Lock 15 to keep name, beers, restaurant, staff after being acquired by Brew Kettle

Akron's Lock 15 Brewing Co. has been acquired by Brew Kettle, based in Middleburg Heights, but it's not going to change its beer or restaurant brand.

Becoming part of a larger company will help increase Lock 15's profit margin, allowing it to expand while reining in costs, said Joe Karpinski, Lock 15 co-founder and head brewer.

"Nothing's gonna change in regards to our branding, our name, our menu, our beer. We're just gonna have access to better costing − better costs for food and beer ingredients with purchasing power because we're gonna be part of a larger organization," he said.

The goal is to gain access to better-quality, lower-cost ingredients, which translates to customer-friendly prices.

With the acquisition, none of the 47 employees will be laid off at Lock 15, which opened 5½ years ago at Cascade Lofts next to Cascade Locks Park.

Karpinski said costs for the restaurant industry and breweries are "out of control" due to inflation and higher interest rates on loans. The craft beer market also has seen a downturn in recent years.

Recent sales at Lock 15 have been flat.

"Over the last couple years, as much as we've been doing to try to expand what we're doing here on premise – bringing in more customers, selling more beer and more food – it really hasn't changed much," Karpinski said. "We're not losing money, but we weren't expanding and growing like we had been up until really the point of the pandemic, when everything changed."

Customers' tastes and habits also have changed. In the last couple years, customers have been seeking lower alcohol by volume (ABV) beer options or non-alcoholic (NA) beer options. Lock 15 doesn't have the equipment to brew non-alcoholic beer, but it has been brewing more lower-alcohol beers.

"We have a lot of 4 and 5% beers now. When we opened, the trend was quite the opposite; it was bigger, stronger, heartier beers," Karpinski said.

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'Win-win' deal for Brew Kettle, Lock 15

Karpinski co-founded Lock 15 with Colin Cook, who left the company in September. With Brew Kettle's acquisition of the Akron business, Karpinski remains head brewer and is also now general manager at Lock 15.

"Joe [Karpinski is] a great brewer. He's very creative and he does a lot of one-off beers in his facility that we necessarily couldn't do maybe in a 40-barrel system at our production facility," said Bryan Weber, president and majority owner of Brew Kettle. "Ultimately, by acquiring some of these great brewers, we can showcase their beers at our taprooms and I think help promote their brand, so it's a win-win situation.

"My goal is with these kinds of acquisitions is to give talented brewers and talented chefs the financial support that they need to be great. It's all about trying to give the customers a better experience," Weber said.

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Lock 15 brews more than 30 year-round and seasonal beers.

The brewpub will continue to offer its eclectic, creative food menu as well as traditional European beer styles and creative American beer styles.

Lock 15 has a chef-driven kitchen with creative, scratch-made food, featuring everything from burgers and tacos to octopus carpaccio and New Orleans-style shrimp and grits.

Brew Kettle's brewpubs are primarily sports bar brewpubs that serve smoked meats, with all the smoking done in-house.

"From their point of view, they definitely wanted to expand their portfolio in regards to what kind of beers and food options were available under that umbrella," Karpinski said of Brew Kettle.

Brew Kettle currently has five brewpubs in Strongsville, Amherst, Mentor, Hudson and Hall of Fame Village in Canton.

Brew Kettle expansion

Brew Kettle's purchase of Lock 15 fits into its expansion plan. In other recent acquisitions, parent company Brew Kettle Operating Co. bought Canton Brewing Co. in May and L'uva Bella winery in the Youngstown area late last year.

"For Brew Kettle, it's really to create a house of brands that we don't interrupt the creative talent of the chefs or the brewers," Weber said.

Brew Kettle, founded in 1995 in Strongsville, also will open a brewpub in Brunswick Hills in March.

The company's future expansion plan also includes developing its own local barley fields, Weber said.

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Lock 15 beer production to expand

Lock 15 will be expanding its beer production for increased distribution. Its beers also will be carried in Brew Kettle's taprooms.

The key is for Brew Kettle to help smaller operations struggling with higher costs, Weber said.

"All we want do is empower them to be as creative as they possibly can without the stress of having to try to go it alone. We're there to support them," he said.

Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Brew Kettle buys Lock 15 Brewing Co. in Akron, will keep beers, menu