It’s not just a place for good friends and great food—Blue Heron Brewery is officially the best brewery in Greater Cleveland

By Ken McEntee

Mike Piazza was a home brew hobbyist before he became brewmaster and co-owner of Blue Heron Brewery four years ago. Blue Heron’s regular crowd of beer-loving patrons has amply testified to the quality and creativity of Mike’s concoctions.

But for good measure, last month Blue Heron further established itself as one of the best breweries in the state, earning six awards—including Best of Show—in the annual Ohio Craft Brewers Cup competition, which judged more than 400 craft beers. The Best of Show award was presented to Blue Heron’s Matrimony Ale, which also took the gold medal in the American light ale category.

Blue Heron also took gold in the German-style ale competition with its Yes, Hefe hefeweizen entry. Mike’s Tropicool won the silver medal in the “sour/wild with fruit” category.

Meanwhile, Blue Heron claimed the title of best brewery in the Greater Cleveland region as well as the best nano brewery—for establishments that brew less than 1,000 barrels a year.

Testing creative new recipes and applying quality controls are among the key ingredients of Blue Heron’s successful brewing, Mike explains.

“Every time we release a new beer or finish a new batch, we do a sensory analysis of it, which is something I learned as a certified beer judge,” he says. “That ensures we’re hitting the parameters we’re looking for—and even if we do, we’re looking for ways to make it even better.”

A vibrant and welcoming pub atmosphere also is important to Blue Heron’s success, Mike emphasizes.

“We have a lot of regular customers who kind of see us as a home away from home,” he says. “We’ve become a really cool family spot for people to get away for a while.”

While Blue Heron celebrates its achievement, Mike and Ben Erjavec, executive chef and co-owner, are helping customers to celebrate the holidays, starting with the always popular Blue Heron Christmas Ale.

“We are proud to be Medina’s local brewery,” Mike comments. “We’re putting Christmas Ale into bourbon barrels, so a year from now we’ll be doing a special release of that beer in time for our Thanksgiving and Christmas take-and-bake dinners.”

Those chef-quality take-and-bake Christmas dinners are now available for this year’s holiday celebration, Ben says.

“We make it easy to enjoy a delicious meal with your family and friends, right in your own home, without the hassle of having to cook and clean up a messy kitchen,” he insists. “Our Christmas take-and-bake dinners are chef-prepared meals served right in the comfort of your festively decorated home. Everything is fully cooked and ready to warm up. We take care of all the hard work. All you have to do is order, pick it up on December 23 and warm it all up to enjoy on Christmas.”

The Christmas take-and-bake meals for families of four or more include:

• A 6-ounce filet mignon and chicken Florentine for each person.
• Smoked gouda and chive scalloped potatoes.
• Shrimp scampi with cheese tortellini and Alfredo.
• Roasted garlic and Parmesan broccoli with lemon butter.
• Blue Heron house salad.
• Fresh baked bread and garlic butter.
• Homemade chocolate peppermint roll.
• Red wine.

“It comes with full instructions about how to heat it all to perfection, whether you enjoy your filet rare or well done,” Ben promises.

Like Mike’s beer, Ben says he likes to get creative with the cuisine served at Blue Heron.

“As much as possible, we make everything from scratch,” he says. “We put a lot of love into everything on the menu and we like to change things up to bring new experiences to the table. We print our menu daily, so we can adjust on the fly and try new things.”

This holiday season, even if the weather outside is frightful, you can enjoy food and drinks in a toasty outdoor igloo dome.

The heated igloos, which comfortably seat up to eight people on plush lounge furniture—a sofa, a love seat and chairs—located on the Blue Heron patio, have become a wintertime favorite, Ben says.

The igloos, which can be rented in two-hour increments, feature full food and bar service.

You can order Christmas take-and-bake dinners, make igloo reservations and find information about Blue Heron’s annual New Year’s Eve party at BlueHeronMedina.com or by calling 330-870-BLUE (2583). You can find the latest updates on parties and entertainment at Facebook: @BlueHeronMedina. Blue Heron Brewery is located at 3227 Blue Heron Trace in Medina.