Great Lakes Brewing says cheers to 25 years with commemorative beers, crowns and community events

Northeast Ohio is one of the most dynamic craft brewing communities anywhere in America. Today, the Cleveland/Akron area is peppered with a fantastic array of craft beer companies from Buckeye Brewing Co. to Indigo Imp Brewery to Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. But one Ohio craft pioneer in particular stands out from the rest — Great Lakes Brewing Co. (GLBC), Ohio’s oldest craft brewery — which is celebrating a whopping 25 years in business in 2013.

In commemoration of this momentous anniversary, GLBC bottles will be topped with a limited edition silver crown featuring the official GLBC 25th anniversary seal (above). This seal will also be imprinted on GLBC’s packaging and point of sale throughout 2013.

In addition to packaging updates, GLBC will produce two commemorative beers. The first is a collaborative effort with Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery, a smoked porter that will join Deschutes’ “Class of ‘88” collaboration series. The second, GLBC’s official 25th anniversary beer, is currently being developed and will be released in the summer of 2013. We’ll keep you updated on the latter. The year-long anniversary celebration will culminate in a series of local and regional events, including a block party in GLBC’s Ohio City neighborhood on Sept. 6, the Brewery’s official anniversary date. More details will be announced as the anniversary date approaches.

The back story: In 1988, the year GLBC opened their Cleveland Brewpub’s doors, they brewed 1,000 barrels of beer. In 2012, GLBC reported 131,777 total barrels produced. Since creating their first beer, Dortmunder Gold Lager, GLBC has grown to bottle and distribute 14 Year-Round and Seasonal beers in addition to creating numerous draft-only Pub Exclusive beers.

To learn more about GLBC’s great products, read our recent story with brewer Luke Purcell, as he discusses one of the brewery’s flagship titles — the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter.