The Three Amigos behind Nowhere in Particular and Somewhere in Particular are now brewing beer in a Gahanna industrial complex under the Heart State Brewing banner.
Given the craziness of the pandemic, owners Pat Sullivan, Max Unverferth and Russ Cope have taken a different tack with their new business. Often a new brewery would open a taproom to build the brand and establish themselves in the market, and then, and only then, venture into retail sales. In January, taprooms were empty, but retail sales were booming, so Heart State brought in mobile canners and focused 100% on packaged and keg sales. Their prior relationship with distributor Premium Beverage enabled them to quickly find shelf space in local bottle shops and groceries. They can be found in Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati stores now, with Cleveland coming in July. This rapid market penetration has their 15-bbl brewing system already pumping out 75 bbls/week, with sights on hitting 135 bbls/week by year end.
Their retail focus is largely based on their six core beers: Land, Strings, Throb, Break, Ache, and Sweet. At first glance, rather odd beer names, but take just one moment and see it you get the thought behind these names. Stumped? Think about the name of the brewery. Still stumped? Add Heart to each name. The six beers include a hard-to-find Hefeweizen, an Amber, a West Coast IPA, a Hazy IPA, a Sour, and a Milk Stout. Expect to find these consistently on store shelves, plus one or two seasonal beers. These will likely include a summer Shandy, a Marzen, a Pumpkin lager, and a Christmas ale among others. Something else to look for on store shelves are mixed four packs, giving the buyer the opportunity to try four variations on the same beer style with one easy purchase.
Now that the pandemic has blown over (we hope), a taproom makes sense. They are located in the former Kindred production facility on Cross Pointe Road. It once was to become the Wetstone Beer Company, and that group put in a taproom that never opened. The Heart State gang are putting some polishing touches on the spacious 75 seat taproom, and expect to open to the public yet this month. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for the actual opening date. They will have 10 beers on tap, all house beers plus their Fun Water, a hard Seltzer.
As an added bonus, this strip of the industrial park provides one stop shopping for your next party. Heart State will have beer to go, then walk next door to the Noble Cut Distillery for some locally made Bourbon, and another couple doors down is Simple Times Mixers for your cocktails needs.
Heart State Brewing is located at 750-I Cross Point Road in Gahanna and will be open Thursday – Sunday.
