Masthead Brewing

While only 4 years old, Cleveland’s Masthead Brewing has quickly made a name for themselves. Between their steady approach to brewing styles across the spectrum, resulting in multiple award-winning beers, and their historic taproom & restaurant, they’re an under-the-radar brewery worth seeking out.

Officially launching their endeavor in January of 2017, Masthead Brewing was founded by Frank Luther with co-owners Matt Slife, and Head Brewer Mike Pelechaty (formerly of Black Box Brewing). Over the course of two years, they made a nationwide search of over 200 locations to find the right spot, ultimately settling in the heart of downtown Cleveland.

As for the name of the brewery, it’s inspired by a bit of Cleveland history. The city was originally named after it’s founder, Moses Cleaveland, though was ultimately changed to it’s current incarnation after it’s newspaper, The Cleaveland Advertiser, couldn’t fit the entire name on it’s masthead in 1831. So, they removed the first “a” and the town’s been spelled Cleveland ever since.

Their location is a sprawling 17,000 square foot space featuring 16 foot high ceilings, a 108 foot long bar and a 20 bbl brewhouse. Known as the Bryant Building, it was built in 1921 as a car dealership and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In their first year they won bronze at GABF for their Mid West Red, then gold for the same beer in 2018, and another gold in 2020 for Augenblick Light Lager. While they only had 6 beers on tap at opening, they produced in excess of 2,000 bbls their first year.

Today, Masthead’s taproom features 16 of their own beers and are currently brewing upwards of 7 to 8 thousand barrels each year. They’ve become known for their juicy New England-style IPAs, their barrel aging program, as well their wood-fired, Neapolitan-style pizzas. Since their opening, the brewery has created over 225 unique beers and continues to astound with impressive consistency amid that variety.

We’ve been working with Masthead Brewing for just over a year now and are excited to have them back in Oregon! This latest shipment includes 5 canned and 5 draft offerings, with deliveries having already begun earlier this week:

• Best Case Scenario ~ West Coast DIPA ~ This Double IPA shows off our brew staff’s favorite new hop, Strata. When you open this can you’ll be greeted with aromatic notes of pineapple, mango and sweet melon. The flavor continues with notes of pineapple and a soft pleasant bitterness. This beer is a testament that even in tough times, good things can happen – 8.3%. Available in 16oz cans and on draft.
• Double Citra Vice ~ New England-style Double IPA ~ After rolling up to the bottle share in your white Lamborghini Countach, you grab your 4 pack of Masthead Double Citra Vice, kick the door down, and instantly become the hoppiest person at the party – 8.1%. Available in 16oz cans and on draft.
• Masthead IPA ~ West Coast IPA ~ Massive amounts of Simcoe and Mosaic for a delicious dose of pine, passion fruit, and grapefruit – 6.8%. Available in 16oz cans and on draft.
• Single Origin Coffee Stout ~ We partnered with our friends at Six Shooter Coffee to bring you this mash-up of our two favorite beverages. The lightly roasted Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee beans used in this beer bring flavors and aromas of berry and cocoa that pair perfectly with the roasty notes from the stout. We canned this beer with nitrogen, so give it a hard pour into a glass to create a thick, creamy, and persistent head – 6.9%. Available in 16oz cans and on draft.
• Superior Wit ~ Witbier ~ Our take on a classic Belgian style, this sessionable ale was brewed with lemon peel, orange peel and freshly cracked coriander – 5.7% Available only in 16oz cans.
• Tire Swing ~ New England-style Pale Ale ~ This hazy pale ale is perfect for spring. Bursting with notes of citrus and stone fruit, this beer has just enough bitterness, hop flavor and aroma to keep it quaffable – 5.5%. Available only on draft.

Content for this article was sourced from Masthead Brewing, Cleveland Scene, Cleveland Magazine, and Ohio Magazine.