We will be hosting a total solar eclipse viewing party here at the brewery on Monday April 8th. We will have telescopes with solar filters for safe viewing, a complimentary pair of solar glasses with purchase for the first 50 people (also for, ya know, safe viewing), and will have a little hot dog cookout for those that attend between 1-5pm or thereabouts or until the hot dogs run out. The main peak of activity will be just before 2pm and running until about 430pm, peak totality around 315pm. Should be a fun day, and help us as we encourage the weather gods to let us view the eclipse, unimpeded.
Craft Beer
Cash Bingo
The more people that play, the more moolah there is to win. So get into Toxic’s Taproom Monday January 29 at 7:00. It’s only a buck per sheet to play, with the last round being a coverall round for $5 per sheet. Dayton BBQ Co is serving food starting at 6:00, and we’ll have Monday specials on Mules, Fernet & select cans from our bottle/can cooler.
Second Tuesdays w/ Jess Lamb & Friends
New Year, New Swagger… Live Jukebox is now Second Tuesdays w/ Jess Lamb & Friends! Every month, Jess & her most talented of music friends take over the vibe in the Toxic Taproom all evening. Come listen to some of the best music the area has to offer while you sip some brews or a Monday drink special, and get some food from Dayton BBQ Co starting at 6:00!
Winter Solstice Big Beer Release w/ Blind Dogs
Join your buds from Toxic Brew at the end of the shortest day of the year for some big brews to warm your bones. We’re tapping not one, but three hearty ales to warm your bones- ISO-Hell imperial hazy IPA, B.A. Night Ender imperial stout, and the brand new Horseback Battle Hammer barrel aged old ale- both on tap here in our cozy taproom, or in cans and bomber bottles to take home. We’re also tapping our keg of Barrel Aged Dragon’s Milk by New Holland. Try any one, or get a flight of all 4. Blind Dogs Gourmet Hot Dogs & Mobile Catering will be serving up their delicious menu, and will have a hot dog flight option for the night. Eat good, drink good, and help us toast to the days getting longer.
1920s Theme Party w/ Jess Lamb Live Jukebox & Dayton BBQ Co
Prohibition was repealed on December 5, 1930, and we’re celebrating the occasion with a 1920’s themed party special edition of Jess Lamb’s Live Jukebox, and encouraging y’all to dress to the nines in some 20’s inspired attire. We’re handing out prizes for the best dressed, and Dayton BBQ Co will be here serving their hot, tummy filling amazingness all night. So whatever 20’s style clothes you wear, make sure it’s got an elastic waistband. We’ll have discounted Manhattan and Old Fashioned cocktails, and a couple special cocktail surprises up our sleeves for the night too.
Open Mic Night at Toxic Brew Co
Join host Josh Goodloe Mon Dec 4 for the first of our monthly open mic night! Come show off whatever you’re good at- music, comedy, poetry, magic, or something crazy and cool we’re not even aware of yet- in our taproom, or just come and take in the show for yourself with one of our beers or a Mule Monday special. Sign up starts at 7:00, show starts at 8:00!
Toxic Christmas Movie Trivia
Get your teams together and prepare to wage yuletide cinematic trivia war for brews and bragging rights! Dayton BBQ Co starts serving food out of our taproom service window starting at 6:00, with trivia starting at 7:00. We’ll have 3 rounds of Christmas movie classic trivia- including all the movies we probably broke multiple copyright laws to put on the flyer- with beer flights of your choice going to the winner of each round, then a $20 Toxic gift card and branded 64oz growler going to the overall winning team. Try to keep your teams to around or under 6. Dig out your best ugly Christmas sweaters and Santa or elf hats, get some dinner and drinks, and kick it with us Christmas style…
Ohio Craft ExBEERiences Auction Online
The Ohio Craft Brewers Association (OCBA) has some unique gift ideas for the craft beer enthusiast on your holiday shopping list. The inaugural Ohio Craft ExBEERiences Auction features dozens of beer-centric experience packages donated by Ohio breweries and other supporters of the state’s brewing industry. Available experiences include canoe and bike trips with brewers, private brewery tours, opportunities to create and brew new beers, and much more.
The Ohio Craft ExBEERiences Auction will be held online from Dec. 3-12, 2020. Many of the donated experiences are designed for individuals or small groups in order to comply with protocols designed to reduce the spread of coronavirus. Several have an outdoor component or can be redeemed at a future date when public health conditions are favorable. Proceeds from the sale of each package benefit OCBA, the non-profit organization formed to promote, protect, diversify and unify Ohio’s craft breweries.
In normal times, OCBA relies on income from popular beer tasting events like Winter Warmer Fest in Cleveland and Six One Pour in Columbus. OCBA uses those funds to advocate for craft beer-friendly legislation at the Ohio statehouse, provide educational resources to member breweries, offer valuable marketing reach through programs like the Ohio On Tap app, and to facilitate collaboration and cooperation among Ohio’s breweries so they can continue to make world class, award-winning beer.
With state and local restrictions on large gatherings still in place to slow the spread of coronavirus, OCBA has been forced to cancel several fundraising events in 2020 and 2021. To generate revenue crucial to furthering the organization’s mission, OCBA has launched several new campaigns this year. Ohio Brew Haul was rolled out in May to encourage craft beer fans to order beer for carry out and delivery from their local breweries. Ohio Pint Day followed in October with more than 110 breweries offering a collectible pint glass with art by Adam Hernandez. OCBA is also offering limited edition sweatshirts in connection with next year’s planned Winter Warmer Cask Day, to be held in place of a large public tasting event.
“Craft beer has always been about more than just the liquid in the glass,” said OCBA executive director Mary MacDonald. “Our members have graciously donated their time and effort to create these unique experiences to connect with craft beer fans. We greatly appreciate the support of our breweries and Ohio beer enthusiasts as we continue to navigate the challenges brought on by the pandemic.”
Founded in 2007, the Ohio Craft Brewers Association is a nonprofit guild that exists to promote, preserve, diversify and unify Ohio’s craft brewing industry. We aspire to be recognized as the industry leader at both state and national levels for preserving the art of making high-quality, unique craft beer; to serve as the unified voice for craft brewers across the state; to advocate on behalf of the Ohio craft beer industry; to contribute to systemic, local community development by driving economic and job growth, while creating experiences that bring people together; and to serve as a beacon for local production and manufacturing through craft beer, resulting in diverse choices for consumers.
For the Love of Beer and Community – An Interview with Mike Schwartz
Update: Mike has sold Belmont Party Supply and posted this photo and message on his Facebook page:
“Thanks for the Memories!
May the Schwartz Beer Be With You Always”
Please enjoy this repost of this interview with Mike from 2013.
The craft beer business has been booming for the last two decades. Since the late 1980’s, craft beer has been slowly nibbling at the edges of the big name beers that people knew well and enjoyed. Sam Adams led the charge at a time when there were roughly 90 breweries in the United States. That number has grown to over 2,500 in 2013, and it looks like there is no slowing down. Dayton has multiple breweries and brew pubs opening in the area, adding to the seventy that already dot the state of Ohio. As this beer explosion was happening, there was a business that was quietly growing with it. Belmont Party Supply, owned by community supporter and beer advocate Mike Schwartz, will be celebrating 30 years of business next year. They also have been named by several websites and magazines as one of the best beer stores in the world. While beer lovers see Mike as a cornerstone of the Dayton beer scene, it was something that may not have come to pass if events played out differently.
“I actually quit drinking beer, because I am not a fan of carbonation, and I don’t like cold beer,” Schwartz said, sipping a Bell’s Expedition Stout at the Trolley Stop. “I didn’t know anything about drinking a warm beer like English ale. I was so slow at drinking my beer it would turn warm, and obviously we all know what an American major tastes like when it turns warm.” He quit drinking beer around the same time he bought the Belmont Party Supply in January of 1984. It was two years before the craft beer movement was even truly born, and he bought Belmont as it was going out of business. Mike had been sidelined by illness from his day job as an electrician, ultimately bought the failing shop for one reason. “I was bored!”
The explosion of craft beer in the late 1980’s helped his business, and his knowledge of beer, grow. That growth eventually led to some problems in the middle of the 1990’s. “They were putting a lot of crap on the shelves. Very expensive crap. I started to see breweries putting money on their labels and not in their beers. The consumers stood strong. I had to react by tasting beers before I put them on the shelf. At one time I had distributors bringing me beers to evaluate before they carried them. It was that bad.” Mike developed a reputation in the area as the guy that knew beer. “I used to have my beer manager collect the samples. She would sit down and pour the beer on Friday afternoon. Then she would tell me what to evaluate it as. I would evaluate it. She would not tell me the price. I would evaluate it by how much money I thought they put into it and how it fed into the style.” He had good taste even then. He was selling North Coast and Avery beers before they were widely popular.
He gained some of his vast knowledge of beer the same way most of us do: trial and error, tasting many different beers, and learning about their flavors through experience. He also went the extra step and became certified. “First of all I took the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). If you are a brewer, that will teach you how to brew. It will teach you all the physics, the science behind all the beers. What they are supposed to be, how they are supposed to taste, and what makes them taste that way. Yes, you have certain ingredients, but it’s how your treat that certain ingredient to get the flavor you want.” There is another program, the Cicerone program, which is for beer handlers. Mike suggests that if you are a beer lover, either of those programs would be beneficial for your knowledge of beer. He also networked to learn more behind the scenes information about the beers and the programs he loves. He has met such beer luminaries as Gordon Strong, one of the creators of the BJCP and a master brewer in his own right; Randy Mosher, 27 year veteran of home brewing, author, and part owner of Five Rabbit Brewery in Chicago; and Fred Karm, brewer at the increasingly popular Hopppin’ Frog brewery in Akron, OH. Some of the luminaries in the beer world he had the pleasure to interview, and those interviews are posted on the Belmont Party Supply’s website for all of our benefit. Mike’s reputation grew as his business grew, and soon he was not just known through the state or the region, but the world.
For those of you not in know, Belmont Party Supply is known well beyond the confines of Dayton. Mike spoke about one of the incidents that illustrated how widely known this local beer store is. “My wife went out to San Diego last year for a family wedding and people that grew up next door to us flew in as well. They had just come back from Belgium. They were doing a brewery tour, and they asked they tour guide if they ship to the United States. The tour guide asked ‘Where are you?’, and our friends said in Ohio, right by Dayton. He responded by saying ‘Do you know Mike Schwartz over at Belmont Party Supply? He carries our beer. That to me is an impressive thing.” BeerAdvocate has rated it as one of the best in the country, and RateBeer has it ranked as one of the top beer places in the world. After being in the business for thirty years, Mike knows what it takes to create a successful business. “I did not do that all alone. I am the guy at the top but it took great people working for me, and the customers that requested beers. We worked hard with the distributors. I could not have done it without the distributors. We carry some of their slow moving items, and when we do that, they feel the need to pay us back.” And pay him back they have. One of the beers he was paid back with was the ultra rare and highly desired Westvleteren 12. “It came in through Shelton Brothers Importing, through a distributor of course. We carry all of Shelton Brothers beers, and they have showed us appreciation by giving us some one offs.” It is smart business practices like this that allow Belmont to carry beers no one else has, and end up with beers that everyone will want.
Mike Schwartz’s beer expertise is not just in tasting in and selling it, but brewing it as well. Brewtensils started as shop within Belmont Party Supply, helping local brewers make their own beers at home. It eventually grew into its own shop right next door, offering not only brewing supplies but brewing classes and contests as well. His favorite style to brew is imperial stouts. “It is very English, it tastes better the warmer it gets. I have had bartenders pour me a glass and put it in the microwave for ten to fifteen seconds to knock that chill off.” The classes not only give Mr. Schwartz a chance to help local brewers pursue their craft, they also give him a little insight into what brewers are starting to explore. Many big beer trends start in kitchens of amateur brewers, so this becomes a little lab for him to observe. What is he seeing on the horizon? “I really think you are going to see more herbs going into beers. People are more conscious of nature. Some of the people herbs are using for flavor and bitterness are phenomenal. Your saisons are increasing now. You can play all kinds of games with saisons with herbs, ginger, lemongrass, all kinds of stuff. I see that coming around the corner, I really do.”
Beer brewing classes and tastings around town are just a few ways Mike stays in touch with the community. And he is a big supporter of this community. He is part of the brain trust that is bringing Big Beers and Barley Wines back for its fifth year at the Roundhouse on October 5. For the connoisseurs of craft beer and looking for more local flavor, this is one of the last big beer festivals of the year. The list of beers for this year’s festival is impressive. Revolution Brewing’s Very Mad Cow stout is almost worth the price of admission on its own. Mike has other reasons other than supporting local breweries and beer lovers. “This organization (the Resident Home Association) came to me and asked me to do a beer tasting for them. I said ‘No, I want to do a festival. I want to do a knockout festival.’ I told them they would have to handle all the money, but I will not accept any users or advisors fees. No one will make a penny off of this. This is the fifth one, and now we’re typically putting in $8000 to $10,000 a year in profit.” He gives back quite a bit to the community that supports him, not just locally, but nationally. He has done charity work for others as well, like our veterans. “Probably the neatest thing I have ever done in this trade was helping my sister down in Columbia, SC, home of Ft. Jackson. She belonged to an Elks Club, and she asked me to come down and do a beer tasting for the Wounded Warrior Walk. It is the hospice for wounded warriors. We raised quite a bit of money. I got to meet some high ranking officials down there. One high ranking officer invited me out to the firing range to fire some of the big guns. I wasn’t able to go because I was flying out the next day.”
The wisdom Mike has about beer and his willingness to share it is obvious to anyone who speaks with him for any length of time. It makes Mike a quiet but influential figure in the beer community, and he knows there is plenty of room for everyone. “I think the breweries have a great chance in Dayton, especially with Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Kentucky not too far away.” And he thinks Dayton has just started to hit its stride. “I don’t know what happened to Dayton. It has one of the world’s best water supplies. It is very comparable to English water. It is beautiful ale water, and there is plenty of it here.” When asked if he thought that the Miami Valley was getting too many breweries and brew pubs too soon, his answer was a very quick “Absolutely not.” He even sees some lessons that the “fizzy yellow beer” producers can teach all of these new brewers. “Back in the late 1800’s, Anheuser Busch was making a European style lager. They almost went belly up until they decided to lighten the beer up by using rice. Anheuser Busch actually listened to the consumer, adjusted, and hit a home run. Americans were looking for a lighter, drier finish. I don’t have a problem with yellow, fizzy beer. There is a beer for everybody, and we all need to accept that and honor someone’s beer. If that’s what they like, that’s what they like. If everyone is drinking that beer, they leave my imperial stout alone!”
Mike Schwartz is not just a lover of beer; he is a lover of the industry and the community that supports him. He gives that love right back in a way that raises all the people around him. He does what he can to make sure everyone gets the help they need. His view of success sums it all up quite nicely: “If you work hard all your life and you take all the proceeds and experience and keep it to yourself, you really haven’t gained anything. But if you can share it with other people and do good for unfortunate people, which makes me feel good. That’s success right there. You can live in your mansions, but if you can’t share it, you haven’t succeeded at life.” I would gladly raise a glass to that sentiment.
Local Craft Breweries Offering Delivery
Ohio’s breweries are adapting their businesses after the statewide closure of bars and restaurants to slow the spread of coronavirus. Breweries are leaning on the right afforded to them by Ohio law to sell beer directly to consumers via carry out, home delivery and direct shipping.
The Ohio Department of Health issued an order on Sunday, March 15 that prohibited bars and restaurants from serving customers for consumption on premises but left open the option for carry out and delivery sales. Many Ohio breweries have instituted new procedures to offer online ordering, curbside or drive-thru pickup and even home delivery to minimize person-to-person contact and slow the spread of the virus.
The Ohio Craft Brewers Association (OCBA) is keeping track of changes to member brewery operations. Of OCBA’s 230 operating brewery members, 173 of them have changed their existing business models to sell beer for carry out or delivery. Many are offering online ordering or encouraging customers to place their orders by phone to minimize wait times and reduce points of contact. Where possible, some breweries have begun drive-thru service or curbside pickup so customers do not need to enter the premises to complete their transactions.
40 OCBA member breweries are now offering home delivery services. While most are limited to a specific delivery radius, breweries offering this service are located in 17 Ohio counties. Several more have stated that they will announce home delivery options in the coming days.
A handful of breweries have begun shipping beer direct to Ohio consumers. BrewDog USA, based in Canal Winchester, had a beer shipping program in place prior to the coronavirus outbreak. Cincinnati’s Listermann Brewing rolled out their direct shipping program this week; Urban Artifact from Cincinnati and Little Fish Brewing from Athens announced plans to begin beer shipping soon as well.
“The craft brewing industry was built on innovation,” said Mary MacDonald, OCBA’s executive director. “Breweries are leading by example by taking measures to promote social distancing to slow the spread of the virus. The effects of the state ordered closures will hit small businesses disproportionately harder, so we’re asking people to support independent breweries now so our industry will come back as strong as ever once this crisis passes.”
Devil Wind Brewing will be delivering growlers to Xenia residents starting today. They are only using Devil Wind branded growlers. If you already have a DW growler, They will exchange it for the freshly-filled one. Sign up for home delivery at our website: www.devilwindbrewing.com. Delivery service starts at 4, and stops at 7:30. Any orders placed afterward will be delivered the following day.
Walk ins for growler fills are welcome from 4-8. Come get your fills!
The Great Pumpkin Beer Comparison
October. When all things fall ramp-up. Shelves are covered with Halloween candy, nature has changed from shades of green to shades of gold and rust, and college football teams are starting to play ranked contenders. Oktoberfest beers are going to disappear from the shelves slowly, our love of the German festival waning as September ends. Fear not, because there is one style of beer that is going to be in season late into fall. Pumpkin ales started hitting the shelves in early September, but they do not really hit their stride until we transition into fall. People start looking towards those warming flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice to get through the crisper days.
The beer options on the shelves can be overwhelming. While places like Belmont Party Supply and The Barrel House offer single cans, or even beers on tap, for you to enjoy, there is still a decent selection for you to consider. In service to our readers, we decided to do a small taste test of the beers that are out in the wild right now. A selection was acquired from Belmont Party Supply, and we sat around playing games and tasting beers. All of the beers we tried were generally commercially available; we did not go after any whales or other unique beers. They were also as standard as we could get. We avoided anything barrel-aged or a limited version of another beer. Each beer was sampled considering how it was balanced, the presence of pumpkin flavor, and the pumpkin spiciness in the bottle.
These are, of course, our opinions. Yours will differ, based on your taste buds and love of pumpkin spice.
Ichabod – New Holland Brewing – 4.5% ABV – Holland, MI
This one was primed for us to enjoy. Dark, delicious, good pumpkin and spice nose, everything we wanted in a pumpkin beer. Then we took a sip.
Of all the beers we tried, this was the only one that everyone poured out. It was unbalanced, with the spice being unbalanced and not at all what we were expecting. If there was any pumpkin flavor in it at all, it was buried under layers of spice and hops. Not much to it that we enjoyed, especially with the bitter finish we all detected.
Johnny Rails – Erie Brewing Company – 6.5% ABV – Erie, PA
When we poured this and took a whiff, we were expecting big things. I personally expected good things, as one of our vacation breweries of choice when we are in northwestern Pennsylvania is Erie Brewing. We were, sadly, sorely disappointed.
It is a good beer. We all enjoyed it and expected it to be exceptional based on the aroma alone. But the flavor did not deliver. There was some sweetness of the pumpkin, and some of the spice came through, but it was faint. It is a great fall beer, but not one we would reach for if we needed pumpkin in our lives.
Spooky Tooth – Fat Heads Brewing – 9% ABV – North Olmsted, OH
This one elicited the most diverse discussion from the table. The debate was not over the quality of the beer; we all agreed it was one of the better brews of the night. There were two camps at the table. One felt that it is balanced, with the sweetness of the pumpkin playing a flavorful foil to the spice of the beer. The other opinion was that the pumpkin was not that present, but the spices were still balanced and enjoyable. Either way, this is one to snag before the end of the season.
Imperial Pumpkin Ale – Weyerbacher Brewing – 8% ABV – Easton, PA
This beer was one of the more balanced ones that we tried during the evening. The spices were the more dominant component of the beer, with the sweetness of the pumpkin taking a back seat. You could tell it was going to have a good spice flavor from the first pour, and that part did not disappoint. It was easy drinking enough that someone described it as “the summer shandy of pumpkin beers.” But at 8% ABV, you should not be drinking this half as hard.
The Fear – Flying Dog Brewing – 9% ABV – Frederick, PA
Of course The Fear is going to pour dark. It has to be scary, right? There was a light pumpkin spice nose to it. Combining that with the dark color made the dark beer drinkers at the table pretty excited. The excitement was justified. Led by cinnamon, the pumpkin spice flavor comes through nicely. It was dark and rich and luxurious, lingering on the palate for much longer than most of the other beers. The spice, and the bite it provided, made this beer one of the favorites of the tasting.
Pumpkinville Latte – Ellicottville Brewing Company – 6.5% ABV – Ellicottville, NY
The sweetness in this one was telegraphed right from the beginning. There was a distinct cake aroma to the beer, undeniably sweet, which blended nicely with the spice notes. It certainly was creamier and sweeter in taste than the other beers were, but that did not cut out the spice. It smelled, and tasted, like pumpkin pie with a dollop of whip cream. The coffee was in the background, offering a slightly bitter balance to the sweetness of the beer. All of the richness makes this entry a good end of the night beer.
Pumking – Southern Tier Brewing – 8.6% ABV – Lakewood, NY
Certainly in the argument for one of the best pumpkin beers on the market. The balance of the sweet pumpkin and the bite of the spice is perfect, from the time you catch the aromas coming from the bottle to the time the lovely liquid rolls over your tongue. The finish was smooth, and this was “really pumpkin pie in a glass” according to one taster. In the realm of flavored beers, it is hard to find one that Southern Tier does not do well. This was the hands-down favorite of the tasting.
Pumpkin beers are enjoyed throughout autumn, right up to the point that the first Christmas beers start to show up on the shelves. But while they are out there, they are a warming delight in the chilly days of fall. All of that spice a perfect balance for s’mores and Halloween candy. There are plenty more than the ones we sampled, which we would love to hear about. What are your favorite pumpkin beers? Let us know in the comments. Welcome to fall!
Local Breweries Medal at Ohio Craft Brewers Cup
The Ohio Craft Brewers Cup is an annual competition showcasing the best craft beers in Ohio that took place at the Dayton Beer Company June 10th – 12th. Breweries of all types and sizes entered their beers in up to 10 categories. A panel of judges consisting of Ohio’s professional brewers award bronze, silver and gold medals to the three highest quality beers in each of the twenty-nine categories.
Local Gold Medal Winners included:
Brown/Dark Ale: EUDORA MOTHER FUGGLE
Herb/Spice/Pepper Beer: DAYTON BEER CO JALAPENO FACE
Silver Medals Winners:
Stout: FIFTH STREET JOJOS
Bronze Medal Winners:
German Style Ale: FIFTH STREET LUDWIG
Stout: DAYTON BEER CO DEEP SEA DIVING
Wheat Beer: MOTHER STEWARTS WITBIER
Where Do We Go Now?
Columbus Alive this week featured an article detailing the sexual assault of one of our local craft beer mavens. The community rallied around her, supporting a woman that showed incredible courage confronting a known and prevalent issue in the alcohol and hospitality community. Over the last year and a half, what was once an issue that was only shared privately has become a public topic of conversation. Behaviors that were dismissed as “boys being boys,” or that were simply ignored, now are being addressed and dealt with. And it has been a long time coming.
The problem of sexual harassment and mistreatment of women and other minorities is not new in the industry. A report that was done in 2014 shows that roughly 90% of women that work in restaurants have been sexually harassed, with half of them being harassed on a weekly basis. It is thought to be just as bad in the alcohol industry, but no studies have been done. This is years before the allegations against Harvey Weinstein emerged, bringing the much-needed conversation about sexual harassment into the public. After that New York Times article came out, a steady flow of articles addressing the issue in the industry emerged.
Many of the women that work in the industry have, over the years, just accepted the harassment as part of the environment. The unwanted comments, touches, and innuendos were something that was endured to be part of the industry. Until the cocktail boom hit in the 2000’s, bartending and hospitality were seen as a transient job choice. Something that you did while waiting for a “real job.” The growth of specialty cocktails, craft beer booming into over 7,000 breweries, and distilleries sprouting up all over the country have turned what was once something temporary into a career choice. It is easier to ignore the sleaziness you have to go through to do your job when you can tell yourself it is a temporary condition. What happens when it becomes the place where you want to plant your flag?
You have to start cleaning it up. There are few mechanisms in the industry to address sexual harassment. Some have popped up, like the efforts made by Collective Actions for Safe Spaces to build Safe Bars training about sexual harassment, but they are difficult to find. Only five states require training for harassment in the workplace. It is a monumental task to address, especially in an industry where males hold most of the positions of power and confronting them could impact your career. An unbalanced power dynamic is not unique to this industry, but it is in the early stages of being addressed. Small steps are being made as women rise up and show they are not going to accept a workplace where they are under the constant threat of sexual assault. Or when that threat becomes a reality.
It is too easy to write off, as many have, that this is a result of the free flow of alcohol through every corner of the business. As reported in a story by SevenFifty Daily, San Franciso lawyer Richard Curiale commented that “60 percent of the complaints I get wouldn’t have happened if there hadn’t been drinking.” This is a convenient excuse, but not an acceptable one. Cleaning up the industry also requires cleaning up the constant party atmosphere that surrounds it. Many bartenders and hospitality professionals have been focusing on taking what has been a generally toxic environment for workers and turning it into a healthier, safer one. This focus on a more positive environment is starting to include how women and minorities are treated in the business.
Where do we go from here? The hospitality that establishments provide to customers that walk through the door has to extend to the people that work there. Creating that safe environment for all of the people they interact with, from sales representatives to bartenders, is critical to building an inclusive, diverse industry. The generally permissive, male-dominated culture that has existed in hospitality for decades needs to change. It is going to be a slow change, requiring the efforts of everyone in it to make that shift. Women are going to have to be bold and stand up for what is right, and men are going to have to support those women in any way they can. It is going to take a long time and incredible effort. But if the support that has happened in Dayton can happen more often in other cities, the future for women in the industry looks brighter and safer.
Sierra Nevada’s Fundraising IPA Hitting Local Breweries
The Camp Fire wildfire started on November 8, with a combination of high winds and dry grasses. These two events, combined with the initial difficult to reach location of the fire, turned a small incident into one of the deadliest fires in United States history. It covered 239 square miles, destroyed over 18,000 structures, and caused an estimated $8 billion dollars in damages. Families were displaced, businesses were destroyed, and Paradise, CA has rebuilding to do.
One of the businesses affected by this fire was the Sierra Nevada Brewery. One of the grand old breweries of the craft beer scene, they are located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains and fifteen minutes from where it began. Sixty employees, including founder Ken Grossman, were evacuated from the area. Fifty of those employees ended up losing their homes. Their brewery was spared, but Ken Grossman, founder and owner of Sierra Nevada, knew they had to something to help the community that has supported them for decades.
The need went well beyond what this brewery could handle, so Ken went beyond the walls of his brewery for a solution. A brewery they have a good relationship with, Russian River Brewing, worked with other local brewers to raise funds for a fire that hit their community. After a brief conversation with Russian River, Ken contacted friends in the craft beer community and asked them to help.
And help they did.
After the initial social media and email push, 200 breweries had signed up to brew Resilience Butte County IPA. Through word of mouth and the power of social media, that number currently sits just shy of 1,500 brewers. The planned amount of beer brewed will add up to 4.2 million pints, possibly raising over $15 million dollars. Suppliers donated malt and hops, brewers donated labor and fermenter space, and retailers offered to put it on their shelves. They did it all to help Butte County recover; 100% of the proceeds earned will go to a special fund started by Sierra Nevada. It is an overwhelming effort that was started on Giving Tuesday (November 27) and will culminate over the next few weeks in breweries around the country.
Resilience is based on another of their popular beers you can find this time of year, Celebration. Resilience utilizes the same Chinook, Cascade, and Centennial hops that Celebration does, but without the dry hopping and extra conditioning of its big brother. It was described as “a fresher form of Celebration.” We all know how IPA fans love a fresh hopped IPA, and this one has the added benefit of helping their community rebuild from the Camp Fire blaze.
Local Dayton breweries are donating their time and efforts to help Sierra Nevada in their quest to help the Chico/Paradise area recover. Community-owned Fifth Street Brewpub is one of the brewers lending their fermenters and labor to brew this special IPA. Keep an eye on their website and social media to see when it will be tapped. The other local brewery to put this on their tap is Crooked Handle Brewing Company in Springboro. They have it listed in their fermenter and plan on releasing it sometime during the week of January 7. Don’t want to wait that long? Sierra Nevada is sending out a limited run of cans all over the country. Those twelve packs should be hitting local stores during the week of Christmas.
Sierra Nevada designated December 20 as Resilience Night, when many brewers tapped Resilience IPA in their tap houses. Some breweries added it to their menu as early as December 15, and they tapping will go on through the month of January. You can find all of the places that will be serving it through Sierra Nevada’s website. You can even earn a special badge for trying this beer out through Untappd. With every pint and can you responsibly enjoy, know that you have made a donation by enjoying a West Coast style IPA that is helping a community recovering from a devastating natural event. Cheers!
7 Local Breweries Score Gold at Ohio Craft Brewers Cup!
The Dayton Beer company hosted the first ever
The best THREE beers in each category will be awarded medals by our panel of judges. Best of Class Awards and Regional Awards will be determined by most medal points earned. Any Best of Class of Regional Award Tie-Breakers will be determined by most Golds awarded. Winners were announced today:
Dayton Area Breweries
winning Gold
Dayton Beer Company came out on top in the Herb/Spice/Pepper Beer category with their Gem City Lager with Jalapenos
Crooked Handle Brewing Company took the award for Specialy/Hybrid/ Experimental Beer with the Roadside Peanut Butter Porter.
Fifth Street Brewpub’s Ludwigs Kolsh aced the German Style Ale
Heavier Than Air‘s European Pale Ale ESB and their Stout McCook both were gold winners!
Mother Stewart‘s OKTOBERFEST took gold in Amber/Red Ale or Lager:
Yellow Springs Brewery took home awards for: Best Nano Brewery (Less than 1,000 bbls), Best West Central Brewery, Best Brown/Dark Ale: YELLOW SPRINGS CARPET NAP and Imperial Stout/Porter: YELLOW SPRINGS BREWERY MAXXOUT STOUT
Warped Wing got a gold in the Wood/Barrel Aged category with their Grape Creek Must
For complete results check out the event website.
Cardboard Crowns Sets an Opening Date!
For a few months now, the buzz around a new gaming cafe in Dayton has been building. Cardboard Crowns (147 N. Springboro Pike Dayton OH United States 45449) will be offering food, craft beer, and hundreds of games to be played. And we finally have an opening date! This grand new space near the Dayton Mall will be opening on November 6th for the public.
Before that, they will be doing a series of soft opening events for local charities as the space continues to come to life. Tickets for each of the events are $25 per person, with $20 going to the charity being supported. These events begin this Sunday, and will benefit:
- Sunday, October 29th – The Historic South Park District, from 5:30 to 9:30 PM.
- Monday, October 30th – Greater Dayton LGBT Center, from 5:30 to 9:30 PM.
- Wednesday, November 1st – Film Dayton, from 5:30 to 9:30 PM
- Thursday, November 2nd – Equitas Health, from 5:30 to 9:30 PM
In addition to the above events, from 10 AM on Saturday, November 4th to 10 AM on Sunday, November 5th Cardboard Crowns will be hosting the Extra Life Tabletop Marathon, with all proceeds from library fees benefitting Dayton Children’s Hospital. You can show your support for the Cardboard Crowns team here, or build your own team to compete for a great cause!
The space is coming along for Ben and his team, and they look forward to seeing many of their fellow Daytonians over the next week, learning new games with friends, enjoying delightful beers, and supporting local causes.