When brothers Pat and Dan Conway founded Great Lakes Brewing Company, they didn’t just resurrect Cleveland’s once proud brewing industry, they ended up helping revitalize the entire Ohio City neighborhood. And they also brewed some pretty beloved beers along the way. We journey to Cleveland to experience the community they’ve built, see their partnership with local urban farming in action, and, of course, to sample the legendary Christmas Ale!
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Once home to no fewer than 26 different breweries, Cleveland is a city whose history has been defined by local beer. But by 1984, all its historic breweries had closed down, and for four years, Cleveland was a city without a beer to call its own. Then, in 1988, Great Lakes Brewing Company opened, bringing jobs and flavor back to Cleveland.
As the first microbrewery in the state of Ohio, Great Lakes was on the leading edge of the craft beer movement. Pat Conway had developed a love for European brewing styles while traveling abroad, and he believed there was an untapped demand in the US for more flavorful styles of beer. His hunch proved right, and within two years of opening, Great Lakes’ Dortmunder lager took first prize at the Great American Beer Festival. With a lineup of iconic brews whose names pay tribute to their local roots, Great Lakes has put Cleveland brewing firmly back on the map.
That sense of pride in their city and the Great Lakes region led the Conways to instill in their brewery a deep commitment to sustainability. Their annual Burning River Festival raises thousands of dollars that go to protecting Ohio’s waterways. They’re also committed to supporting the community that supports them, with an employee ownership program and numerous partnerships with the local businesses that they’ve helped bring back to their Ohio City neighborhood.
And as part of their commitment to the freshest local ingredients and revitalizing local business, Great Lakes helped found Ohio City Farm, one of the largest urban farms in America. There’s no better way to experience the community Great Lakes has built than by attending one of the ultra-popular Brewmaster’s Dinners they host at the farm sampling delicious local food with legendary Great Lakes beer in view of the city they helped renew.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 Pat Conway’s Irish Ale
00:46 Bringing Brewing Back to Cleveland
03:00 Cleveland’s Urban Farming Paradise
05:19 Good Planets Are Hard to Find
06:33 Craft Beer, A Love at First Taste
07:03 Dortmunder, Cleveland’s Gold Medal Beer
08:03 Crushworthy Citrus Wheat
08:50 Burning River Pale Ale
09:31 The Christmas Ale Phenomenon
11:11 The Pride of Cleveland
How Craft Beer Rebuilt a Cleveland Neighborhood | Glass Half Full
Directed by Eric Feigenbaum
Created by Conor Gaughan and Kate Tucker
Written and hosted by Kate Tucker
Produced by Consensus Digital Media in partnership with Remedial Media
Executive Producer – Kate Tucker
Executive Producer – Jessie English
Executive Producer – Eric Feigenbaum
Executive Producer – Conor Gaughan
Featuring:
Pat Conway – Co-Owner / Co-Founder, Great Lakes Brewing Company
Richard Basich – Executive Banquet Chef, Great Lakes Brewing Company
Patrick Kearns – Executive Director, Refugee Response / Ohio City Farm
Marissa DeSantis – Brand Marketing Manager, Great Lakes Brewing Company
Stephen Pauwels – Chief Operating Officer, Great Lakes Brewing Company
Filmed in Cleveland, Ohio at Great Lakes Brewing Company and Ohio City Farm
Supervising Producer – Geoff Rock
Editor – Ryan Ivanoff
Assistant Editor – Angaelica LaPasta
Director of Photography – Isaac Rosenthal
Camera Operator – Eddie Bernard
Gaffer / Drone Operator – Fletcher Anstis
Sound Engineer – Tom Eichler
Production Coordinator – John Ryan Gage
Makeup & Hair – Coco Miletti
Wardrobe – Hollie Van Osenbruggen
Audio Mixer / Sound Design – Dillon Terry
Color Grading – Ind3x
Motion Graphics – Yuriy Netrebyuk
Graphic Design – Stephen Lepsch
Music courtesy of Soundstripe
Strike, No Spare – Cast Of Characters
My Blue Soul – Adrian Walther
Illuminate – Brent Wood
Bad Roots – Dario Benedetti
Lost With You – Revelle
Ella Robinson – AUGUST ANDERRSUN
Better Sweater – Desert Dive
Days To Days – Quiet Lake
2nd Line – Ian Kelosky
Light the Way – Ian Kelosky
We Wish You A Merry Christmas – Ryan Saranich
Spike The Eggnog – Two Dudes
Life Is A Dream – Brent Wood
Archive images and footage courtesy of The Cleveland Press Collection & Pond 5
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Interesting to learn the history of GLBC. Many great beers; right now I have Ohio City Oatmeal Stout in the fridge.🍺
Let me just tell you this as a former employee of Great Lakes. When Pat and Dan were running things day to day, the place was a wonderful place to work. People stayed for years and the only reason most people never moved up was because there was no one leaving to open a spot up. When Pat and Dan stepped down and let others run the place, it went downhill fast. A lot of the higher ups only cared about how much money they could make and not about the quality of the beer. Also, they preferred to promote their snitches, sycophants and family members over people who had earned the spot. Also, cleaning standards really took a dive. If you saw the place during a regular work day, and not when they’ve prepared for cameras to roll, you’d never drink their beer again. They used to be great, but that time is gone. Try the other beers in Cleveland, as most of Cleveland’s breweries have someone who worked for GLBC or was trained by someone who worked there.
Great Beer! Glad I live in Ohio.
My wife and I got married at Great Lakes Brewing Company. They are such an important part of Cleveland’s history and revitalization.
Woo Hoo! Pat and Richard look gangsta