COLUMBUS, Ohio — A taste of the German biergarten experience is headed for Plain City.
1487 Brewery and Biergarten will make its debut at 7620 Industrial Parkway later this summer. It’s the first brewpub location for 1487 which started distributing its beers in July of 2017.
After living in Germany for work, Owner Ben King wanted to bring not only traditional-style “beer flavored beer” back to the U.S., but the experience and Bavarian culture that surrounded it.
“We are all about following the traditional German guidelines for beer,” King says.
It’s how the brewery got its name. In 1487, Duke Albrecht IV of Munich penned what would become the “Purity Law” for Bavaria. It stated beer could only contain barley, hops and water. (Yeast wasn’t quite on the radar yet.)
“I have found that in the U.S., really strong traditional German beers are few and far between,” King says.
Filling that gap, 1487 will pour traditional German beers like hefeweizens, kölschs and dunkels. And in aiming to have a comprehensive beer portfolio, there will be other beers like IPAs on the menu. Matt Crema joined the team as head brewer in March, gaining experience in brewing German-style beer at the now-shuttered Gordon Biersch.
Twenty-five taps will pour a mixture of 1487’s own brews and other local beers. King says things might lean more heavily towards guest taps at first, but the menu will be more 1487-centric as they ramp up production. Additionally, two taps will be reserved for cold brew coffee.
Chef John Abner is finalizing a menu focused on beer and food pairings.
“We are looking to do a mix of German and American [food] and at the same time, a mix of what you would consider traditional pub food with some higher-end dishes as well,” King says.
One of the dishes he’s most excited to serve is Schweinehaxe. A favorite from King’s time in Germany, Schweinehaxe is a roasted, deep-fried pork knuckle (think pulled pork inside, pork rind outside) typically served with brown gravy and potato dumplings. The only place he’s been able to find it locally is at Valter’s at the Maennerchor – and chef Valter Veliu is serving as an advisor to 1487’s kitchen.
The dish that landed Abner the job will also be on the menu – a signature burger with a black angus patty, pork belly and cheese on a pretzel bun.
The plans for 1487’s brewpub have been a few years in the making. They’d shopped other locations, with some falling through, before landing in Plain City. King admits that he wasn’t very familiar with the area, but when his real estate agent showed him the building that 1487 now occupies, he knew it was perfect.
“We really wanted to look at the suburbs for our model,” King says.
The biergartens he visited in Germany were typically in more suburban areas with plenty of space and room to spread out. The father of four also saw the park-like settings and cross-generational family time that happened in these traditional spaces and wants to replicate that in 1487’s atmosphere.
While they obviously will be serving beer, King says that 1487 will be very family-friendly (and the patio dog-friendly).
“We really want to be a community center,” he says.
He’ll have help creating the authentic experience in Co-Founder Thomas Garbe – his boss while he was in Germany who is from Munich.
1487’s 8,000 square food building sits on a roughly two acre site. The inside is split into three areas – the brewery, an event space, and a restaurant and taproom.
Given the coronavirus pandemic, they are still working on what exactly that event space will look like. However, King says the restaurant and taproom side is very spacious and can still accommodate a number of guests.
1487’s outdoor beirgarten largely spans the length of the building. Initially imagined to have room for games and other gathering areas, the brewery now finds themselves with the luxury of extra space to spread out tables to adhere to social distancing guidelines.
For more information, visit 1487brewery.com.
To get more news and information from this partner, subscribe here.