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Shane Wynn
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Shane Wynn
Sean Hamilton, Will Myers and Mark Crnjak
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Shane Wynn
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Shane Wynn
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Shane Wynn
Sean Hamilton
In 2000, Sean Hamilton spent a lot of his weekends in a garage. He and some buddies were experimenting with making quality beer at their friend Mark Crnjak’s Munroe Falls home and dreaming up concepts for a brewery.
Eighteen years later, their idea was actualized when a $23,605 Kickstarter campaign helped Hamilton open Missing Falls Brewery in downtown Akron in late 2018, along with Crnjak and friends Will Myers and Kenny Davis. They named it after the dam was removed from the Cuyahoga River in Munroe Falls in 2006, effectively dismantling the eponymous waterfall.
With a handful of breweries opening up in downtown over the past year or two, Hamilton says Missing Falls’ focus on craft sets it apart.
“Some breweries do flavors; others tend to do all hazies,” he says. “We tend to be more traditional and straightforward with the ingredients. We let the beer do most of the work.”
The brewery provides that consistent quality by getting about 80 percent of its grains from West Branch Malts in Brunswick. Loyal customers like this purist approach, as the No. 1-selling beer is Golden Zip, a lighter golden ale.
“It’s a nice intro beer for people who don’t drink a lot of craft beer; it’s really crisp and refreshing,” says Hamilton.
Beyond its core classics, Missing Falls experiments with craft ingredients like Kaminski Apiaries honey and Bent Tree Coffee, both of Kent. The result of the latter test run is the Last Drop, a sweet chocolate porter infused with that local coffee.
Missing Falls creates a welcoming atmosphere for regulars with fun weekly events like trivia and yoga and a kitchen that serves sandwiches, pizzas and pretzels.
But Hamilton and his friends don’t let the extras distract them. Brewing equipment is visible from the tasting room to show patrons they’re still as focused on making quality beer as they were when they were just young homebrewers in a garage.
“We have a lot of regulars telling us its some of the best beer around and it’s one of their favorite places to come,” he says. “People notice our love for making great beer.”
540 S. Main St., missingfalls.com
