Brew good. Do good. These are words we live by around here, and we're proud to brew great beer and give back to the Toledo community.
Why Black Cloister? The Black Cloister was the monastery in which Martin Luther was trained as a monk. On October 31, 1517, Luther wrote his 95 theses and the Reformation began. Eventually, Luther was "excommunicated" from the Church for standing firm in his beliefs concerning the wrongs being perpetrated by the church on the people. But he continued to speak out for God and for truth. Eventually, this former priest married a former nun. The Black Cloister was given to them as a wedding gift. Luther also loved his beer. Katy, his wife, did the brewing for Luther and, in fact, for the city of Wittenberg, Germany out of the Black Cloister. Luther also had a sense of humor. Once he reportedly said the following about beer:
“Whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep; whoever sleeps long, does not sin; whoever does not sin, enters Heaven! Thus, let us drink beer!”
Luther's conviction, boldness, and sense of humor are an inspiration to us as a brewery.
Meet the founders:
•Founder, CEO, Business Manager and Marketing Brewmaster: Tom Schaeffer
Tom Schaeffer has a BS in Business Administration from St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia and a Masters of Divinity from The Lutheran Theological Seminary of Philadelphia. For the last 25 years Tom has been a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He has successfully redeveloped a congregation. He has led and served at churches with over 1,000 members. Most recently, Tom started an entirely new congregation called Threshold Church. Tom has been a fan of craft beer since the 1980's. He has written about beer for the Examiner.com as the Perrysburg Craft Beer Examiner. He has acted as a judge for Homebrew competitions throughout Ohio and Michigan. He is an award winning homebrewer. He is the co-founder and president of The Glass City Mashers, a homebrew club in Toledo. He is also a Certified Beer Server through the Beer Cicerone Program and has organinzed beer and food pairing events.
•Founder, Head of Graphic Design and Advertising: Scott Biddle
Scott Biddle is an accomplished graphic designer who, most notably, has designed the labels and packaging for the largest craft brewery in Toledo. He is a homebrewer and member of the Glass City Mashers. Additionally, he is the Director of Worship at Threshold Church.
•Founder, Project Manager, Sales Director, Safety Coordinator: Mike Kennedy
Michael joins the team and adds over 28 years of experience in sales and project management. He has been in leadership roles at a retail and wholesale level selling building materials and working his way up to being in charge of 26 wholesale stores located in: Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. During this time he was an integral part of taking his company to one of the top 5 wholesalers in the country for materials and services distributed by Kraftmaid Cabinetry. After the building industry took a severe downfall Michael continued his success as a Project Manager for a local engineering firm where he oversees capital investments of facility siting and construction projects at the BP oil refinery in Oregon, Ohio. Michael has been a part of the safety success at the refinery and in helping to build facilities that protect people in an industrial petrochemical environment.
Michael is a leader in his Church serving in capacity as Building committee chair and several leadership roles associated with helping the church move outward into the community we serve. Michael is very active in other service capacities including Habitat for Humanity and enjoys fourwheeling off-road in the mountains of Tennessee for enjoyment and is a homebrewer.
•Founder, Research and Design Brewmaster: Bob Hall
Bob Hall "crafted" his first beer in 1971 with items from the baking aisle of a local grocery and information gleaned from discussions with Prohibition-era homebrewers. That experience led to a life-long interest in the brewing process and a continuing search for the best brewing techniques. Bob is an award-winning home brewer who has toured commercial breweries across North America and Europe and has attended several national brewing conferences. He has raised his own hops, made beers using wheat of his family farm, serves as superintendent of homebrew and wine competition at the Henry County Fair and is a member of the Glass City Mashers.
Currently retired, Hall's career included work as an extension agent with the Ohio State University College of Agriculture and service as technology director for the Napoleon (OH) City School District. He holds a B.S.Ed. degree from Bowling Green State University (Earth sciences), M.Ed. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Toledo (educational technology) and currently serves as chair of the Northwest State Community College Board of Trustees. Bob is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Malinta, OH, and is a Viet Nam era veteran of the U.S. Navy.
Leave a comment