CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio - The Stewart family doesn’t go out for a beer together. They go out for about 1,200 beers.
The owners and operators of Crooked Pecker Brewing Co., which opened two months ago in Chagrin Falls, have the family affair down with a delineation of duties:
Scott, dad: In charge of shop operations, maintaining equipment.
Karen, mom: An accountant, she handles the books.
Erik, son: Brewer.
Heather, daughter: Deals with design, marketing, front end of the business.
"We all still get along," Scott said. "Everyone has their job and it gets done."
Added Erik: "It's awesome. If you're doing a good job they know. If you're doing a terrible job they'll let you know."
The brewery fits into a comfortable space at 8284 E. Washington St., with the canning operation just a few feet behind the bar. Keep going further back, and you'll be in the five-barrel-brewhouse.
And even though they stay on top of their individual responsibilities, they all jump in to can on the line they own. As a matter of fact, they're pretty open to folks helping them. When I stopped by recently, they put me to work: I learned to tuck the open-topped pint can under the small hose, fill it, top it off, then seal it with a lid and give it a quick rinse. Then it was on to the labeling machine, where I'd pull a can from a flat, cradle it in the machine, and hit a handheld clicker to rotate the can. A label affixes itself automatically.
On this day, Scott said, they would handle 1,200 cans. Each pallet holds 4,000 cans, he said.
While Erik studied at American Brewers Guild in Vermont, interned at Oskar Blues Brewing in North Carolina, and home-brewed for several years, Scott's expertise in suds is a bit more, uhh, less formal.
"I've been a beer taster for many years," said Scott, a real-estate agent who, like his wife, grew up in Bainbridge and attended Kenston schools. All four live in Newbury.
"When we decided on doing it this area was a no-brainer," he said. "It's like home. It's like opening a business in your own back yard."
The decision to open was made "as a family," he said. "We decided as a family this area really needs a brewery. … We're the only brewery in Geauga County."
Lucky Owl Brewing in Bainbridge had operated for several years, but it has not brewed this year. The next closest might be Cleveland Heights breweries The BottleHouse, Voodoo and Boss Dog, about 15 miles to the west, The Brew Kettle and Hop Tree Brewing in Hudson about 16 miles to the south, and Willoughby and Brim about 19 miles to the north.
That leaves Chagrin Falls as a brewing oasis that Crooked Pecker's owners were ready to fill. And the location with limited competition is partly responsible for keeping the taps flowing and the cans filling.
No one beer stands out as a best seller, Scott said, though India Pale Ales are popular. Half pours are $2.75; full, $5.50.
"We try to keep up; we're running out of space," said Scott, who added "We opened very quietly. Our capacity is 24 seats. If I did a big promo I'd get flooded."
And then of course there's the name. Scott said they were "goofing around with names," and an artist pal of Erik and Heather’s brought his sketch pad to a home brew, where he drew pileated woodpeckers. When it came time to fill out federal and state submittal forms, they kept coming back to Crooked Pecker.
And as far as Scott sees it, they welcome other breweries in the region.
"We want more," he said. "I'd love to see five more open in this area. Then it becomes a destination."
Six-pack of facts about Crooked Pecker Brewing Co.
• It's open three days a week, 3 to 10 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and noon to 10 p.m. Saturday.
• The cooler is salvaged from Wildwater Kingdom in Aurora. The park closed in 2016.
• About two dozen specialty beers from other breweries sit across a beam high above the bar. The empty vessels are some of Erik's favorites.
• The bar itself is live-edge maple from Geauga County.
• Crooked Pecker has limited distribution, through Tacos Tonto in Kent and Western Reserve Distillery in Lakewood.
• The brewery, which has a parking lot, sits about 2.5 miles to the east of downtown Chagrin Falls.