The North Coast has become a brewery bonanza over the last decade. From Sandusky to Port Clinton, breweries have been delighting hops fans across the region. What’s next for brewing in the area? Operators of local breweries weigh in.
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The foreground of the Twin Oast property in Catawba Island Township.
TWIN OAST
3630 NE Catawba Rd, Port Clinton, OH 43452
Cory Smith (Co-Founder)
Question: When did your brewery open?
Answer: May 11, 2018
Q. How many different beers do you brew on site annually?
A. We try to keep 15-20 on tap at all times, and make about 35 different beers throughout the year.
Q. What is your flagship beer?
A. Our Flagship beer has to be our Old Ohio Blonde Ale. Our Legitimate Swells IPA is a close second, but people love Old Ohio because it's an easy drinking, light-bodied beer, especially during our busy summer season.
Q. What is your oddest beer?
A. Every year to celebrate the end of winter, we brew a beer called Ice Shove. Ice Shove is a Belgian White IPA with local apples and rosemary. The rosemary adds an awesome herbal complexity that balances the sweetness of the apples and the malt. It's one of those beers that takes people a few sips to fully grasp, but once they do it becomes a fan favorite.
Q. What ways do you connect your brand to the North Coast?
A. We really lean into the fact that we are a Farm-to-Fermenter brewery and use as many local ingredients as possible into our food and beer offerings. For example, the North Coast happens to be a great place to grow apricots in Ohio, and we have a brew called Apricatawba, which celebrates our unique ability to grow such sweet, juicy stone fruit.
Q. Other than your own, who has the best beer in town/the area?
A. Keeping it to the North Coast, I would probably give the best beer title to Fat Heads – I'll take a Goggle Fogger or a Hop JuJu any day.
Q. Where do you see your brewery in the next 5-10 years?
A. We are currently working on getting our barrel-aged sour program up and running, which is going to be a huge part of our future. I believe we have a unique ability to use our farm to create beers with terroir that lend flavors signature to Twin Oast. I'd also love to expand our distribution at least to Columbus, if not all of Ohio. We currently self-distribute beer along Lake Erie from Toledo to Cleveland, and while I never plan to distribute outside of the state, I do feel we can dramatically increase where we can be found.
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The exterior of Saucy Brew Works in downtown Sandusky.
SAUCY BREW WORKS
215 E. Water St., Sandusky
Amanda Kantor (Marketing Coordinator)
Q. When did your brewery open?
A. Saucy Brew Works was founded in 2017 in Cleveland. Our flagship brewery is in the heart of Ohio City Hingetown. Our Sandusky location has been open since May 2022 and is located downtown in the heart of Sandusky on Water Street. There are two separate entrances for the Taproom and Coffeehouse.
Q. How many different beers do you brew on site annually?
A. Since Saucy Brew Works opened in 2017, we have brewed around 300 different beers! While the annual numbers may vary, we pride ourselves in using the finest ingredients, employing state of the art techniques, and continuing to try different approaches to keep our brews fresh and unique. At the Sandusky location, we have 14 tap handles featuring Saucy Brew Works craft beer.
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Two of Saucy's best-selling ales, El Lager and Juicy ASAP. (Photo courtesy of Saucy Brew Works)Q. What is your flagship beer?
A. When you think of Saucy Brew Works, you think of Juicy Asap. It’s our American IPA and #1 IPA that’s tropical, citrusy, and most certainly juicy with a 6.5% ABV. It is available year-round at all five of our SBW locations, and you can find it in 12 oz 6-packs and 12-packs at local retailers.
Q. What is your oddest beer?
A. We wouldn’t necessarily call it the oddest beer, but they are some of our most unique tasting beers. We've been working with a specific sour yeast called Lachancea since 2017, and from the start we thought we might be onto something unique in the world of brewing. Lachancea Thermotolerans are a rare yeast that creates lactic acid during fermentation, and results in a completely different taste and mouthfeel of an oak fermented sour. When examined under a microscope, the yeast cells began to drift, which inspired the series. Releases in the Drifter Series include Dub Jam, Caught in the Rain, Young and Wild, and Verde, which utilized the new signature name, "Lachancea Tart."
Q. What ways do you connect your brand to the North Coast?
A. Saucy Brew Works was born and brewed in Cleveland. Our Cleveland location sits on Detroit Avenue, directly across from Lake Erie. For us, it’s all about supporting our community and using local resources. Everyone knows you need water to make beer, and the connection and proximity to the North Coast and Lake Erie is spectacular.
Q. Other than your own, who has the best beer in town/the area?
A. We love supporting and sharing pints with our fellow Cleveland breweries, and there’s a lot of them that produce delicious brews. You can find our team hanging at Masthead Brewing Co., with their incredible lineup of beers and pizza. We’ve done a few collaborations with them and look forward to what’s to come for the Ohio Brewery scene.
Q. Where do you see your brewery in the next 5-10 years?
A. At Saucy Brew Works, we are more than beer. We’ve expanded into the coffee world with our own line ‘Saucy Coffee’, which has already led us to open four coffeehouses inside four of our taproom locations, and is now available for purchase on Amazon. In the future, we’d like to continue bringing the best beer, food, coffee, and overall lifestyle experience to new markets. The Sandusky location offers an array of delicious menu items from sandwiches to fine dining options such as steak, and Saucy Brew Works Coffee just won Best Coffee in the 2022 Best of the Bay Awards. Stay tuned for what’s to come!
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The Bait House Brewery sign
BAIT HOUSE BREWERY
223 Meigs St., Sandusky
Alivia McGookey (Co-Owner)
Q. When did your brewery open?
A. August 3, 2018
Q. How many different beers do you brew on site annually?
A. We have around 12 beers on tap.
Q. What is your flagship beer?
A. Our “Sandbrewski IPA” has always been the fan favorite.
Q. What is your oddest beer?
A. “Snoop D.O Double P.B.” our Peanut Butter Porter, brewed as a fundraiser for the Humane Society 5K along with a “name that brew” fundraising competition.
Q. What ways do you connect your brand to the North Coast?
A. The concept for Bait House Brewery arose from the property's long-standing use as a bait and tackle shop. Fondly remembered by many Sandusky fisherman, Herb's Bait Shop served the community for almost seventy-five years. Now in loving tribute, Herb's stands Sandusky's first microbrewery, Bait House Brewery. Our Brewery draws on Sandusky's long-time connection not only with the fishing industry, but maritime life generally. Completely handmade, each style of our beer will delight those going out for a day's fishing, and fine craft beer lovers alike. Remember, there's "Nothin' Fishy About It!"
Q. Other than your own, who has the best beer in town/the area?
A. We enjoy all of our local craft breweries, our favorite would have to be Catawba Island Brewing.
Q. Where do you see your brewery in the next 5-10 years?
A. We started with only the brewery and food trucks in 2018/2019. Every penny we’ve made has gone back into the brewery to continue our progress. In 2021, we added a kitchen so we can now offer our own food pairings. In the future, we plan on expanding the kitchen, adding another bar to the property, which will expand our seating capacity and also upgrading to a larger brewing system.