A Brewery for the Working Class

For those who know me, a brewery for working people is just my type of brewery.  My day job consists of me fighting for the rights of working men and women across the United States.  So, when I heard about the appropriately named Working Class Brewery, which is located at Kamm's Corner in Cleveland, Ohio, I made sure that I would pay a visit.  Needless to say, the visit left me thinking I may have found a new place to hang out whenever I am back in C-Town.

The people behind Working Class Brewery are Richard Skains and Carmen Rusionello.   Skains was a teacher and band director for the Cleveland City School District, but his side passion is brewing beer.  As a home brewer, Skains won the Best in Show competition with his Smoked Bock made with Chipotle Peppers.  After that, Skains worked as a part-time, assistant brewer at Rocky River Brewing and Fat Heads Brewery.  (As followers of this blog know, Fat Heads is my favorite craft brewer.)  So, the working class motif along with the experience working with an expert brewer like Matt Cole of Fat Head's is definitely a combination that appeals to the beer lover in me.

The working class motif is evident throughout the tap room.  There are the black and white pictures of working people, separated by logos of various international and local unions, including the International Union of Operating Engineers, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, the Bakery, Confectionary and Tobacco Workers, and the International Association of Machinists.   The names of the beers further emphasize workers, such as the Bricklayer Brown Ale, the Oil Rigger Chocolate Stout, and the Pipefitters Porter.  

The beers also underscore what I think is the Fat Heads inspiration.  Working Class Brewery has a wide range of beer styles that pour from the re-purposed tap handles (which were anchor bolts from the brewing system). The styles that include, but are not limited to, an American blonde, a brown ale, a dunkelweiss, a pale ale, an IPA, a porter, a smoked porter, a chocolate stout, a Russian imperial stout and a tripel.  They even had a radler, which is a rarity on brewery tap lists.  

Given the wide range of beer styles, I decided to do a five beer sampler.  (I would have tried a ten beer sampler but for the fact that I had a beer or two at lunch.)   The five beers that I chose were the Snow Job Christmas Ale (which was released on the day that I visited the tap room), the Bricklayer Brown Ale, the Aviator IPA, the Pipefitter's Porter, and the Overtime Session IPA.

All of the beers were excellent, with each one fitting very well within its style.  I had to go ahead and try individual samplers of the two beers that could not be included with a five beer sampler.  These were the Bank Boss Tripel and the the Cube Done Russian Imperial Stout.  Once again, the brewers hit the mark for each of the style.

It is rare to go to a brewery taproom and leave with the conclusion that all of the beers sampled are excellent.   They exist, like Fatheads Brewery in Ohio, D.C. Brau in Washington, D.C. and Jailbreak Brewing in Maryland.  Now, I can add Working Class Brewing to that list.  If you happen to be in the Kamm's Corner neighborhood, the Working Class taproom is definitely worth the visit.  Until next time ...

 ENJOY!