New Downtown Brewery Credits Kent’s Water Quality to a Good Batch of Beer

By: Sarah Arnold

The community of Kent will have a new place this fall to listen to good music and drink good beer. The North Water Brewing Company has already begun construction and will be the first of its kind to open up downtown, just minutes from Kent’s bar scene. 

The motive for the new brewery opening up is Kent’s unique water quality. About 500,000 years ago, a glacier made way for river channels that filled them with gravel and stone. The organism and plant growth here makes a difference in the way beer tastes. 

“The name of the brewery is taken from Kent’s pure mineral content found in its water,” said Don Schjeldahl, head of the managing team. “Different styles of beer react differently to water qualities, so we tested and sampled different batches until we found the beer for North Water.” 

North Water Brewing will rotate at least four to five different beers monthly. Their plan is to listen to the community and reflect its feedback into the selection of beers they offer. A favorite they will offer is an IPA made with rye grain instead of the usual malt grain. This will give the beer a light, dry and grainy flavor with a somewhat spicy kick at the end.  

Schjeldahl wants to focus on the importance of gatherings by making the brewery a comfortable place where families and the community can come hang out.  The music will be a blend of acoustic jazz and blues, loud enough to hear it, but soft enough to still hear your conversations without having to yell. 

“The brewery will have an industrial feeling to it, we want to focus on the theme of outdoors and sustainability. It will be a gathering place for people coming in after biking, hiking or water paddling.” 

North Water Brewery will be a place for everyone from families to business partners. Unlike Kent’s others bars, it will be a place to sit back and relax and connect with people. They will have an earlier closing time compared to an average bar, with more expensive beers in hopes to keep it professional.

“I think this place will really add to Kent. As someone who is no longer in college, it will be nice to have a place where it’s not overcrowded by a million college kids,” said Ryan Reed, recent graduate of Kent State.  

Schjeldahl has worked with multiple big breweries in the past and realized that communities are stronger with places that excite people and bring each other together. North Water has been in the works for four years and finally will have a home for people to enjoy. 

“A good community brewery is like the coffee culture but with alcohol,” said Schjeldahl.