After four years of mastering the art of finely crafted beer, Blue Heron Brewery is ready to celebrate the sip

By Ken McEntee

The transition from making beer at home to opening a commercial brewery was intimidating, acknowledges Mike Piazza, brew master and co-owner of Blue Heron Brewery. But four years later, area beer connoisseurs count on Mike to surprise them with eclectic new twists to supplement his signature brews that have kept them coming in since Blue Heron’s taps first opened.

“I had some sound recipes to begin with and we’ve only gotten better by staying close to what the trends in beer are and what our demographic wants—and making sure that we always provide the good stuff,” Mike says. “We’re very lucky to have a lot of outstanding people with us who help focus on the execution of all the parts that go into make this thing successful. We’re always striving to make our product better, with Ben [Erjavec, executive chef and co-owner] being the lead on the food side and myself on the beer side.”

To celebrate its fourth anniversary of brewing, Blue Heron will offer a variety of events and specials during the week of October 16. Each night will feature a three-course meal—an appetizer, an entrée and dessert—paired with a flight of beers for $30.

“We have four brand- new beers coming out for the occasion,” Mike says. “Two of them are coming out of our barrel-aging program. One has been residing in bourbon barrels for eight months and another for 10 months. The eight- month beer is an English barleywine that we had on tap when we made it in January. We’re going to be releasing the bourbon barrel-aged version of it for the fourth anniversary. Then we also have an imperial stout called Benefit of the Stout. It aged in Woodinville whiskey barrels.”

The other two are an English imperial stout and a grapefruit IPA.

“The English stout is a full-bodied beer that brings a sweet finish to a meal,” Mike explains. “With the grapefruit IPA, we started with a red IPA and used hops that focus on the terpenes that bring grapefruit to the table. There is no grapefruit juice in the beer, but it’s going to have all the showcasing of those flavors.”

Experimentation is one of the fun parts of Mike’s job, he emphasizes.

“We’re constantly trying to make each beer better than the last,” he says. “Every time a new beer comes out we taste it and immediately think about what steps we can take to make it better.”

On Thursday night, October 19, while patrons make beer disappear from their mugs, magicians will perform tableside from 5:30 to 7:30. A live band will perform in the brewpub the following evening from 5-9 p.m.

“We’re going to have some nice giveaways on Saturday [October 21],” Ben promises.

Meanwhile, Blue Heron continues to be a favored Sunday football destination, thanks in part to its all-you-can-eat wing special, served with fries, for $18.

“We also have Sunday buckets of Blue Heron beer in cans—six cans for $15,” Ben says.

With the holidays fast approaching, Ben notes that Blue Heron will offer its popular Take & Bake Thanksgiving feast, featuring turkey and all the trimmings. It’s also nearly time to reserve your outdoor heated igloo domes for chilly evenings. The domes seat up to eight people and feature full food and bar service.

You can find out more about the Take & Bake dinners and make igloo reservations at BlueHeronMedina.com or by calling 330-870-BLUE (2583). Blue Heron Brewery is located at 3227 Blue Heron Trace, in Medina.