CLEVELAND — Ohio celebrated American Craft Beer Week with a special beer on tap called “From the Heart.”

What You Need To Know

  • The money going directly to support the association which was hit hard by the pandemic

  • Each brewery’s batch will taste a bit different 

“It's a nice beer. It's good and clean, easy drinker. It's a good one,” said Mike Piazza, head brewer at Blue Heron Brewery and Event Center in Medina. “It was a straightforward American IPA. We put a lot of the hop in late and kept the bitterness a little bit lower. So some of that rye could shine and it does it. It came through in the finish and it came out really well balanced and it turned out to be a great beer.”

The beer is designed to raise money for the Ohio Craft Brewers Association, a nonprofit trade group that supports the craft brewing industry in the state. American Craft Beer week was held May 10-16.

“They provide these opportunities for us to become better,” Piazza said. “They do so much to keep an eye out for stuff that we either don't have time to look at, you know, aren't aware of. Legislation, governing rights, fundraising opportunities, money-making opportunities for us so that when they reached out and said, we're missing revenue from Six One Pour and Columbus Craft Beer Week, what a great opportunity to help out the people that help us out.”

All of the ingredients were donated to the Craft Brewers Association.

Seventy Ohio breweries then bought those ingredients and the money went directly to support the association which was hit hard by the pandemic. 

“There's such a fraternal feel to the entire industry itself. To have everybody come together on one thing and then see where each guy can take their own spin on it. It's pretty cool. Cause you get a little touch of what each brewer's made of,” Piazza said. “Every beer is going to be different. That’s the appeal of it. Hopefully, people recognize that and they'll start visiting all these different breweries that participated in this fundraiser to help the Ohio Craft Brewers Association.”

Many breweries plan to package the beer for limited distribution. 

“We have it on tap now. We offer crawlers so we can package any of it up at any time in 16-ounce cans or in 64-ounce growlers,” Piazza said. “Get out, drink some beer. Go to your local brewery, support them. They could use your support.”

For more information on American Craft Beer Week or the Ohio Craft Brewers Association, click here to visit their website.