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Paul Benner, owner of the popular Cleveland Brew Shop (2681 W. 14th St., 216-574-2271) in Tremont, will open a microbrewery and taproom in Ohio City. It will be that neighborhood’s fifth brewery once Hansa Haus joins Great Lakes, Market Garden and Nano.

Along with a partner, Benner has purchased a 10,000-square-foot building at W. 41st and Lorain. The venture will feature a 10-barrel system that will produce an estimated 800 barrels of beer per year, which will be dispensed at the onsite taproom and kegged for sale to local bars and restaurants.

But what will make Platform, as the brewery will be called, truly unique is the smaller two-barrel pilot system that will be available to guest brewers from near and far.

“It’s sort of like a brewery incubation system,” Benner explains.

With the strict brewing laws the way they are, it’s nearly impossible for talented home brewers to make the jump from hobbyist to pro without going through all the onerous and expensive licensing steps.

“This will help them get to the next level, from semi-professional to professional,” he says.

Benner envisions hosting brewing competitions to select guest brewers.

Benner presently is in talks with prospective brewmasters to head up the operation.

He adds that the Cleveland Brew Shop, which supplies home brewers with ingredients, equipment and know-how, is going nowhere.

“We’re in a great place there,” he notes. “We love Tremont.”

Look for Platform to debut next summer.

This article appears in Jul 17-23, 2013.

For 25 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work as co-author on Michael Symon's cookbooks have earned him four New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor has garnered awards of its own.

5 replies on “Plans Announced for Fifth Ohio City Brewery”

  2. “It will be that neighborhood’s fifth brewery once Hansa Haus joins Great Lakes, Market Garden and Nano.” – doesn’t that only equal four?

  3. Between this and the new Hofbräuhaus we’re definitely pushing the limit this market can support.

  4. It’ll be just like all the burger bars that opened all over the place. Everyone wants in on the gravy train, and then slowly the non-leaders get weeded out.

  5. Not sure about saturation when less than 10% of beer is from craft brewers. Price, taste, & distinction wil be factors, but there is a massive amount of market share to be had with the right brew. Further, unlike burgers, beer has shelflife, which sometimes leads to increased value

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