Local entrepreneur and business owner Evan Schumann has big plans for the future of beer in Ohio. As the newly appointed CEO of The Brew Kettle, Schuman is working alongside The Brew Kettle President and majority owner Bryan Weber to rejuvenate the 28-year-old business, according to a two-part article from Crain’s Cleveland Business.
Schumann earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 2017 from Kent State University, where he studied in the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship. It was here that he accrued the business acumen that has helped prepare him for this next big career move: bringing together two local brands with the goal of creating Ohio’s largest and most diverse brewing business.
Schumann and his wife, Marisa Sergi-Schumann, who serves as chief revenue officer for Brew Kettle, also run L’uva Bella Winery, based in Poland, Ohio, which they acquired in 2020 from Sergei-Schumann’s family. The couple was recognized this past year in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, in the Food & Drink category. In an article about the accolade, Schumann said the professors he had at Kent State were instrumental in preparing him for a future as an entrepreneur.
The Brew Kettle currently employs about 230 people with a production facility in Middleburg Heights and brewpub locations in Strongsville, Amherst, Mentor, Hudson and Canton. According to the Crain’s report, The Brew Kettle now owns a minority stake in L’uva Bella and vice versa.
The business partners have plans to not only roll up other craft beer brands through mergers and acquisitions but also make improvements to beer production and distribution and expand manufacturing facilities to include a taproom and restaurant.
Read more about Schumann’s growing empire in Crain’s Cleveland Business.
