USA, OH: Noble Beast Brewing Co. eyeing late spring opening

Shaun Yasaki cut his teeth at Fat Head's Brewery, became the first brewer at Platform Beer Co., and is now striking out on his own with Noble Beast Brewing Co., Cleveland.com reported on January 26.

After Yasaki left Platform, he took time off to work on a business plan and moonlighted at Market Garden Brewery in Ohio City.

"I enjoyed it," he said. "You always learn something new."

What's 'new' is that Yasaki is adding to Cleveland's downtown brewery scene. Up until recently, if you heard "new brewery" and "Cleveland" in the same sentence you automatically thought of Ohio City and its enclave of local craft beers. Not anymore. Terrestrial Brewing is planning on opening in Battery Park while the taps recently started flowing at Masthead Brewing on Superior Avenue.

Yasaki, raised in the West Park area of Cleveland, has a bachelor's degree in entrepreneurship from Grove City College in western Pennsylvania. He is eying a 'late spring' opening for his brewery on Lakeside Avenue East.

The brewery’s name is a marriage of brewing approaches.

Noble, as in Noble hops, traditional German varieties of Hallertau, Saaz, Spalt and Tettnang.

"I love that side of brewing - the technical side," Yasaki said. "Then the beast is American, where the rules are being blown up."

Yasaki is correct: American brewers are limited only by how far their creative imagination will stretch. Style guidelines remain, but brewers have no qualms in altering the way things have been done.

Noble Beast's space - 1470 Lakeside - once was occupied by Brinks Armored Transport. Walls and the ceiling were black. It sits a few feet from the giant rounded cement ball, a decommissioned planetarium, and SuccessTech Academy.

The building is 4,800 square feet - a "perfect size," said Yasaki, who envisions the area's many employees stopping by for a bite or a beer. WKYC Channel 3, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Cuyahoga County offices all are within sight.

"It worked out," he said. "It's on the edge of everything - downtown, the Shoreway, East Ninth."

And a patio is coming, he said.

His time spent with Legos as a kid paid off: Yasaki had a hand in the design of the brewhouse and physical structure. Its space, while not cavernous, takes advantage of an open design and raised back area for tables. Much like a good ballpark, you can see almost the entire area from anywhere within the brewery.

"On a custom brewhouse you know every little thing that happens ... I was able to build my own dream system," he said. "I've always enjoyed building things."

When he could do it, he did. When he needed help, he found engineers online. Now a work crew is making his dream a reality, piece by piece.

The brewing equipment is a 10-barrel system from Portland Kettle Works.

Yasaki will be employing decoction, a German brewing technique that controls temperature. It's "an ingenious way to hit the temperature changes," he said. "Only a handful of breweries are using it."

Mashing is a part of the brewing process where various chemical reactions take place in brewhouse vessels before fermentation. With decoction, a brewer can take out part of the mash of grains, raise the temperature, and then return it. It brings out the flavor in malts.

To start, Yasaki is looking to brew a Kolsch, Altbier, India Pale Ale and a couple of Belgian ales. But there's no limit to what he will brew.

"As a brewer, there's not a single style I'm not interested in," he said. Collaborations with Fat Head's and other breweries are possible.

"I know I can make some good beer," Yasaki said. "It's just figuring out how to sell it."

Chef will be James Redford, who worked with Ben Bebenroth of Spice Kitchen, and the menu will have a "locally sourced pub fare" focus, Yasaki said.

"I've been doing farm-to-table food pretty much my entire career, working with fire (restaurant) or Spice," said Redford, who has built a relationship with farmers.

He plans sandwiches with meats from local butchers, bread from local bakeries and produce from farmers.

"I'm going to try to incorporate some of the by-products of the brewing process," Redford added.

That means he plans to take some of the beer or wort from the brewing process and turn it into vinegar for a vinaigrette, or dehydrate spent grain for flour for crackers, he said.

26 January, 2017