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Hofbrauhaus Cleveland is on Chester Avenue in downtown Cleveland.

(Marc Bona, Northeast Ohio Media Group)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Hofbrauhaus has been opened fewer than five months and brewer Josh Jones' biggest challenge is keeping up with demand.

In its first month alone, the German beer hall on Euclid Avenue went through 1,200 50-liter kegs. And that was imported beer only while Jones was busy setting up the brewhouse.

"I'm nervously happy about the summer coming up," said Jones, who estimates that he and assistant brewer Andrew Ritterbeck are on pace to brew 3,000 U.S. barrels this year.

"If two guys can make 3,000 barrels, that's pretty decent," Jones said.

They are doing this in a centralized location on Chester Avenue, surrounded by Playhouse Square and Cleveland State University campus. But here are the challenges: Recipes Jones must use are handed down and brewed in strict accordance with the German Purity Law of 1516, known as Reinheitsgebot. The beers don't have crazy or punny names; they are listed by style only. And to add to the degree of difficulty, Jones must constantly shift in and out of the metric system.

In the back part of the building, seven shiny fermenters with the capacity to brew 40 hectoliters (35 U.S. barrels) line a large room. A pair of other fermenters are used for specialty beers. In the public area, the German-made brew house, with its pair of shiny, copper vats, sits elevated, giving the brewmaster a captain's vantage of the dining hall.

The brew house is state-of-the-art, with touch-screen controls allowing for precision of temperature gauges and other measurements.

"I'm pretty spoiled," Jones said. "The good thing about this system is you can get consistency in your beers."

If he wants, Jones can even set the automatic labyrinth in motion via a timer from his iPhone, if he needs to get a head start on a certain step in the brewing process.

That process involves detailed brewing techniques that Jones had to learn. Hofbrauhaus uses "decoction," an old-style method. It involves the mash, the stew of hot water and grains mixed and controlled by temperature to induce certain chemical reactions. Part of the mash is reintroducing back to the overall mash. In the end, you get carmelization, and are left with roasty flavors found in Oktoberfest and other brews.

Also, Jones uses an old fermentation technique involving Diatomaceous Earth. DE, as it's called, is an organic powder that acts as a purifier for filtering: It strips out proteins from the yeast - "all the fun things that make your beer cloudy," he said. It was a challenge to learn to brew with DE, and a bit "tedious," but worth it.

With the exception of water, all ingredients are imported.

Along the first few months of operation, Jones and Ritterbeck had some help, from Philipp Bartelt, who is originally from Bavaria and who spent more than five months as an intern at Hofbrauhaus.

"As much as he's learned from us, we've learned from him," Jones said.

"We mostly make summer beers," he added. "Beer is such a seasonally driven industry. It's all about drinkability. We want you to be able to walk out of here after a few beers."

The common denominator is the beers are lagers, not ales, and relatively low in alcohol and very low in International Bitterness Units. So if you want a screaming Imperial India Pale Ale pushing 100 IBUs or a snifter of a Russian Imperial Stout reaching upwards of 10 or 11 percent alcohol, look elsewhere. All of the flagship beers are less than 6 percent alcohol. But on a summer day before or after an Indians' game at Progressive Field, a lager hits the spot.

Here is what is on tap at Hofbrauhaus, in order of sales:

Lager: This can take four to five weeks to craft. Hoppier than its light counterpart, with the addition of Magnum hops. Info: 5.2 percent alcohol, 23 International Bitterness Units.

Hefeweizen: This cloudy wheat beer is "consistently gaining popularity" and takes two to three weeks to make. Smooth-tasting, with low carbonation and some citrus, banana and clove flavors. Info: 5 percent, 13 IBUs.

Dunkel: Munich is the main malt here, yielding a chocolately, roasty flavor. Info: 5.5 percent, 23 IBUs.

Light: Refreshing and smooth with mostly German pilsner malt and Noble hops. Info: 3.8 percent, 18s IBUs.

The beer is sold in half liters and liters. A liter is just a bit more than a couple of pints. In addition to the main quartet of offerings, a beer-of-the-month rotation features various styles. March's beer is Hopfen Spezial - an unfiltered, citrusy hopped lager.

"That's what drives me to get up in the morning - the new seasonal beers each month, and seeing how people react. I'm always trying to see what people are drinking. I think that's what us brewers look forward to do."

Jones added: "People may not know I am making beer here. Some even asked, 'Do you make Jagermeister?' We've got to keep educating them.

"We're pretty unique here in Cleveland."