It’s the eternal question. Should I lump all of the brewery visits into a single article or should I spread them within the series? Well, as always, it depends. This time I decided to discuss them all at once because of a simple fact of geography. We visited eight breweries throughout the week and seven of them fell within easy walking distance of where we stayed. Plus, five of the total fit within a surprisingly tight grouping in Downtown Dayton. At the very least, it made sense to discuss the cluster as a set even if we visited them mostly independently.
Let’s begin with the usual disclaimer. We sprinkled our visits evenly throughout the week with a focus on appreciating the craft rather than quantity. Generally I would order a tasting flight that included four samples of four ounces each. So do the math: 4 samples X 4 ounces = 16 ounces. That worked out to a single pint — just one standard drink — at each location, spread across several days. And to underscore that point I’ll talk more about the ambiance a whole lot more than beverages.
The One-Offs
Again, generally each brewery visit involved and individual effort although we did hit a couple of them back-to-back. Nonetheless it’s easier for me to break it down into a logical order for discussion purposes. I’ll start with the geographically separated locations and then talk about the big downtown cluster.
Carillon Brewing Company
Only one of the places required driving and that was Carillon Brewing Company. This was a pretty unique spot because it was actually part of Carillon Historical Park, a local living history museum (map). They operated the entire brewery like it was the 1850’s. Brewers dressed in 19th Century garb and used period techniques such as gravity, hand-drawn pulleys, wooden barrels, and a wood burning fire. It was rather amazing and they produced some decent beverages considering the labor intensiveness of their equipment. As a double bonus, my clothing smelled faintly like a campfire by the time we finished lunch.
This was a new experience for me. I can’t say I’ve ever been to a brewery quite like this.
Fifth Street Brewpub
The Fifth Street Brewpub was located in Dayton’s St. Anne’s Hill neighborhood, just a couple of blocks away from our temporary home for the week. This one was obviously the easiest visit, a few steps away with minimal effort. So we headed there right away, as soon as we finished the seven hour drive to Dayton. We didn’t even go grocery shopping that first day, we just went straight to the brewpub.
I liked their business model; one I’ve seen only in a couple of other places. They operate as a co-op with member-owners. Anyone who joins gets a single voting share at an annual member’s assembly. Then the group as a whole charts the brewpub’s future, integrating within and giving back to the community.
Branch & Bone Artisan Ales
I’d heard a lot about Branch & Bone Artisan Ales, and it came highly recommended (map). In particular, the brewery has a reputation for using creative and experimental fermentation styles including spontaneous fermentation. Well, that’s something of particular interest to me so I had to check it out.
We visited after dinner not too long before closing time, which was still pretty early because it was a Sunday evening. I got to sample a representative array from their lineup and agreed with the recommendations, and I’m glad we went.
The Downtown Dayton Cluster
So don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying anyone should visit five breweries all in a row located less than a mile apart during a single bar crawl. I’m just saying that it’s possible. However, let it be known and for the record, that I did not. I completed them as separate visits except for a single instance where I visited two in a row.
Little Fish Brewing Company
We stopped at Little Fish Brewing Company for brunch on our initial morning in Dayton. First we went to the 2nd Street Market, which is sort-of a farmers market (but more) with about 40 vendor stalls. It’s located in “a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad warehouse built in 1911″. That was a nice attraction definitely worth placing on any visitor itinerary even with its limited hours.
Then, across the parking lot, stood a different former railroad warehouse with Little Fish Brewing. Little Fish has its flagship brewery in Athens, Ohio but they do some brewing here in Dayton too. It would be a shame to visit the market and then not walk another minute or two to the brewpub.
Moeller Brew Barn
The Dayton location of Moeller Brew Barn is a spinoff facility too and the space is cavernous. It’s also directly across the street from Day Air Ballpark, home of the Dayton Dragons minor league baseball team, a place that I walked past a number of times during the week.
The brewpub included a second-floor outdoor patio overlooking the stadium. Thus it seemed like a really great place to watch a game without having to pay admission. Someone might be as close to the action here as the upper-deck of a major league ballpark. The entire field was clearly visible from this perch.
The Dayton Beer Company
We also stopped by The Dayton Beer Company — emphasis on the word THE. They seemed quite proud of being THE Dayton Beer Company, as in the URL for their website: thedaytonbeerco.com.
Is this an Ohio thing, like the Ohio State University insisting on being called THE Ohio State University? I mean, I get it to a degree: I went to a university that oftentimes called itself simply “The University” which always sounded a little pretentious to me. But The Dayton Beer Company didn’t feel pretentious and their beers were fine so I forgave them.
Warped Wing Brewing Company
Nobody can escape Wright Brothers references in Dayton, not even with brewery names. I knew I’d heard about “warped wings” in the recent past as I walked through the doors of Warped Wing Brewing Company. Then it dawned on me. I’d seen it mentioned in one of the multiple aviation museums I’d toured during the week. According to Wikipedia:
“Wing warping was an early system for lateral (roll) control of a fixed-wing aircraft. The technique, used and patented by the Wright brothers, consisted of a system of pulleys and cables to twist the trailing edges of the wings in opposite directions.”
The brewery occupies considerable space in a former brass and iron foundry from Dayton’s industrial past. Trivia Night was in full swing. You’d think I’d love something like that, being the “master of useless information” as my wife likes to say — not to mention all the weird geo-oddity stuff I post on this site. But no, I’m not a fan at all, maybe because I don’t like noise or crowds or organized activities. So we left pretty quickly after I finished my flight.
Toxic Brew Company
Our hypothetical brewpub crawl would terminate at Toxic Brew Company, sitting squarely in the Oregon District. Anything “Toxic” sounds like a rather counterproductive name for a purveyor of beverages designed for human consumption, but it seemed to work here so I won’t second guess them. Also, apparently this was the first Dayton brewery of the modern era. As they said on their website, they ended “a 52 year drought of commercial brewing in the city”.
I’ll drink to that!
Articles in the Dayton, Ohio Series
See Also: The Complete Photo Album on Flickr
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