Welcome

This is first edition of the Cleveland Prost. And I'm happy you're here.

Hi there!

If I was any more excited to welcome you to this space, it would be illegal. (Hint: I am really excited.)

My name is Will. I’ve been chronicling the western New York beer scene for the past eight years. And this is my newsletter, Cleveland Prost, where you can expect weekly posts, stories, profiles, and musings.

Previously, I wrote about beer for the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper in Rochester, N.Y. During my time at the D&C, the Rochester region experienced insane growth. We went from a handful of breweries to 25, just in Monroe County. Livingston County jumped from zero breweries to five, while Ontario County grew from two breweries to almost 20.

We’re spoiled, and I had a front-seat view for most of it. I’ve developed a deep pool of sources and friends, which means (and this might come off as a humble brag) you can expect the latest breaking news you’ve always expected from me. (Remember that time I helped Genesee and Other Half collab and more than 500 people lined up across the Pont du Rennes bridge for the Dream Ale!?)

Photo by Lauren Petracca

I recently left the D&C after 14 years for a new opportunity with the city of Rochester’s nascent Police Accountability Board, where I’m proud to work as the group’s chief of research (which is basically an investigative journalist role without the public-facing end goal). But my wife (who is much smarter, prettier, and awesomer than me) told me I’d be silly to give up beer writing after I spent so much time cultivating an audience. So here we are.

Here’s the plan for this space: I vow to produce content for free for the next month or two, to better give y’all an idea of what you can expect here. I will produce at least one entry per week. Once we’ve established that, we’ll move to a subscription-based model. The monthly fee will be pretty nominal (probably $3-4 per month or less than a six-pack of Genny Light).

A toast to local beer

Naming this newsletter is almost more difficult than naming our son. Almost. Originally, I was gonna use something simple like, “Cleveland on Beer.” But the difficulty with my last name is that it makes it sound like I’m always writing about beer in northeast Ohio. Just try to google my name and beer. You’re gonna be led down a million different unconnected rabbit holes.

I posted on Twitter, “Never expected it would be this difficult to name the darn thing.” Immediately, my notifications were flooded potential names. And then I saw the response below:

Kurt Hoffman @KCHoffman

@WillCleveland13 How about ‘The Cleveland Prost’?

C’mon. It became a no-brainer. A name that combined my newspaper past, my name, and a print-related pun. I was sold.

What I’ve done

To give you a better idea of what to expect, here’s some of the stuff I’ve written about in the past. (Caution: A D&C subscription might be required for some stories. But I wholeheartedly encourage readers in this space to support local journalism).

1. An inside look at the most important Rochester craft beer? Here’s the story about the Rohrbach Scotch Ale.

2. Want to hear what 50 industry insiders think might be forthcoming in craft beer? Here are predictions and resolutions the people building this scene.

3. More than 500 people lining up in downtown for a super dry-hopped cream ale? I helped set up the dream collab between Genesee and Other Half. The result was the Genesee Dream Ale.

4. Who is quietly making the best lagers in the Finger Lakes? Unheralded Steuben Brewing.

5. In one of those pinch-yourself moments, Brooklyn craft pioneers Other Half now have an outpost in Ontario County. Well, I introduced OH’s founders to the property they now call home in East Bloomfield.

6. Other Half FLX is now releasing beers that are truly from the Finger Lakes through its In Bloom wild ales series. Hear from brewers Felipe Higgins and Katie McNeal.

What to expect

In this space, I want to continue the same quality journalism I pioneered at the Democrat and Chronicle. But I want to give it a fresh update. The possibilities are endless, but here are few swirling around in my head. And this is where I’m eager to hear from you. What do you want to see in this space?

1. Brewery profiles;

2. Brewery openings/closings (expect at least two well-known regional breweries to announce plans to move into Monroe County in the next few months);

3. Observations about the insanity of parenthood;

4. Brewery report cards;

5. Beers of the week;

6. Brewer/industry member profiles;

7. Travel ideas;

8. Future in-person events;

9. A podcast?!

10. News and notes;

11. Event previews;

12. Maybe merch;

13. And really whatever the heck I wanna write about and whatever y’all wanna read.

I am insanely excited to deliver unfiltered beer news with complete freedom and independence. (And almost equally excited to use so many Oxford commas and not follow AP style.)

Thanks for joining in.

-30-

I have exciting news to share: You can now read Cleveland Prost in the new Substack app for iPhone.

With the app, you’ll have a dedicated Inbox for my Substack and any others you subscribe to. New posts will never get lost in your email filters, or stuck in spam. Longer posts will never cut-off by your email app. Comments and rich media will all work seamlessly. Overall, it’s a big upgrade to the reading experience.

The Substack app is currently available for iOS. If you don’t have an Apple device, you can join the Android waitlist here.