Haven's Pilsner is a quaffer.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Haven Brewing definitely doesn’t have a typical founding story.

For one thing, co-founder Sam Foster did not have a burning desire to be a professional brewer. What he and his wife Abbie have, though, is an innate need to foster community. And a brewery sounded like a good way to accomplish that.

The artistic tap handles were done by a neighbor who is a blacksmith.

Their location to do that is ironic: Oberlin, a once famously dry place where the Anti-Saloon League was founded in the 1890s, is now home to its sole brewery.

Counter seats face the street.

That temperance movement lost the battle over time, and Haven Brewing recently surpassed 100 days in business along the Main Street in downtown Oberlin.

“I never actually wanted to do it professionally,” Sam said. “What we wanted was this space. We live in Oberlin. We wanted a place for community.”

The couple regularly host a rotating bunch of 30 or 40 college students for brunch at their home. It’s all about “community and connection and get people together to build relationships. We wanted something like that that was bigger than our house,” he said.

They asked themselves: “What’s the engine that could drive that? What’s the unique thing here? We’ve got a bunch of restaurants here already.”

They mulled ideas, but a friend nudged him about a brewery, which he initially resisted. But the idea, well, fermented.

“I’ve always loved biology and fermenting things,” Foster said.

As a kid he attended boarding school, and his mom would send him care packages with grapes.

“I would mash them up, put them in a jar, set it aside to see what they would do,” he said. “Not too typical a kid, I think.”

Another irony: He really didn’t drink wine or beer till after he graduated from Geneva College north of Pittsburgh.

An impish light fixture hangs near the entrance.

Then, one day, he and pals were canoeing. With a storm approaching, they pulled over.

“Somebody upriver had capsized,” he said. “They had packs like Miller or Bud Light, something cheap. So we cracked one open. ‘Oh, that’s stuff is awful, why would you drink this?’ ” he remembered. “For a few years after that I thought I didn’t like beer until a friend challenged me on that – ‘You’ve never had real beer.’ ”

A mix of tables and banquettes fill the dining room.

Later a chemist friend in Medina turned him on to brewing and emphasized the imperative but non-glamorous part of making beer: Sanitization.

“ ‘These are all the steps, be careful,’ ” he was told. “I think naturally I would have done that anyway, but it was nice for him to say, ‘This really matters.’ ”

Foster is an engineer, through and through, and takes a methodical approach. He’s self-taught, reads and reads again. So he bought a five-gallon version of what he has in the brewery and immersed himself in the craft.

Sam Foster in the brewhouse.

“I did a year of beer,” he said. “I brewed a batch every single week.” Friends chipped in for ingredients; he gave them bottles of beer. The arrangement allowed him to “try a ton of recipes so I could perfect my methodology and learn as much as I could.”

Haven Brewing is at 29. S. Main St., Oberlin. It's the sole brewery in Oberlin.

That was his learning curve – study and trial.

“I’ve never been a heavy drinker, go get drunk, party,” he said. “I appreciate it as an art; I love the flavors. I love to pair it with food.”

What’s driving him is an adventurous palate and willingness to learn, especially when it comes to beverages. He also makes wine, mead, kombucha and sake, and he ferments pickles and roasts coffee.

“I just like to make things,” he said. “It’s about the flavor and the nuance and the subtlety, sipping it. What am I tasting when I am making it? I am always evaluating it.”

All that evaluation converged in their storefront brewery in a building that dates to the 1800s. Foster said he’s heard it’s one of the oldest intact buildings in downtown Oberlin.

The space formerly held a variety of businesses, including an antique shop, Army Navy store and others.

When they decided on a brewery, he picked the brains of other brewers.

“When I was just trying to get ideas - is this even worth pursing? - they were, ‘Yeah c’mon in, I’ll show you my place, ask me questions,’ ” he said. “There was no sense of competition.”

After permits and construction delays they opened March 20.

“It’s been a lot of work,” Sam said. “I’m tired.”

But it appears to have paid off. The space is sleek, clean and minimalistic, its ambiance with light-colored wood fits the soft jazz that plays, giving the space the vibe of a quaint fine-dining restaurant.

It’s a bit of an anomaly, flanked by Ratsy’s shop with eclectic gifts and Oberlin Tobacco and Vape.

Haven totals 3,000 square feet – 1,500 for the dining room while the middle portion with the kitchen and bathrooms covers about 700 square feet and the brewhouse in the back about 700 as well.

A large decorative ‘H’ hangs, but a subtle one is embedded in tiles near the door. Lining one side are banquettes, which they had made to match refinished chairs Abbie worked on.

Some of the furniture is from Michael Symon’s Lolita, others from B Spot Burgers, Sam said.

Eight front-counter seats face Main Street, with the dining room holding more than a dozen tables and 15-seat bar, where you can belly up to try one of Foster’s beers.

Recently, eight were on tap.

Foster, the sole brewer, also works in software development.

“I’m an engineer, right?” he said. “It’s so hard for me to not look at how are things going, what do I need to fix, to lift my head up and appreciate what it is. I think personality-wise it’s hard for me to do.”

Artistic tap handles, designed by a neighbor who is a blacksmith, take inspiration from Bolivian plants and Incan architecture (Foster grew up in Bolivia).

Beers on tap recently formed a nice style selection with nothing over 7% alcohol. Most of the grain he uses is U.S.-grown, but some comes from Belgium. A Pilsner has grain from Cyprus.

Downshift Dubbel, a Belgian Dubbel, is very popular along with India Pale Ales - both with IPA fans and non-fans of the hoppy style, Foster said. A Blonde Ale and Hefeweizen also sell well.

“I’m trying to cover a lot of styles, a lot of range of color and palate to get something for everyone,” he said.

He also serves Obscurity, a black IPA, and Nocturne Stout, which he made for the eclipse in 2024.

Downshift Dubbel has a cerebral message.

“I rode a motorcycle growing up; my wife has done a lot of triathlons,” he said. “Machines with gears – the idea of downshifting, taking a load off, shifting into a gear where it’s not as hard, kick back and relax.”

Aquilla Pils – an exceptionally smooth, dry pilsner – comes from his middle name, which is derived from the Latin for “eagle.”

Haven serves samples, drafts and 16-ounce cans to go - no crowlers or growlers. And the brewery does not have distribution. It’s all part of the community mantra.

“We want people to gather here,” Foster said. “That’s part of our model, that’s part of our goal. And we don’t want to be in a bunch of stores. We want people to come here, connect with other people. We don’t have TVs.

“Everything,” he said, “is about a place for community.”

Six-pack of facts about Haven Brewing

• Haven is at 29 S. Main St., Oberlin. Diagonal street parking is out front. Hours: 4 to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 4 to midnight Friday and Saturday; 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday.

• Nearest breweries are ESP Brewing, Amherst (6 miles to the north); Ghost Tree Brewing Co., Amherst (8 miles to the north); Franklin Brewing Co. in Grafton (10 miles to the east), Unplugged Brewing Co. in Elyria (10 miles to the northeast), Muffleheads Brewing, Wakeman (14 miles to the west) and Bascule Brewery and Public House in Lorain (14 miles to the north).

• It’s 34 miles from downtown Cleveland.

• Haven has a full liquor license so wine and cocktails are available.

• A patio is out back.

• Abbie is the kitchen-menu designer. The couple met while Sam was working in Vermont. A violinist, she attended Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Last week she helped prepare flatbreads with blueberries from an organic blueberry farm north of town. “Abbie picked on Monday, cooked ’em down, made this sauce, added balsamic vinegar and maple syrup. She’s from Vermont, everything – everything! - has maple syrup,” Sam joked. They add feta cheese and micro greens to this flatbread. They also serve vanilla ice cream with the same blueberries. Haven’s goal, he said, is about “trying to keep it local, trying to keep it seasonal.”