start came from Great Lakes Brewing Company. Now, the revitalization has led to Market Garden, Nano Brew, Hansa, Bad Tom Smith’s, and other bars and stores and such, changing not only the craft brewery scene, but also the entire Ohio City reputation.

According to CBRE, Ohio is known for 94 brewpubs, 134 microbreweries, and 10 regional brewers. In that, Cleveland has 36 of those brewpubs, 33 of those microbreweries, and 4 of those regional brewers. You could say that it’s a central hub that has really taken off. There are now breweries that started off as smaller companies that distribute more nationally, places like Great Lakes and Platform. What’s keeping this going? The small businesses.

The stronger the appreciation for microbreweries and craft breweries, the more new ones are popping up and old ones are expanding. From Willoughby to Avon, everything in the middle with Downtown and Cleveland Heights, breweries are a large part of the small Cleveland business platform. The history of craft brewing in Cleveland has reformed entire neighborhoods, making them fun, economically beneficial versions of their past selves. We’re not the only city that’s taking advantage of this trend either. This is just a small part of a beer explosion happening nationwide.

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