Greetings, Great Beer Now fans and followers! This is the third entry in a multi- part series of blog posts relating to the Great Beer Now Rock and Roll Out the Barrel Beer Tour 2018, which took place in Cleveland, Ohio. I traversed the Cleveland, Ohio area making my way to some of the best known and most award- winning breweries in the United States, along with several hidden gems and up- and- comers. Open a can or bottle of your favorite beer and follow along on my journey through one of Ohio’s largest cities. Cheers!
Spending time in Cleveland, Ohio and investigating the craft beer scene first hand provided valuable insight into the city and its place on the craft beer map. Cleveland is, of course, not the industrial powerhouse that it once was, but the city is making its way and evolving slowly as it faces new economic challenges with resilience and determination. Craft beer is on the rise in Cleveland and while most of the breweries have a uniquely modern theme, one downtown brewery is named for a piece of Cleveland history that most have long forgotten. That brewery is Masthead Brewing, located at 1261 Superior Ave. in Cleveland, Ohio.
Published for Success
Masthead Brewing is a young brewery with a full service restaurant to go with the full service taproom. Named after a common publication term, the brewery was founded in 2016 and is housed in an historic building, the Bryant Building, which once housed an automotive dealership and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Masthead has a large interior that can hold around 300 people. The long bar can seat dozens of thirsty Clevelanders and the outdoor patio can hold dozens more guests and their dogs. The brick walls and garage style doors are a constant reminder that this building was once home to an entirely different business.
Foodies love Masthead for its food as well as the beer. Pizza is the specialty food served here, but there are other options also, like salads, appetizers, and desserts. And you don’t want to go home before grabbing yourself some Masthead merchandise, which can be anything from t-shirts to glassware to koozies and beyond.
The Beer Gets the Credit
Masthead Brewing serves over 20 of its own beers on tap and even devotes a few taps to competitors. I was undecided when I saw so many choices so I asked one of Masthead’s helpful personnel to select two flights of beer samples for me. Here is a listing of the beers I tried, listed alphabetically by name, followed by the style and my Untappd rating on a five point scale:
- Apiary Ale, Honey Ale, 4.25
- Brute Force, Double IPA, 4.25
- Flat Earth, Double New England IPA, 4
- GPODAWUND, American Brown Ale, 4.25
- Hops for Heroes, Double New England IPA, 4.75
- Single Origin Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Coffee Stout, 4.5
- Sleigh All Day Holiday IPA with Spruce Tips, American IPA, 4.5
- Winter Stout, Stout, 4
Overall Average Rating: 4.31
I truly loved the beer served at Masthead Brewing! I’m partial to double IPA and dark beer and ended up falling hard for the Hops for Heroes Double New England IPA and the Single Origin Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Coffee Stout (what a name!). But truth be told, I would be more than happy to find any beer in this lineup in my glass, as each and every one of them had flavorful, memorable qualities.
A Fitting Establishment
Masthead Brewing is another business that is serving beer and helping to revitalize the downtown Cleveland landscape. I visited here late in the afternoon and since the establishment was located so close to my hotel, the downtown Cleveland Hilton, I decided to make the trek on foot, gaining some much needed exercise and anticipating all along what Masthead Brewing would be like.
With a name like Masthead, I envisioned a brewery with a nautical theme and looked forward to seeing pictures and perhaps 3-D artwork depicting the ships that have sailed the waters of the Great Lakes in the past and present. But what I quickly learned is that Masthead Brewing honors a masthead of a different sort- the type of masthead that is found in a publication. The story of the brewery’s naming can be traced back to the city of Cleveland’s founder, Moses Cleaveland. Newspapers were the primary means of communication in the early 1800’s and when the new city’s second publication, the Cleveland Advertiser, was ready to launch, they quickly noticed that the name “Cleaveland” made the desired text too lengthy to fit on the paper’s masthead. So, they dropped the “a” from Cleaveland, shortening the name of the city to Cleveland. One fewer letter and sure enough- it fit on the paper’s masthead. The shorter name caught on and almost two centuries later, a craft brewery named itself after the masthead that helped the city of Cleveland get its shorter name.
Today, Masthead Brewing still maintains its historic charm thanks to its location in the historic Bryant Building. As someone who has visited brewery’s from coast to coast, it is common and often quite charming and interesting how breweries are able to adapt other business spaces to accommodate the needs of a brewery. I can think of several others that, like Masthead Brewing, built their brewery inside a space once occupied by an automotive business. As you sit inside Masthead Brewing sipping on your craft beer and munching on specialty pizza, it is obvious that there was once something automotive- related within this space. The historic aspects set Masthead Brewing apart from other breweries and the industrial look is fitting of a city that was once home to countless factories.
I really liked what I saw at Masthead Brewing and I can see how this establishment is so popular among locals. But I liked what I tasted even more than what I saw and decided to take a little more liberty with my number of servings since, after all, I did walk to the brewery and planned to walk back to my hotel. Kelly, one of Masthead’s employees and the head of events, filled me in on the brewery and its place in the Cleveland craft beer scene. She also recommended my beers to try and if the eight I sampled are any indication, everything Masthead brews is something special and it easily rates among the best in the area in terms of beer quality.
Cleveland, Ohio is going places when it comes to beer and Masthead Brewing is one of the must- visit breweries in the greater Cleveland area. I left Masthead with a greater understanding of Cleveland history and an even stronger appreciation for the craft beer culture and the people who work so tirelessly to bring these delicious suds to the masses. Sometimes, a small change is all that is necessary to make something fit that wasn’t quite right before and Masthead Brewing has certainly played a part in making this historic building fit more readily into the modern Cleveland social scene. It’s a cool place for food and beer so be sure to make your way to downtown and pay a visit to Masthead Brewing the next time you’re in the Cleveland, Ohio area. And tell them Great Beer Now sent you.
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