By Daniel Shapiro and Nicarlyle Hanchard / Jambar Contributors
At the corner of East Rayen Avenue and North Walnut Street, an over 100-year-old church was converted into a brewery and taproom.
Noble Creature Wild Ales & Lagers was opened in 2017 by Ira Gerhart and his wife, Marcy. Gerhart said his love for brewing craft beer prompted him to open the pub.
“I got into craft beer and brewing back in like 2008, 2010, and I got really into it and wanted to start a brewery,” Gerhart said. “My wife went to [Youngstown State University] actually and we started hanging around Youngstown and [looked at places] around Youngstown to start a brewery.”
Gerhart said the name came from his wife’s nickname for their pets — noble creatures.
“We were trying to come up with brewery names, and that one just kind of stuck,” Gerhart said. “We were like, ‘There’s a lot of different brewery names out there, let’s just go with Noble Creature.’”
Many cities and towns in northeast Ohio have a plethora of historic buildings. Some have been repurposed, like the current location of Noble Creature. Gerhart said he and his wife were not looking for a church specifically, but sought something with a historic background and character.
“It’s one of those things where we work with what we have,” Gerhart said. “We wanted to keep it as intact as we could.”
In a continued effort to preserve the building’s essence, Gerhart said the bar counters and tables are made out of repurposed flooring from the basement.
Like any new business, Gerhart said the first two years focused on finding their footing in running a business. He also said the COVID-19 pandemic affected the business’s momentum.
“We had big plans for 2020 and that fell through, so the next two years were really just trying to do whatever we could do to get through the COVID times,” Gerhart said. “We haven’t really had two solid years to compare, but we’re small enough, nimble and we do what we can to pivot if we have to.”
Along with the many different beers, Noble Creature also has a small kitchen, which serves food to pair with its various ales and lagers.
“We knew we wanted to have some food. We love pairing different foods with different beers and we do some unique things as far as some of the breweries in the area,” Gerhart said.
Gerhart said the development of various businesses in downtown Youngstown signaled a revitalization of the city with owners supporting each other.
“As far as Youngstown goes, it’s one of those situations where if one business is doing well, then everyone is doing well,” Gerhart said. “[We’re all here] wanting to get more people back to the area and out and about in Youngstown.”