The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Finding success in simplicity
Euclid brewers creating a gathering place for community
Doug Fry made the transition from home beer brewer to entrepreneur about a year ago, but it wasn’t because he had grand aspirations to change the game or be much of an innovator.
The word “basic” isn’t an insult at Euclid Brewing Co. It’s the main mode of operation.
“If it were up to me we’d probably just have one beer, and it’d be a pale ale, but Kim says I have to brew other styles,” Fry jokingly said about his wife, Kim, who works at the brewery when she’s not handling duties as the communications director at a Cleveland Heights church.
The couple opened Euclid Brewing Co. about a year ago at 21950 Lake Shore Blvd. with the desire to create a gathering place for community members to enjoy their favorite brews and little more.
“We don’t have aspirations to be anything other than a neighborhood brewery,” said Doug, who was a full-time chemist before opening Euclid Brewing. “We want to serve the community rather than try to be a big regional or even national brewery.”
That means you shouldn’t expect distribution, and you shouldn’t hold your breath for Euclid to delve into habanero, watermelon or any other extra-experimental beers. Instead, you’ll usually find four staple beers on tap, including Mosaic Moss Point Pale Ale and the Isosceles IPA. The brewery also typically features two seasonal selections.
“I like to have flagship beers that places should always have on tap, and when you go there, you know you’re going to get it,” he said. “We want people to know they’re going to find their favorite beer here.”
Doug says he may have underestimated the popularity of seasonal beers when he first opened the business.
“We’ve learned that people really like to drink seasonally — heavier beers in the winter, lighter beers in the summer,” Doug said. “That shouldn’t have been a total surprise, but people really like our pumpkin beer for Halloween, Christmas ale around the holidays.”
Doug says the brewery built a base of about 100 regulars from the area who walk, bike or drive to the brewery. Additionally, the Frys get plenty of visits from beer tourists from all over who wanted to give the brewery a try. That’s quite a feat considering the brewery barely has a year of Web presence under its belt.
There’s no kitchen behind this small taproom, so it’s not uncommon to see patrons yielding pizzas as they walk in. Bike clubs and other community interest groups often hold meetings at the brewery.
“It’s conducive to local conversations, and not just about what happened at the Grammys,” Euclid Community Development Manager Brian Iorio said. “It’s actually people talking about Euclid issues. They’ve had speakers and everything.”
Iorio was referring to the brewery’s Tap Talks, which are general interest seminars in October and February. Recent topics included wind energy and the industrial history of Cleveland.
“We knew we would do it even before opening,” Doug said. “The idea wasn’t just to sell more beer, but give talks that people might be interested in coming to, get people to Downtown Euclid.”
Though getting people to Downtown Euclid is of chief concern, Doug takes a more-the-merrier approach when discussing the hastened pace of brewery openings in Northeast Ohio.
“Anything that makes this area more of a destination for beer lovers is good for all of the breweries,” he said. “I’m glad to see that there are more coming on the east side. It seemed like West 25th and other areas on the west side were getting all of them, but now we have Masthead, Noble Beast is coming, Brim just opened, Goldhorn. It’s nice to see that the breweries are moving east.”
Though the days are long for both Doug and Kim, each believes the dream is worth the work.
“It’s hard to work fulltime and then come here and work another four hours, but I love the customers,” Kim said. “I always go home thinking, ‘what a nice bunch of people who came in here today.’”