tapping intoculture

By David Nilsen

Hospitality is part of family culture at Pulpo Beer Company in Willoughby. Paola Valbuena is the co-owner and head brewer at Pulpo, and the brewery shares space with two restaurants — Barroco Arepa Bar and Hola Tacos — owned and operated by Valbuena’s family.

“The foundation we started with was to brew beer that brings us back home and pairs with our food,” says Valbuena, who’s originally from Venezuela. Both restaurants and the Pulpo taproom have become gathering places for the local Latinx community.

For Marvin Abrinica and Brian Jackson, the founders of Cincinnati’s Esoteric Brewing, the desire for all people to feel welcomed was central when designing their taproom.

“Both of us knew what it was like to go to a brewery and be the only person of color,” says Abrinica. “For a lot of us who are beer lovers and persons of color, it’s a truism. It’s core to who we are to champion diversity and to bring programming to our space that will bring in persons of color and women.” Esoteric regularly hosts art exhibits, salsa nights and other events celebrating Cincinnati’s minority groups.

“It’s the coolest thing when I walk in on an evening and see a smorgasbord of people here, all different colors,” says Abrinica.

Everyone is similarly welcome at Four Paws Brewing, however many paws they have. Married founders Ann Zofchak and Kellie Rubesne are as passionate about their canine friends as they are about beer, and their new taproom at Red Wagon Farm in Columbia Station brings humans, dogs and great beer together. Their hospitality springs from the acceptance they’ve experienced in the Ohio beer scene.

“We’re both really comfortable in our own skin,” says “As we move through the world, talk with other brewers and meet other people in the industry, we just are who we are. We have always felt very welcomed and invited.”

At CLAG Brewing in Sandusky, Kha Bui is bringing together his love for beer with his passion for Vietnamese food and sushi. The brewery specializes in IPAs — hazy, west coast, imperial, you name it — but brews a wide variety of styles.

Bui got his start by founding the connected Small City Taphouse, where he served craft beer from around the country and the world. Visitors can now go back and forth between the brewery and the taphouse, which serve the same food. He says getting his favorite food and beer to catch on in Sandusky has been a challenge.

“This is still a small town,” he explains. “People don’t always drink a lot of craft beer, and they don’t always understand Asian food.” Fortunately, he says CLAG’s IPAs work beautifully with the house cuisines, and the town is catching on. “It’s the best, man. People love it,” says Bui with obvious enthusiasm. “You come in here on a Friday night and it’s crazy.”

Paola Valbuena | Pulpo Beer Company

How did you get into brewing? I studied chemical engineering, and in 2020, I was working for Pepsi Cola as a production supervisor. When my family found a location for the brewery, I said, “I enjoy drinking beer, so I can learn.”

What’s your favorite beer you brew? I always say my favorite is the one that’s fresh from the tanks! Every time we have a fresh beer, that’s my favorite.

Marvin Abrinica | Esoteric Brewing

If you’re going to hang out at a Cincinnati taproom besides your own, where might that be? The place that I've really loved a lot is one downtown called Northern Row Brewing. They're also in a very old building that they transformed and it's awesome to just head over there and say hello to my friends.

What are you currently drinking off your taplist? Luminati [light lager]. It’s a super easy porch-drinker.

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Ann Zofchak | Four Paws Brewing/ Red Wagon Brewing

What’s your favorite beer to brew?

A lot of brewers call me the Adjunct Queen because when people say to me, “Hey, could you brew with this?” I’m always like, “Sure!” I've done a strawberry Peep beer and a Rice Krispies Treat cream ale called Nice Crispy Treat.

Are your dogs involved in the brewery? All of our fermenters are named after our dogs, and we’re going to auction the right to name one of our fermenters after the winning bidder’s dog.

Kha Bui | CLAG Brewing

What’s your favorite style of beer?

I love pilsners and other lagers or a lighter IPA.

What does the name CLAG mean?

Back when I would homebrew with my friends, we would play around with brewery names. We would always joke about me being a Cocky Little Asian Guy, and when it came time to name the brewery, I shortened it to CLAG.