USA, OH: Schnitz Ale Brewery expands with new production facility and tasting room in Strongsville

When Fat Head’s moved into its massive Middleburg Heights production facility, it set off a game of craft-beer musical chairs. Eager for more production capacity themselves, the Brew Kettle team decamped from its Strongsville-based brewery for the former Fat Head’s facility on Sheldon Road. That cleared the way for the Djurin family to make a similar jump by staking a claim on the former Brew Kettle space for their two-year-old Schnitz Ale brand. That family, which also operates Das Schnitzel Haus, purchased the property in 2022 and started brewing there this past fall, the Cleveland Scene reported on February 7.

“We were very limited with that 7-barrel brewery in Parma,” explains CEO Igor Djurin. “The right opportunity arrived with the old Brew Kettle production facility, so we jumped on it.”

The move expands the brand’s output capacity 12-fold, going from just 600 barrels per year in Parma to 500 barrels per month in Strongsville. The new Schnitz Ale facility will focus on core beers like the Coach Dunkel, Boozendorf Hazy DIPA, and Classic Kolsch. It will also clear the way for big seasonal releases that will include an Irish red ale, summer shandy, Oktoberfest Märzen and Christmas ale. Thanks to a distribution deal with Heidelberg, the beers will be sold at Giant Eagle, Heinen’s and DrugMart with more accounts to come.

And because every good brewery needs a tasting room, the Djurins are putting one of their own together in Strongsville. Dubbed Schnitz Ale Brew Works (20102 Progress Dr.), the expected opening date is March 1.

“What we really want to accomplish with it is to get back to your traditional brewery tasting room, where people come in and talk beer,” adds Djurin. “The nice thing with this place is that it’s away from the hustle and bustle, per se, tucked away in an industrial parkway.”

The 50-seat pub and gift shop will carry regular and exclusive Schnitz Ale beers and serve light fare like salads, pretzels, and other snacks along with offerings from the Schnitz Ale food truck.

08 February, 2024