The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
New name, new tastes in Madison
Double Wing may be located on vineyard grounds, but focus is all on the brewing
The Double Wing Brewing Company located on the grounds of Debonne Vineyards in Madison, is looking to become the producer of everyone’s go-to beer.
The brewery, which was formerly known as Cellar Rats Brewery when it first opened in 2008, has recently undergone some major rebranding.
In 2016 head brew master Tony Debevc realized it was time for a change after discovering the Cellar Rats name and rat logo were unappealing to many consumers and buyers for stores and restaurants.
The greatest craft beer competition ever is happening right now because of all the amazing world class beers coming out right now, and Cellar Rats Brewery was competing against those world-class breweries with a label that stores didn’t necessarily want to bring and consumers found unappealing, according to Double Wing Brewing Company marketing director Joel Sandrey.
Sandrey and Debevc realized it was time to put that to rest. With the options of whether to shut the doors, give up and quit, or rebrand, reboot, pivot and start anew, they choose to rebrand and start anew.
Debevc scraped all of the brew recipes for Cellar Rats and started over with recipe development.
Double Wing Brewing, at 7840 Doty Road, came about from an idea Debevc had while working on a project for his father who is a sport pilot.
He crafted a beer for his father and named it the Double Wing Lager after the type of plane flown by his father.
“We decided to go with Double Wing because it fit and we had a story behind it,” Debevc said. “Also, it’s non-offensive and people enjoy airplanes.”
According to Sandrey, it took a lot of deciding after playing around with hundreds of ideas, and they continued to come back to Double Wing.
“It’s clean, simple, and to the point,” Sandrey said. “You can only hate the logo if you like your plane to have only one wing.”
Both Debevc and Sandrey feel that business has improved since becoming Double Wing and that great things are coming in the future, but first they want to make sure everyone gets excited about what they are doing right now.
“Craft beer is an incredible game of what do you got now, what’s next what’s new, and it’s what everybody wants to know,” Sandrey said.
“They are constantly releasing new things because the consumer wants the next new exciting thing. So, our philosophy at this time is slow, deliberate, one item at a time. Let’s get it out there, let people fall in love with it, let them know its available all year round and when we feel confidant we will come out with the next one.”
The first beer released on the market by Double Wing was The Pride of Cleveland pilsner, which Double Wing Brewing owns exclusive rights to.
POC has been on the market since May and, according to Sandrey, has had consistent sales.
Double Wing Brewing currently has 13 craft beers available on tap.
“We want to become peoples’ favorite. We want to become the favorite pilsner they have in their refrigerator and we want to become their go-to IPA that they always have around,” Sandrey said.
Currently, when it comes to brewing, they are trying to be creative, and are not playing around too much with barrel aging and souring, according to Sandrey.
“We are just trying to make the best possible version of quality, consistent, and stylistic accurate beers we can,” he said.
Debevc feels that with the rebranding they are newbies at this time but are finding their footing in the craft beer industry.
“As time goes on, we may find that we need to focus on one thing more than another,” Debevc said.
“It’s been less than a year, so, I don’t think we necessarily know what or eventual identity is going to be.”
Quality and consistency is the main focus right now for Sandrey and Debevc.
Double Wing is currently expanding their cellaring and cold storage capabilities and looking to grow their distribution network in the Cleveland area. Currently they have three products they package for the market and are looking to a fourth.
Debevc is determined to make sure they are producing world class beers so people will come.
“We have a lot here,” Debevc said. “We have a great atmosphere, great entertainment, live music, an outdoor patio, and we have great food. That is what separates us.”
“We were cellar rats and people may have tried us in the past and thought that we were a pedestrian or not very interesting group making some pretty average beers,” Sandrey said. “So, we know that we got to earn it, we are passionate and we are ready to earn it.
“What sets us apart is an eye to detail and the fact that we are a winery allows you to enjoy a craft beer or a nice chardonnay.”