As Sam McNulty sat in Market Garden Brewery one afternoon last week, the craft brewery owner overheard a couple discussing their plans. As they were leaving one of them said, “Let’s go drop our suitcases at the hotel and then go back to Nano Brew.”

McNulty, who also owns Nano Brew, was tickled by the conversation. “Word is starting to get out how amazing our city is and the brewery scene,” he says. “We’re kind of a best-kept secret. The more I travel, the more I realize Cleveland, hands down, has one of the best food scenes and one of the best brewery scenes.”

In fact, McNulty claims Cleveland’s brewery district in Ohio City ranks among the top in the country with the highest density of craft breweries, second only to Portland’s Pearl District. The area is home to eight craft breweries, two of which, Forest City Brewery and Hansa Haus, are about to open. One more, Earlybird Brewing Company, will open later this year.

That growth of the craft brewing scene was one motivator for McNulty to build the recently-completed 43,000-square-foot Palace of Fermentation, the new production and distribution facility for Market Garden and Nano Brew. The facility will brew and distribute three of its flagship beers and one of 10 seasonal beers throughout the year.

The building at 1849 W. 24th St. dates back to the 1840s. The one-acre plot was once a collection of houses that transitioned into stores and eventually became a manufacturing and distribution warehouse. During the renovation, the construction crew peeled back five layers of wallpaper and discovered a fireplace and other artifacts from days gone by.

The Palace, which got its name after brewmaster Andy Tveekrem jokingly named it, has been two-and-a-half years in the making. The facility, which officially opened last week, initially was designed to brew 250,000 gallons of beer with seven 2,200-gallon fermentation tanks in its first year with distribution to select vendors in Cuyahoga County, such as Lizardville, Barrio and Progressive Field.  

“The reason we built the production facility is, from day one, we were seeing so much demand and we have to be ahead of the demand curve,” says McNulty.

But demand has already exceeded capabilities. So McNulty and co-founder Mike Foran ordered five additional 6,500-gallon fermentation tanks, which will be delivered in a few weeks.

“It’s a good problem to have,” quips Foran. “But at the end of the day, I hate not being able to get more people our beer. We want to get beer to anyone who wants to drink it.”

Fermentation tanks with room for more at The Palace of Fermentation

In addition to beer production, McNulty sees the Palace of Fermentation as a resource to promote the growing beer tourism industry in Cleveland. The facility has been offering tours since it opened and will open its tasting room and retail store, offering “Market Garden goodies” in mid-May, Foran says.

“We're the first brewery - production scale or brewpub - in the city that was built from day one with tours and retail in mind,” McNulty adds.

Brewmaster and co-founder Andy Tveekrem overseeing the bottling process

The tours are conducted on five-foot-wide catwalks that run 15 feet above the action on the floor. While the walks currently span about 400 feet, plans include doubling the length in future expansion. The tasting room features a mahogany bar that was salvaged from a Lorain Avenue building undergoing its own renovations.

“We're really creating a brewing campus where we brew at three different scales and teach, tour, taste and train in all things brewing and beer,” says McNulty.

While keg distribution is underway, the staff was filling bottles of Progress pilsner and Prosperity wheat, which were named after the motto on the Cleveland flag, at the Palace last week in anticipation of the bottled beer distribution in May. Market Garden and Nano Brew will also continue to brew at their respective pubs.

“We're super excited to be a part of the Cleveland craft brewery community," says McNulty. "We're seeing beer tourism grow in leaps and bounds in the city."