The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Small batches produce big brews
Leap has paid off for Chardon nanobrewers
Mike Nedrow launched Chardon BrewWorks & Eatery seven years ago with a single sentiment informed by his travels: I can do this, too.
Nedrow and his wife visited a friend in New Hampshire in the ‘90s, and one of their activities included trying homebrewed beer made by the friend’s father.
“We had a few, and felt pretty good about it, to say the least,” Nedrow said with a chuckle.
“When I saw how easy it was for him to make really good beer, that kinda sealed the deal.”
That led to 15 years of homebrewing.
Nedrow got serious about opening a family brewery when his job became tenuous. Since brewing and flying jets were his only true skills, Nedrow knew it was time to take the leap.
Nedrow opened Chardon BrewWorks on Chardon Square in March 2010 as the first brewery in Geauga County since Prohibition.
The nanobrewery has since moved to 200 Center St. Nedrow admits a couple stumbles to get to this point, but he knows his business is better because of them.
“I made all the mistakes that an entrepreneur makes, plus I may have discovered some, too,” he said. “Owning your own business is kind of like a video game — you go until you die, then you start over. When you get to that point again, you don’t (make the same mistake).”
When BrewWorks first opened, food took a bit of the focus away from beer, Nedrow said.
He later opted for the beer-only taproom concept he saw during his many travels as a pilot.
He then realized that model was better for breweries in larger metropolitan areas instead of a more rural community like Chardon.
Now, pizza, nachos and ‘Maple Beer-B-Q’ pulled pork sandwiches. The Beer-B-Q is made with maple syrup from Geauga County and a bit of BrewWorks’ popular Pride of Geauga Maple Porter.
“We’re refocusing on our core: Beer,” Nedrow said. “We had lost sight of what we were really all about, which was bringing good beer to the world.”
BrewWorks brews just a half barrel at a time, but Nedrow says that allows for low-cost experimentation. BrewWorks’ Dandelion Ale is one experiment that has become an annual mainstay in the spring. It includes dandelions picked from the Nedrows’ nearby backyard.
Despite the small batches, the nanobrewery keeps 10 taps flowing with best-sellers like the Ironworker IPA and the maple porter.
“I always tell people, the IPA is the new pilsner,” he said.
Still an active pilot, Nedrow said he saw the popularity shift to hoppier beers the craft boom as a whole coming before they arrived in Northeast Ohio.
“I visit a lot of breweries and taprooms around the country, and craft beer was huge on the West Coast,” he recalled of the ‘90s. “I started tasting some different beers that didn’t taste like the yellow, fizzy beers we’re used to. It sparked my interest.”
Other selections at BrewWorks include the Working Man Pale Ale and the Muzzy Cream Ale.
BrewWorks currently offers limited distribution now to bars in Chardon, as well as to Oak & Embers Tavern in Chester Township, Square Bistro in Chardon, Ray’s Place in Kent and as far as Columbus. Nedrow hopes to increase that by 100 percent in the next year or so.
That will require bigger brewing equipment, which Nedrow has his eye on.
Nedrow doesn’t envision expanding much beyond that.
Instead he’ll focus on getting even more people in Chardon and beyond into his doors.
“For the novice beer drinker, come in with an open mind,” he said.
“Don’t judge a beer by its color. Not all dark beers are heavy and not all white beers are light.”