THE HiHO STORY

Craft Beer Made With Love.

Hi! We are Ali & Jon Hovan, the Co-Founders of HiHO Brewing Co.
We started our craft beer loving adventure together in 2007 and have been brewing, imbibing, and educating ourselves about craft beer ever since.

We caught the craft beer fever while living and working as teachers, in Denver, Colorado. Originally from Hudson, Ohio, we fell in love with everything about craft beer during our time together out west. Most importantly, our passion for the process of brewing our own beers began to grow and flourish. During our time in Denver (2007-2015), we started ‘The Brew Crew’ homebrew club with our brewing friends, in an effort to take our beer to the next level. We continued to visit and volunteer at breweries, attend every beer festival imaginable, and sampled thousands of different lagers and ales.

Throughout our beer-inspired adventures, we took notes and pictures, became friends with brewmasters around the country, and acquired every tidbit of knowledge we could, building an informal archive for our “someday” brewery.

In the summer of 2014, we decided to follow our passion for beer and educate ourselves on the professional side. Jon studied to become certified as a Beer Judge through the nationally recognized Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). He also completed a one-year beer school program at The American Brewers Guild receiving his Diploma in Intensive Brewing Science and Engineering, while Ali completed a Small Business Start-Up program at a local college in preparation for opening our brewery.

In June 2015, we resigned from our teaching positions, sold our house in Denver, and moved back home to Hudson, Ohio to realize our goal and start HiHO Brewing Company.

In January 2016, we received the keys to 1707 Front Street in Cuyahoga Falls and started our demolition and build-out for our 7 Barrel Brewhouse.

The 6,000 square foot area of the building that was planned to be the brewhouse and taproom was covered in drywall, drop ceiling and carpet. It took us about 4 months to clear the space out, which included many trips to the scrap yard and lots of pizza and beer for friends and family who helped.

We spent the next 8 months building out the taproom and brewhouse. From finishing the floors, to building the bar and brewhouse walls, restoring the original brick walls, framing out and installing the garage doors, to tiling the bathrooms, brewhouse, and back bar, we poured our hearts into the taproom and brewhouse, with Jon as the general contractor and Ali as his right-hand (wo)man.

We officially opened our doors to the public on January 6th, 2017! The HiHO brand was developed to represent a combination of the west coast mountain mentality it emerged from, and homegrown Ohio pride. The name HiHO was inspired by Ali’s nieces, who commonly greet their uncle with “Hi Uncle Ho!”  The name also appeals to the sense of Ohio pride pervasive throughout the local region and represents the brand’s commitment to our community and home state.

HiHO Brewing Co. is possible because of the love and support from our family and friends, near and far.

Thank you for visiting our taproom!

Cheers,

Ali & Jon Hovan