Hansa Brewery in Ohio City Now Open

Update: If you've been checking in on this project over the years, the news last month that Hansa was nearing the finish line was glorious news. 

Better news this week: Hansa's now open. There's an official grand opening on Saturday, but Boris Music says they're open now if you want to stop by. 

Six beers are on tap with Hansa's Oktoberfest coming as soon as this weekend.

For more background on the project, if you're just learning about it, check out our original coverage below.

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(Original story 8/11/16): Boris Music made big news when he broke ground in April of 2013 on his multi-million dollar construction project that would transform the corner of Lorain and W. 28th into a shiny new brewery, restaurant and retail shop. While much of the construction has been completed for months, Music still needed to jump that final and most important hurdle: obtaining all applicable local, state and federal permits.

That officially happened around 2 p.m. this afternoon, making Hansa the sixth brewery to set up shop in Ohio City; number eight if you count nearby Forest City and Brick and Barrel. Hansa joins Great Lakes, Market Garden, Market Garden production facility, Nano Brew and Platform Beer.

Music and his specialty foods shop Hansa Import House have been fixtures in the Ohio City neighborhood for 40 years, longer even than Great Lakes Brewing. So it was welcome news when he announced his plans to construct a 15-barrel brewery and restaurant while improving his long-running specialty foods shop. That shop, long popular with Eastern European immigrants, carries a huge inventory of imported cheeses, meats, breads and beers.

Music originally had planned to be the first American outpost for Laško, a Slovenian brewery that dates back to 1825. But that relationship dissolved when the brewery was purchased by Heineken last year. 

Music says that he will begin selling beer by early September with the restaurant following a few weeks later.