Don’t you just love it when a day comes together, unexpectedly perfect? This reporter does! It was Thursday, September 15, when Ethel was asked to cover a luau. Being a reporter can be fun…being invited to a luau, and potentially getting paid for it, sign me up! Anyhow, after the luau, Ethel had some time on her hands, so went to her other job a bit early. Or, so she intended….
As she drove on Washington Street in Chagrin Falls, there was an intriguing sign, “Bummin’ Beaver Brewery.” To this day, she swears that the car turned in the driveway of its own volition. Ethel had nothing to do with it. But she is mighty glad it did.
A beautiful country-like setting, a nice patio seating area, a modest building with a left-hand doorway entrance — very inviting! Totally unaware of the time (BBB wasn’t open yet) Ethel walks in like she owns the place. (Dreams can come true…) Rather than being turned away until opening, the owners greeted her and shared their story. Quite the story indeed!
Bummin’ Beaver Brewery is located at 11610 Washington Street in Chagrin Falls. It is owned by Tony Solitro, Mike Rutana and Dave Rutana. They are in an LLC partnership. This all began with a hobby they shared, that of home brewing. Tony practiced homebrewing for about 25 years, Dave has been making wine for 40 years, and together Mike and Dave have been brewing beer for 7 years. Dave and Mike are a father-son team. Both together and individually they would brew their batches, share with each other and various (lucky) organizations of which they were part. After all that practice, they got good, really good, at it. Often, after taking a deep drink, lucky people would exclaim it was so good they could sell it. That planted a seed or two in their minds, (mostly likely hops seeds.)
Sherry Rutana, Dave’s wife, involved them in an all-grain brewing class, through the Vine and Hop of Medina. And that changed everything! The knowledge gained in this class improved their (already good) beers. They started having tasting groups. This led to the decision to sell their wares during the quarantine. This timing allowed them to find a location, renovate it to their specifications and work out a business model. For a while, their beers were only available at festivals, etc., where they would set up as vendors. Now, their inviting building is ready and open. As a matter of fact, their opening day was August 19, 2022. According to Tony, it was so well attended that parking became difficult. They had food trucks and a DJ. They now periodically host live music in addition to the occasional food trucks. Although they do have a limited supply of prepackaged snacks available at all times, customers are welcome to bring their own food, or order for delivery. Sirna’s Pizza is nearby!
When Ethel entered, Tony graciously offered a tour of the facility. Having mentioned that she used to brew (2 batches, decades ago) she was treated like a colleague. Tony showed me the sparkling, spanking new keg room, shared the brew process and their system of tracking. (No proprietary secrets were forthcoming, to Ethel’s dismay.) Dave shared the upgrades they did to the building. Mike shared a sample of their beer, 422 Highway to Helles.
Speaking of their wares, the lengthy menu is prominently displayed above a long row of personalized taps. The left two columns are beers that are always on hand, with a brief description of each one. 422 is a Helles Lager, Ethel recommends it! If you are into heavier beer, they have McFarland Creek Wee Heavy, a Scottish Ale with an alcohol content of 7.2%. Auburn Beaver Tail Ail is a Pale Ale at 6.3%. There are more, but listing them all is giving this reporter a powerful thirst.
The righthand column is often changing, this is the list of their Pilot Batches. Always introduced on Pilot Wednesdays, they are available until consumed. This week, Beaver Paw Black IPA, Pond Scum Golden, Albino Beaver Coffee White Stout, Beaver Berry Gose, and others were listed. Pilot batches are new recipes that partners try. If popular, they might try them again!
All beers are available in three sizes; 5 oz, 10oz and 16 oz. If you are, as Ethel was, overwhelmed by the variety, they serve flights. For $14.00, one can get a Flight of Four. Now one gets 4 decisions…or why not eight? When ordering a flight, one fills out the brief order card and anxiously awaits the liquid goodness while watching it get poured. Growlers are available for take home.
Opening a brewery can be considered a leap of faith. What are their day jobs? The expertise behind this trio is amazing. Tony is a chemist; he works with the Mahoning Watershed. He tests water for impurities. Dave was in IT. Mike is a Geologist. Only Tony has kept his day job. But all three are All In for this venture. So, yay for science!
When sampling the wonderful wares, one wonders about the name…Tony takes credit for that. According to their website, www.bumminbeaver.com, the story goes…
As part of Tony’s day job activities, he collects water samples at one of the local streams. One of the streams has a beaver lodge upstream from the water sampling point. Sometimes Tony would see a beaver out in the water doing beaver stuff, like collecting sticks, swimming around etc. Initially, it was scared, but over time the beaver became used to Tony collecting samples. On the fateful spring day, Tony went to collect samples, as he normally would. As he drove on the road that runs next to the stream, Tony saw something on the side of the road. It was the beaver. He was sad, if not bummed, that the poor thing got run over. So, in memory of the beaver on that day we wanted to name the brewery after it.
Fortunately for Ethel, her path goes by BBB every week. She hopes to sample all. Goals, eh?
If you are intrigued, why don’t you stop in? Hours are 3:00pm to 10:00pm Wednesday through Saturday. Like them on Facebook to keep informed of special events, new Pilot beers, etc. They also do private events. Contact them by:
Facebook BumminBeaverBrewery
www.bumminbeaver.com
(440) 543-9900
Their motto is Eccentric Brews to tantalize your taste buds, but fan favorites, too! Just be sure, while you tantalize your tastebuds, you do it responsibly! We want you able to come back for more.
