NEWS
Great Lakes Brewing Company is proud to be a returning sponsor of Pride in the CLE! Our beer will be served on tap at the Great Lakes Brewing Co. Beer Garden in Public Square during the Pride march and celebration on Saturday, June 1. Enjoy our Dortmunder Gold Lager, Great Lakes IPA, and Holy Moses Raspberry White Ale in the Beer Garden, and say hello to members of our GLBC family who are participating in the march. Pride in the CLE will take place from 12-6PM in Public Square.
Cultivating communities is part of our GLBC DNA. We salute Pride in the CLE and the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland, and send cheers to our LGBTQ friends and family.
As one of Ohio’s largest and oldest craft breweries with a family of approximately 240 employee-owners, we feel we have a responsibility to continue striving for true diversity and inclusivity, and inspiring others to do the same. That’s why we are thrilled to announce that Great Lakes Brewing Co. is a recipient of the inaugural Diversity and Inclusion Event Grant from the Brewers Association.
We are honored to be one of the six grant recipients out of 51 applicants working to foster a more diverse and inclusive craft beer community. Our vision? To create and host a diversity and inclusion-focused employment fair and networking event that is welcoming, fun, and meaningful for our industry colleagues and those who are interested in learning more about working in craft beer. We hope our event will serve as a forum for listening, learning, and “tapping opportunity.”
The Tapping Opportunity event is a step towards eliminating perceived barriers to employment in the craft beer industry. As we continue to plan this event with our HR Department’s leadership, we look forward to inviting our colleagues in the industry and community partners to participate. We are excited for the chance to show interested individuals the many opportunities and career paths available in craft beer.
We hope our Tapping Opportunity Event will serve as a welcoming space for underrepresented groups in craft beer. We appreciate the Brewers Association’s leadership and commitment to diversifying this industry we love, and we are excited to join them in this important work.
We hope you’re excited, too. Stay tuned for more updates!
We are thrilled to announce that Great Lakes Brewing Co. has been named a “Small Giant” and one of the Best Small Companies of 2019 by Forbes.
As we’ve grown over 30 years, we’ve stayed true to the values that have helped us remain independent: respecting resources, fostering relationships, sharing success, and brewing consistent, quality beer. We are honored to see this work recognized by Forbes.
With a newly established employee stock ownership plan, a fun and engaged company culture, and the belief that Brewing Good can happen anywhere, we promise to continue creating storied moments for our staff and customers. Thank you to the employees, partners, and fans who have joined us along the way… it’s an honor to brew for you! Cheers!
Learn more about Forbes Best Small Companies of 2019 here.
Sure, we may travel across the country in search of the most pungent hops, brew with millions of pounds of barley, and care after our proprietary yeast like it’s a loved one, but there’s really no ingredient we care about more than water. Whether we’re spending our Month of Service cleaning up shorelines or raising money for clean water initiatives at Burning River Fest, we know the key to Brewing Good is the availability of clean drinking water. After all, you can’t brew great beer without great water.
Thankfully, we have one of the greatest freshwater resources right in our backyard. In honor of World Water Day, we sat down with Brewmaster Mark Hunger and representatives from Cleveland Water to find out why Lake Erie is a brewer’s best friend (and why it’s critical we protect it).
What parameters of water are important for brewing?
MH: All of them. Beer is 95% water, so everything from clarity to mineral content to PH levels is of the utmost importance. The chemistry of the water can really dictate how a beer turns out.
So not all water is created equal?
MH: Beer styles originated based on the water they were brewed with. Every region in Europe has their own style, and it’s mostly because brewers were trying to make the best of the water that was available to them. Pilsen, for example, has very soft water, so it’s important that the chemistry of your water reflects that if you want to brew a Czech-style pilsner.
The chemistry can affect other ingredients, too. For example, harder water can accentuate hop character. A common additive for brewing is gypsum, so this might be added too if a style calls for harder water. Sometimes we don’t need to add anything because the chemistry and quality of Cleveland water is already what we need it to be.
Why is that?
MH: The water we get from Lake Erie is extremely consistent and stable. The most stable water is groundwater, but the chemistry of it can be very specific depending on the geology of the source it comes from.
Consistency is so critical to good brewing. We’re fortunate to have Lake Erie because of how reliable it is. We get water analysis from Cleveland Water every year and the chemistry of our water doesn’t ever really change. That can’t be said of all water sources, and it makes our job a lot easier knowing the chemistry won’t be different from one day to the next.
To learn more, we met with Communications Coordinator Brenda Culler and Water Quality Manager Scott Moegling at Cleveland Water to find out why Lake Erie is such a dependable source for drinking (and brewing) water.
Tell us a little about Cleveland Water.
BC: We are the 9th largest public water system in the country and the largest on Lake Erie. We serve 1.4 million people in Ohio and our four treatment plants produce on average 210 million gallons of drinking water each day.
What is the water treatment process?
SM: We remove dirt, bacteria, viruses, parasites, and chemical impurities from the lake water and turn it into safe drinking water. Cleveland Water’s treatment process includes primary steps of coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, disinfection, and finishing. {Authors’s note: you can see the entire process here.}
BC: By law, ingredients like chlorine are added to combat bacteria and possible recontamination, while others are added to protect dental health and prevent pipe corrosion. Staff test the water throughout the day every day to make sure it’s clean and safe to drink. The Garrett A. Morgan Water Treatment Plant on Cleveland’s West side has the capacity to treat 150 million gallons per day, pumping an average of 45-50 million gallons of water a day to residents.
Our Brewmaster says brewing with Cleveland water is easy because of how reliable it is. Why is that?
SM: Source water can change on an hourly basis. Rain, snow, industrial runoff, and organic materials can change the quality and chemistry of water instantly. Let’s say it’s autumn and a heavy rain knocks down leaves and they all wash into a river. If that river is your main source of water, you’ll likely see an increase of tannic acid from the additional organic material being introduced. Or a heavy snowmelt might cause road salt to infiltrate a river through the storm sewers. The constant shifting of chemistry makes treating that kind of source water harder because of how unpredictable it can be every hour, every day.
BC: Constantly changing water quality is not really an issue we see with Lake Erie. We have four water intakes three to five miles off the shore, each in about 35 to 50 feet of water. The intakes are so far out from shore and at a depth that the water just isn’t affected by those kinds of changes.
SM: The importance of the depth and distance of our intakes cannot be overemphasized. It’s absolutely critical to our product. The location of the water source dictates its quality and our intakes are constantly pulling in stable water with reliably consistent chemistry.
So how do you evaluate consistency?
SM: Predictable water allows for predictable treatments and predictable outcomes. Lake Erie just doesn’t change that much, and when it does, we know it’s going to change. For example, year in and year out, the pH levels of our water source are somewhere between 7.5 and 8.0 in the winter and 8.0 to 8.4 in the summer. Since we aim for slightly above neutral pH in the finished product, the regularity (and predictability) of Lake Erie makes it easier for us to treat.
But what if something did change?
BC: Our facilities use state of the art equipment. Our intakes are equipped with devices that measure the quality of the water in real time, so we can check the turbidity and the pH levels of the water before it even reaches a treatment facility. We even use satellite imagery to monitor lake conditions. The level of advanced warning we can get gives us time to prepare and take preemptive action if needed.
SM: Again, the importance of distance and depth of our intakes cannot be overemphasized. Each of our four intakes are spaced out across 15 miles, so if the quality of water at one intake is giving us concern, we could possibly shut that treatment plant down if needed and still draw water from the rest of the intakes and continue treating it for distribution at our treatment plants. Our goal is to make it so that our customers never have to think about it.
What are the environmental threats to Cleveland’s water supply?
BC: Anything and everything. Whether it’s polluted run-off or a tanker spill, it’s critical we protect Lake Erie. We are so fortunate to have a giant freshwater supply (that is also an economic engine) in our backyard that people honestly forget just how lucky we are.
SM: Industries all around the world depend on water, and it’s becoming an increasingly big concern for many countries. When it comes to drinking water, we’re in a region where we don’t have to worry about drought. That’s not something that can be said in many places throughout the US. There is no other resource more vital to protect in our region than what we have in the Great Lakes.
Want to learn more about? Join Cleveland Water at their annual Drinking Water Week Open House on Saturday, May 11. See all of the ways we’re protecting our freshwater resources here.
Words by Adam Ritterspach
To our friends near and far,
As you may know, numerous wildfires have left California in a state of emergency. Of the many fires that tore across the landscape, the Camp Fire has become one of the most destructive fires in California’s history. The fire broke out near the town of Paradise, California and destroyed nearly 10,000 homes, killing many residents and displacing thousands more.
This has affected our friends at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. profoundly. While their production facility in Chico was spared, much of their workforce has been left to deal with the aftermath.
Because of this, Great Lakes Brewing Co. is proud to answer Sierra Nevada’s call to participate in a nation-wide fundraising effort to support the impacted communities. On Wednesday, November 28, Brewpub Brewer Steve Forman spent his day in Brewhouse No. 1 brewing Resilience IPA, Sierra Nevada’s brew benefiting those affected by the Camp Fire. Once Resilience IPA is ready to be tapped at the brewpub, 100% of the sales will be donated to the Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief Fund to support those impacted by the Camp Fire.
We’re honored to be Brewing Good a short 2,396 miles away. Learn more about Resilience IPA here and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest updates.
As we wrap up our year-long celebration of 30 years of independent–and now employee-owned–brewing, the GLBC Family is proud to share that co-founders Dan and Pat Conway have been inducted into the Cleveland Business Hall of Fame. First formed in 1996, the Cleveland Business Hall of Fame honors and celebrates business and civic leaders helping make Cleveland a great place to work, live, and succeed.
Great Lakes Brewing Company, Ohio’s first and largest craft brewery, was founded by brothers Daniel and Patrick Conway.
Patrick Conway’s long love affair with beer began during his tenure as a graduate student at the University of Chicago, when he got a job as a bartender to pay his bills. His palate became even further enlightened while traveling through Europe post-graduation, taking an intrepid tour of the continent’s small breweries and immersing himself in new styles. Upon returning to the United States to teach in Chicago, he was delighted to find that Americans were finally starting to gravitate towards some of these European beer styles that he so admired.
Inspired by the then fledgling movement towards craft beer in America, Patrick Conway returned to his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio to pursue his dream of opening Ohio’s first craft brewery. Daniel, a John Carroll University graduate with a background in banking, joined Patrick in developing their business plan. With limited brewing experience and the odds stacked against them, the two brothers chose to settle in Ohio City, where their fledgling operation would grow into becoming one of the premiere craft breweries in the United States.
Since 1988, the Conway’s Great Lakes Brewing Company has been a pioneer in sustainability. Conserving resources, investing in urban farming and local food, repurposing byproducts, and water stewardship are all initiatives championed by the Conway brothers.
Daniel and Patrick Conway’s passion for beer is evident in Great Lakes Brewing Company’s meticulously crafted family of award-winning lagers and ales. In celebration of 30 years of independent craft brewing, the brothers announced the creation of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan as a thank you to their beloved family of employees.
Read more about the induction of Dan and Pat Conway here.
Great Lakes Brewing Company is proud to once again be recognized by ERC as one of Northeast Ohio’s 99 best places to work! NorthCoast 99 recognizes great places to work for top performing people that drive results, provide competitive advantages, and allow businesses to innovate and grow. Applicants are evaluated based on policies and practices related to the attraction and retention of top performers, as well as data collected from employee surveys. This is the fourth year GLBC has been honored.
As we celebrate our 30th year of independent craft brewing, we are honored to receive this distinction, and thankful for our family of dedicated employee co-owners who share our integrity and vision, and make it fun to come to work every day! If you are interested in becoming a part of our outstanding team, visit our Employment Page to browse our current openings. Not seeing any positions that match your skill set but are interested in being notified of future openings? Our Application for Future Positions can be found here.
Click here to view the full list of NorthCoast 99 winners.
You didn’t think we’d celebrate our 30th anniversary without a special release, did you? In honor of three decades of independent craft brewing, Great Lakes Brewing Co. is proud to share our 30th Anniversary Imperial Oyster Stout.
To celebrate our pearl anniversary we added fresh shucked oysters and cacao nibs to this special Imperial Stout, symbolizing the hard work and sweet memories we’ve shared over 30 years of independent, family-owned (and now employee-owned) craft brewing.
To mark this storied occasion, the 30th Anniversary Imperial Oyster Stout will be presented in an elegant black matte 22 oz. bottle. Screenprinted on the surface in glossy black ink is a discoverable bathymetric map of Lake Erie (though we can’t promise you’ll find any oysters there).
The 30th Anniversary Imperial Oyster Stout will be available throughout the GLBC distribution footprint. Savor the rich, chocolaty flavors and subtle saltiness as you help us toast to the next 30 years. Learn more about this special release below…
THE BEER
Flavor: Luxuriously smooth with deep-diving roasted malt and cocoa flavors, and a delicately briny finish.
ABV: 11%
IBU: 37
Malts: Harrington 2-Row, Roasted Barley, Oats, Chocolate, Cara 45, Special Roast
Hops: Simcoe, Mt. Hood
Specials: Fresh Oysters, Cacao Nibs, Salt
Pairs with: Oysters, aged cheeses, and chocolate cake
THE RELEASE
Date: Thursday, August 16, 2018
Time: Gift Shop opens at 10:00 AM. Brewpub opens at 11:30 AM.
Bottle cost: $9.99
Brewpub: On tap beginning Thursday, August 16, 2018 at 11:30AM
EVERYWHERE ELSE
30th Anniversary Imperial Oyster Stout will be available in bottles and on draft throughout the GLBC distribution footprint beginning Monday, August 20. Keep an eye out for special events and tappings on our Events page.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more updates on our 30th anniversary. Want to celebrate our anniversary by making our breweries all yours? Click here to learn how you can win a VIP trip to Cleveland.