New brewery to open in Tiffin in 2022

Despite COVID-19's hard hit on local breweries, the craft beer industry is coming back stronger than ever. Tiffin already had two breweries in town, the Tiffin Brewery and the Laird Arcade Brewery, and Fostoria has The UrbanWoody Brewery. And now, in 2022, the area is getting a third. Last weekend, three Tiffinites purchased the building at 190 S. Washington St. in downtown Tiffin with plans to open the Hoptometry Brewing Company next year. The name is a reference to hops, a component of some beers, and the former owner of the building: an optometrist named Robert Shreiner. The company's founders include two brothers and one of their coworkers. Brothers Bryan and Rick Sutter met Zack Allen through Allen and Rick's work at Sarka Sheet Metal; the two have each been working there for nearly 20 years in engineering and sales. Ultimately, the trio is united by a passion for craft beer. They'd been discussing the possibility of opening a brewery for the past four or five years, and when the Washington St. property became available, they seized the opportunity. "We loved the location," Allen said. "We're close to downtown shopping, have a parking lot next door, a nice outside space and are close to Tiffin nightlife." At 44, Allen has spent most of his life in Tiffin. He was inspired to open a business largely because of the downtown revitalization project started by the Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership. "We're very excited to be a part of this process, and hope it keeps going in this same direction for many years to come," he said. The Sutters were also born and raised in Tiffin, and have been home brewing their own beer for years. As businesses are beginning to open back up and increase their capacities, Rick thought now was the time to take their hobby to the next level. Although the building has been purchased, it will still be 12-18 months before the business can open. The space needs a lot of remodeling and renovations, and licenses for manufacturing and selling liquor take a while to acquire. Allen is hoping to open the brewery's doors by next summer, when businesses will likely be able to operate at full capacity again. Because of that, the pandemic hasn't affected the trio's business plans so far. They also aren't worried about any competition from the other two breweries in town. "We'd prefer to focus more on how we all will complement each other and bring in more tourism to the city of Tiffin," Rick said. "We'd actually like to see a few more breweries in town as well!" Allen agreed — the end goal is to transform Tiffin into a brewery destination. "We think all the breweries will benefit from another one in town," he said. "We hope to work together in the future." Because the Sutters come from a background of home-brewing, their products are experimental. "In all these years, we've never brewed the same beer twice," Rick said. "We aren't scared to try some crazy stuff. That mindset will carry over to our brewery." "We all have a love of craft beer, and we want to share our passion with others," said Bryan. Tiffin Mayor Aaron Montz was excited to see the craft beer industry growing. "This is especially neat since Tiffin has had a long and storied history with the beer making industry prior to Prohibition," Montz said. Even though opening day is a ways away, the Hoptometry team is already active on social media. They've even created a logo featuring a character named "Hop Guy," although he may get a new name in the future. Still, the trio's journey of opening a brewery at the tail end of a pandemic is just beginning.