Great Lakes Brewery taps the 2013 Christmas Ale

Cups of the 2013 Christmas Ale await takers during the tapping of this year's Christmas Ale Oct. 24 at Great Lakes Brewing Co. (Joshua Gunter/ The Plain Dealer)

(Josh Gunter, The Plain Dealer)

Surveillance photos show a trio of suspects casing Great Lakes Brewing Co. in Cleveland hours before the establishment was burglarized Oct. 21.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland police are looking for a trio of hoodie-wearing thieves who raided Great Lakes Brewing Co. and made off with a bounty of copper.

Rest assured the raid didn't stifle production of coveted Christmas Ale -- or any of the brewery's signature beers -- according to Great Lakes Co-founder Pat Conway.

The suspects broke into the Ohio City restaurant Oct. 21 at about 2:30 a.m. and caused thousands of dollars in damage before pilfering 500 feet of copper electrical cable, police said.

The cunning thieves cased Great Lakes Brewing Co. hours before the break-in, police said.

Surveillance photos show a trio of suspects walking near Great Lakes Brewery in Cleveland just before the establishment was burglarized Oct. 21.

Surveillance photos show at least two of the suspects changed clothes between the reconnaissance and the heist. But the switcheroo did little to confuse authorities.

The suspects changed only the style of their hoodies.

Police said one of the suspects may be female.

Anyone with information about the suspects or break-in is asked to call the Cleveland Division of Police Second District Detective Bureau at (216) 623-5218. Anonymous tips can be given to Crime Stoppers by calling (216) 252-7463.