When the steins go up at noon on Saturday, October 3, in the Akronym Brewing Biergarten at 11 South Main Street, the clinking will carry more weight than a typical Oktoberfest. Two years ago, the brewery behind the party was closing its doors.
Akronym announced in October 2024 that it would shut down its downtown Akron taproom, and the news landed hard. It was the third Akron brewery to close in less than a year, and the closure followed the shuttering of its second location in Medina just weeks earlier. In a social media post, the owners wrote that they had hoped to consolidate operations and reestablish themselves through distribution, but that "changing circumstances and narrowing opportunities" made that impossible. "These years have been a labor of love," the statement read, "and we are sorry that this is where we are." Regulars mourned. "The staff were always super friendly, the atmosphere was amazing there," one Akron resident told News 5 Cleveland. "We love Joey and the business. They're going to be missed, absolutely."
The story of how the brewery got there in the first place is a homebrewing tale. Akronym began in 2013, when childhood friends Shawn and Josh bought a Brew Magic homebrewing system. What started as a hobby grew into something bigger after a fellow cyclist and engineer named Aaron joined the mix. The name itself was a happy accident: after joking about acronyms for their beer names, the founders realized "Akronym" was the perfect play on words to tie the brewery back to its hometown of Akron. By 2016 they had secured a spot at 58 East Market Street, in the heart of downtown, and built a reputation for crisp pilsners, smooth lagers, hazy New England IPAs, and the occasional bold stout.
Then came the rescue. In July 2025, the Akron Beacon Journal reported that Bryan Weber, president of the Northeast Ohio brewery chain The Brew Kettle, was overseeing a revitalization of Akronym, having come in to recapitalize the business. Crucially, he brought Shawn Adams back on board as master brewer. The Brew Kettle's own roots run deep in Ohio craft beer: it was founded in 1994 by Chris McKim as a Strongsville brewery where customers could brew their own beer on-site, and its flagship White Rajah IPA has collected awards at national competitions. Under Weber, the company has grown into one of the state's largest craft operators, and by the end of 2025 it had bought and reopened Akronym, with Adams returning to the brewhouse.
Akronym's Oktoberfest partner is its self-described Akron sister brewery, Lock 15 Brewing. Lock 15 sits at the former Swinehart Tire Factory on the corner of North and Howard streets, next to the Cascade Valley Trailhead and the historic Mustill Store Museum on the Towpath Trail. Its seven-barrel brewhouse is visible through a glass wall in the main dining room, and its roughly 100-seat covered beer garden emphasizes communal seating and raised garden beds that supply produce for the kitchen. The brewery takes its name from the city's canal heritage — Lock 15 is a nod to the locks that once powered Akron's growth. Lock 15, too, found itself navigating rough water: facing inflation, rising labor costs, and changing drinking and dining habits, it was acquired by The Brew Kettle, a deal its head brewer and general manager Joe Karpinski described as a way of adapting. "By having more scale, multiple locations, we can pass on all those cost savings to Lock 15," Weber said at the time. All of Lock 15's roughly 47 employees kept their jobs.
That shared history is what makes the October 3 gathering feel less like a marketing event and more like a family reunion. The event is free to enter and non-ticketed, with free weekend parking in the High and Market parking deck, which connects to the Biergarten by stairway and elevator. Beer is sold by the ticket, and Lock 15 will handle the food, with the menu to be announced. The afternoon runs from noon to 5 p.m.
Things kick off at noon with a welcoming ceremony led by Adams himself, the brewmaster whose return to Akronym is one of the comeback's defining threads. From there, the schedule fills with traditional Oktoberfest competitions: hammerschlagen, the keg toss, and steinholding, the last of which will run in multiple time slots so that anyone who wants a turn can step up and see how long they can hold a full stein at arm's length. A prize goes to the Best Dressed guest, so lederhosen and dirndls are encouraged. Live music will run through the afternoon, and craft beer will flow alongside the Oktoberfest fare.
The setting itself is part of the draw. Akronym's Biergarten sits tucked just steps from the brewery in the heart of downtown Akron, adjacent to the parking deck, and it has become a hub for seasonal programming — Lager Fest, goat yoga, craft beer releases, and more — with the city skyline as a backdrop. For a brewery that was pouring its last pints not long ago, a packed Biergarten on a Saturday in October is its own kind of statement.
So the invitation stands: show up at 11 South Main Street on October 3, no ticket required, no admission fee, no parking charge. Bring a friend, bring your best Oktoberfest getup, and raise a stein to a brewery that got a second chance. Prost.