Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More
Attention Downton Abbey Fans!
It’s time to win fabulous local prizes, drink craft beer, and celebrate the series finale of Downton Abbey! Let’s raise a glass to this critically acclaimed and exceptionally popular show!! We gather on March 3rd, a few days before the final episode airs.
Use your well-earned
Welcome to Sure Shots!
We love to get excited about things becoming bigger and better. We watch the places that follow all the trends, trying desperately to either keep up with them or get ahead of what they are doing. More craft beers, larger cocktail menus, more and more food options. All of it in the name of trying to attract more customers. That may be the expected thing to do when you own a bar or restaurant, but it is not always the right thing. Occasionally the right thing is to be the solid rock in a sea of changing tastes. Sure Shots has been following this path for as long as I have been stopping in, and they must be doing something right. Approaching the bar from the outside, you can tell this is a no frills place where people just come for a good time and a cold beer.
The first thing that is going to strike you when you open the door to Sure Shots is a whiff of cigarette smoke. As long as it has been since the smoking ban settled on the state of Ohio, there are still bars out there where that oddly comforting aroma still lingers. The second thing that struck me is the lack of light. This is a bar where, once you are in, hours can fly by and you would not know it. The main source of lighting was focused on the pool tables and dart boards, and a few large television screens around the perimeter. There is also a nice selection of music on the juke box, and the soft glow of a Jägermeister machine and a drink mixing machine preparing Apple Pie Shots for the unsuspecting masses. A few portions of the wall are also well lit that show off their community outreach by supporting local teams, or dart and pool league champions.
Time for some beers and some pool. Not in that order.
Sure Shots is a nuts-and-bolts bar. Minus the Jaeger machine, nothing is on tap, all the beer is by the can or bottle. They like to support locals in their drink selection when they can, offering Warped Wing favorites behind the bar and some Belle of Dayton for all your vodka sipping needs. They carry a few nice liquor choices, like Hennessy and Johnny Walker Black, but there are no rarities or odd flavors that beg to try something new. The Everclear may give you a few dirty looks, but that is really what Everclear does. Every night there is a different drink special, from $5 Root Beer Floats on Mondays to $3.50 Caramel Apples on Wednesday and Saturday. The food menu, like the bar, is also no frills. Come on in for a pizza or a soft pretzel, but that is all you are going to be able to find. That being said, is there anything better to soak up drinks like pizza and pretzels? No, no there isn’t.
The best part of every place we visit are the surprises. Are you a third shift worker? You can swing by Sue Shots when you get off of your shift, since they are one of the few local bars that are open at 5:30 AM. In the area early on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday morning? You can enjoy a little breakfast while you are there. Eggs, bacon, biscuits, gravy, all of the basics one would expect for a morning meal. This is also the official Home of the Apple Pie Shot. It has an impact similar to a Bad Juan; you do not feel it at first, but it is something that packs a punch. Apples and rum pair very well together, but one would think that 151 would make its presence more known than it does. Slide in a little of that shifty Everclear, and you have a shot that will definitely grabs your attention.
Many of my friends have stumbled out of this bar in the wee hours of the morning after a long night at work. Every time I have been there the atmosphere has been cheerful, if not fairly boisterous from time to time. There is always a pool game in the corner, and the bar staff is hustling hard to make sure beers everyone has a drink and is having a great time. What more do you want from a local watering hole? Cheers!
Sure Shots is located at 3121 E Dorothy Ln, Dayton, OH 45420. They are open daily from 5:30 AM to 2:30 AM. You can like them on their Facebook page to stay up to date on their specials and other events.
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Join us at Aullwood’s Charity A. Krueger Farm Discovery Center, 9101 Frederick Pike, for Beer & Brewing with A Taste of Aullwood! This event happens on February 20th, 2016 from 6:30-9:00 PM. Enjoy a relaxing and fun atmosphere along with delicious samples from local restaurants and caterers who will provide tastes of their favorite recipes. Drink amazing beers and take part in informative beer tasting sessions with knowledgeable staff. Hairless Hair, Fifth Street Brewpub and beers from Bonbright will be available for tasting. Learn about home brewing from the brewers themselves!
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Sugar Grove Bluegrass will delight with great music. Patrick Turnbull and Kirk Nichols, home brewers for over eleven years, will demonstrate the beer making process using locally grown ingredients. Sample their latest batch of freshly brewed ale and taste scrumptious culinary delights from these fine participants:
For years restaurant have made pairing suggestions of wine that compliments their food. But in the last few years, as craft beer has exploded across the country, more and more eateries are realizing that beer may actually be more food-friendly that wine. There are a couple of ways to go about pairing, complementary or contrasting flavors? The first would be like pairing a spicy Thai dish with a spicy pale ale. The opposite approach suggests that contrasting flavors are pleasing in a ying-yang sort of way: A dry, bitter stout classically pairs with oysters, perhaps “cutting through” the sweetness of the shellfish. Sweet and salty always work wonders. Beer experts advocate stronger and fruitier flavors when dining on spicy items: ales, Hefeweizens, and wheat beers in particular. Beer and pizza are a classic pairing but you’ll want a brew that stands up to the acids in the tomato and cut through the fatty cheese but not overwhelm the dish. Stouts and porters are too heavy. Wheat beers might be a little light or fruity. Ales, pilsners, and lagers are your best bet: Hops stand up to the cheese, while bubbles cleanse the palate.
But don’t take our word for it, do your own research this Saturday at AleFeast, held from 4-7pm at the Masonic Center. You’ll have the choice of up to 70 beers, to pair with food samples from about a dozen local restaurants. Decide for yourself what goes best with an imperial stout (to me that’s chocolate). Or if you’re a pale ale fan, you maybe decide it goes with everything. Experiment and have fun. There are no wrong pairings. 
Tickets are $50 in advance and can be bought online or at at either Arrow Wine Belmont Party Supply, Fifth Street Brew Pub, Mudlick Taphouse and Warped Wing. Live entertainment will be provided by Nick Mitchell and AleFeast will also include a silent auction with beer memorabilia. In addition, guests will be able to purchase apparel and beer glassware.
Here’s what you can expect to find at Ale Feast:
And the the night began: with a cocktail or two).
Since the team started working on Dive Bar Tuesdays, one bar has been at the top of our list to get to sooner than later. It is one that we all discovered while working together and we had been attending for a while. The location was relatively central to where we all lived, the food and drink prices were right, and the atmosphere was incredibly relaxed. Schedules did not align, especially since on Tuesday nights the bar was packed. Packed to the point people were making reservations. Reservations? In a dive bar? When Tuesday Night Trivia is so popular that majority of the tables in the place are set aside, something special has to be happening. This week we were finally able to make it to the Phone Booth Lounge in Kettering. It was much quieter than the last few times we tried to enjoy the calm atmosphere we were accustomed to.
The Phone Booth just exudes calm. It could be the fact that they have been serving customers for the last five decades. That’s right, they have been sitting there taking care of customers since 1964. The wood paneled walls and stained ceiling tiles tell that tale well. And not in a “this place needs an update” way. It is just comfortable, like a well-worn sweater. The bartenders are friendly, going the distance to help me find a whiskey I enjoyed (I was feeling some Bushmill’s) and rooting through the beer cooler for me. There were photos of bands surrounding the stage, and lit signs indicating all of the upcoming events being held there. There is live music all weekend, including a Blues Jam on Thursday nights. Monday through Wednesday they have beer specials and something different each night; Wii bowling on Mondays, trivia on Tuesday, and warm up the stage on Wednesday with karaoke. This month they will also be teaming up with the Dayton Blues Society for their Second Annual Youth Showcase on February 20th.
Their cocktail menu reflects their claim of being the Home of Kettering Rock and Roll. The shot list falls on the more traditionally named side, with Black and Blues, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Sweet Tarts. When you look over to the cocktail menu, however, the rock comes out. You can find some Sweet Emotions, possibly Blinded by the Light, or end up Knocking on Heaven’s Door. There is a list of beers, wines, and other liquors they have on the back, but it is not a complete list. There is one thing that they took down that I really enjoyed using to see all their beers; a beer shelf that hung over the bar. It allowed you to look at the selection of specialty beers and be ready to order on a moment’s notice. This is also one of the few bars I have been to where all of the liquor is not up where it can be immediately seen. The hiding of the complete beer and liquor menu may just be a clever ploy to get you to chat with the staff.
So. Many. Nachos.
The food menu is a perfect complement to the space. It is all very comfortable food. You are not going to hit many surprises on it, unless you order the nacho platter without understanding what you are asking for. There was other food on the table, like hot dog pretzel bites and fried mushrooms, but we all turned our heads when the nachos came. It was big enough to serve the five people that were sitting there, and there were enough toppings on it to hold it all together. Even after nibbling on it for the better part of an hour, we did not finish it. It was one hell of a surprise to see on the table, and makes me curious as to what other surprises may be lurking in that kitchen.
Why is this place packed on a Tuesday night? It is definitely more than for just the trivia. Good food and good company are part of the equation, even if you come alone. You have great bartenders to talk with, and there is pool, darts, and on Monday nights, bowling to keep you occupied. You can admire the art show on the ceiling tiles through the building, some of which has been there for years. In the warmer months there is a patio for your enjoyment. For a low key night with friends, it is the perfect place to meet, get cozy, and hang out for a few hours.
The Phone Booth Lounge is located at 155 E. Stroop Rd., Kettering, OH 45459. You can call for information at (937) 298-8712.
We first wrote about The Barrel House – Coming Soon To Third And Wayne in January 2013. At that time, Olive owner Kimberly Collett had recruited her cousin Jeff Heater to move from Maine to come to Dayton as her partner and manage this coffee shop for beer. Jeff jumped write in to oversee the remodel of the building as the GM & Chief Beer Geek.
It took a while, to maneuver through some construction and lease obstacles and The Barrel House officially opened on Jan 30, 2015. On the eve of their first anniversary celebration on Sat, Jan 30th, Jeff took some time to talk with DMM:
The picture that started it all.
While this is your first anniversary, when did planning for the BH start?
It really all started with a text picture of Chimay White, mid March, 2012.
When I lived in Columbus my favorite bar always had the beer on tap and I would tease my cousin with it. This particular time I was living in Maine and celebrating with a Chimay from my local bar. The reply text was “I have an idea if you want to come home”, and that got the ball rolling. The Olive had been open nine months or so and Kim saw the potential. Originally the idea was that by the time I actually made the move back, the store would be ready to open. I could live upstairs in the apartment, it would be perfect. We all know that didn’t happen!
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in the first year of business?
Facebook is a tool. No, seriously! A business tool. Social Media is an entirely different beast as a business. Alga-rhythms, paying to boost, who sees what, and on and on… One doesn’t want to be annoying yet it’s the way we keep up these days. It can be a double edged sword. Liking and sharing posts does a huge amount to spread the word. I’m trying to be better about tagging local breweries when we tap their beers or receive new package product.
We have such solid reviews, many sites contact us asking that we take it up a notch and pay to play.
What’s the biggest surprise you’ve had about the business?
We are not a brewery! We leave that to the other guys. We get so much mail trying to sell us forklifts and spill kits and all kinds of fun stuff, however, we will not ever need any of it!
If you had it to do again what one thing would you change?
Absolutely nothing. I’m a firm believer in the here and now. All the what-if’s in the world wouldn’t result in the same end product. Part of our whole logic was to open when it was finished, nothing we had explain away. I distinctly remember the day i realized it was ready. Still, when we see necessary changes needed, we have evolved. We adapted to the needs of the customer. We will continue to evolve.
What can we expect new or different in year two?
More controlled events. My goal from the beginning was to have one wine and one beer event each month. However big or small. It’s time to focus on that. I want people to know that the second Thursday of the month is some
thing at the BH.
When we were the new kid, breweries and distributors were throwing stuff at us so fast, we were not in a position to say no. Now I know to be patient. Maybe it’ll come back around? Maybe it’s not worth the hassle? As I say this, I’m already eating my words because the Ohio Craft Brewers Conference is hot on the heals of our Anniversary party. So five long days later we will have a Fatheads Meet and Greet event.
I like to think this is the end of the longest, toughest year of my life. I know it’ll never get easy, there will always be stress, and I’ll never really get a day off. But with the support of my wife, family and friends, I’ve…, we’ve made it this far. There is a great community of support here and I am certainly happy to be a part of it. We have a great staff, delivery a great product, and are committed to making our mark in the local beer scene. Here’s to many more years, Cheers!
We hope you’ll check out the 20 taps which include 17 craft beers, one gluten free cider a red and white wine at The Barrel House at 417 E. Thirds Street in downtown Dayton. You can fill a growler or howler, enjoy a flight of beers or pick a bottle of wine off the shelf, use the insta-chill cooler to chill your bottle in 5-7 minu
tes while you lounge in the comfy chairs and use their free wifi. You can even carry in your own food, or have it delivered.
Join us for a gathering of freinds, family and community members celebrating a unified love of food and beer!
This month we’re highlighting Cincinnati’s very own MadTree Brewing Company, by combining delicious high-quality fare with MadTree craft brews in a festive, muli-course meal.
For the 5th year in a row The Montessori School of Dayton will host a craft beer fundraiser, which will take place Sat, Jan 30th at the school. This year Dayton Brew Ha-Ha showcases world-class beer produced in the Midwest. Proceeds from the event will go to the school’s capital improvement fund.
While the East and West coasts are generally thought of as brewing epicenters, the Midwest has been not-so-quietly producing our own superstars. From established breweries like Founders, Bell’s, Jackie O’s, and Upland to rising stars like Rhinegeist, MadTree, and North High, to all of local breweries that dot the Miami Valley, the Midwest has become a beer scene that rivals both coasts. Kevin J. Gray, co-chair, explains that, “The goal of the MSD Brew Ha-Ha is to help showcase the remarkable brewing talent of our region. Most of the breweries at the event are easily within half a day’s drive from Dayton or less. There has been tremendous brewery growth in the region, so we’re pleased to present not only established breweries, but also newer ones that people haven’t had a chance to try yet.” The beer list will showcase approximately 50 beers from the region and is curated to appeal to those new to craft beer, hardcore beer geeks, and everyone in-between.
New this year, a VIP hour that starts at 5 pm. VIP attendees will receive an additional 5 beer tickets, appetizers, and will have early access to rare beers in a much smaller, more intimate crowd. We’ve been given an exclusive peek at some of the specialty beers you can expect:
The Brew Ha Ha Braintrust: Brandy Gorham, Michael Taylor and Kevin Gray.
The 5th anniversary will also see an expanded silent auction. Silent auction items include craft beer-themed gift baskets, as well as larger items like date night packages (that include dinner and babysitting), a meat smoker, a tennis club package, and an overnight in a local B&B just to name a few of the many items up for auction. You’ll also find games of chance, like beer ring toss, spin to win and a floating beer pond for prizes to amuse yourself with. You can also pick up a souvenir Brew Ha-Ha t-shirt.
With all the great beer available, you’ll want to grab some some good eats and One Bistro will be on site with a variety of beer-inspired food options available for purchase. One Bistro is a “pay it forward” restaurant located in Miamisburg, where patrons pay what they can afford or trade service for food. The event will also feature complimentary desserts and coffee at the end of the evening.
Fitting for an event held in an elementary/middle school, craft beer education will be a focus of the evening. Curious about what to try? Tasting guides will be provided to help attendees navigate the room and find beers that match their favorite flavor profiles. Attendees can also talk to one of the roving Beer Ambassadors, who can steer them in the right direction. Those interested in beer history can chat with Carillon Brewing to understand Dayton’s role in brewing. Want to learn to brew beer? Members of DRAFT, the Dayton Homebrewing Club, will be on hand to discuss beer making at home. The program will also include clone recipes of several of the event’s beers, recipes put together by the staff of BrewTensils homebrew supply.
How To Go:
The school is located in Kettering, at 2900 Acosta Street. The event takes place at the school on Jan 30, 2015 from 6-10 pm, with the VIP hour starting at 5pm. General admission tickets are $35 and VIP are $50 (while they last). Tickets and more information are available online at brewhahadayton.com.
About the School
Montessori Center of Dayton (MSD) was originally founded as a non-profit Montessori School in 1964 offering a true Montessori education to children between three and nine years old (pre-K through 3rd grade). In 2008, the school made the decision to purchase the current building with the intention of further expanding the curriculum to serve students from the toddler years (18 months) through the eighth grade. Through the purchase of the building, MSD has been able to expand and modernize the classrooms, refurbish the gymnasium and school stage with new flooring, stage curtains and lighting, and add to the extracurricular activities including art, foreign language (Spanish), band, chorus, theater arts and will soon add sporting activities.
DMM Ticket GiveAway:
We love to share Dayton’s best events with our readers, so if you’d like to enter our drawing for a pair of tickets to Brew Ha-Ha, just like like this article, fill out this form and leave us a comment telling us about your favorite beer or why you should win. We’ll post our winner here Saturday, Jan 23rd. [form 55 “DMM Contest Entry – Generic”]
Fat Heads and pool? What more do you need?
Last week was cold. And snowy. So when we were looking for a dive bar to visit, we wanted something relatively central. There are many in the area that we have been to, but one I had always been curious about but had not explored. Well, not since I moved to the great city of Dayton, and it was better known as Alan’s Billiard’s and Brew. When it was Alan’s, I remember pool tables as far as the eye could see and beer that was exactly what beer should be: inexpensive and cold. I don’t remember much in the way of food, but who needed it? It would just ruin the flow of beer and pool.
Bits and pieces of it became the new Dog’s Breath Tavern (1912 E. Whipp Rd, Kettering, OH), which after a brief stint with a previous owner was relaunched under new ownership just over a year ago. This is where we chose to head over for our Dive Bar Tuesday. We had not heard anything about the bar, but the parking lot was always full when we drove by. People more hip to the Dayton food scene, namely The Food Adventures Crew, explored the food and gave it their stamp of approval. Normally there are football games on, people on stage belting out karaoke favorites, and bands testing the limits of the sound system. The bartenders would be taking care of customers like pros, and games of pool and darts would be going on.
Unless it is a week night during the first real snowfall of winter. Then there are a handful of people chatting warmly at the largely empty bar. Much of what we found out about the weekend shenanigans was from the bartender that night. He was incredibly friendly and informative, as well as multi-talented. Not only was he the bartender, but the cook as well. There are several dart boards for metal tipped play and some pool tables that were enjoying some action the evening we were there. Checking out the signs around the bar, there is something interesting going on every night; beer specials, trivia, 2 4 2’s Day (a wide variety of $2.42 specials on Tuesday evening, and karaoke to kick off the weekend. The one that caught our eye was the food truck rally. They have a kitchen (more on that in a few sentences), but they are willing to support local businesses and bring food trucks to a place where few are going to tread. The only other place I have seen food trucks in this area is Eudora Brewing.
So much room for activities…
During an evening of drinking, you are going to get hungry. Fortunately, they have a kitchen to take care of that for you. The menu consists of solid bar fare like burgers, wings, and appetizers like jalapeno poppers and cheese sticks. We had to try the burger (of course), their signature Dog Bones (egg rolls filled with an assortment of unique fillings), and one other thing. Since we were enjoying beers that night, we also added the pretzel bites. What goes better with beer than pretzels? The burger (which came with chips) was lovely. We tried the Barbecue Pulled Pork Dog Bones, and were impressed with the flavor, though there was a lack of traditional barbecue sauce. The pretzel bites…well, we were really unsure about them, so we had to get a second order. For evaluating purposes, of course.
Did we mention beer? They had an excellent selection of beer, from the ones you would expect every bar to have to local favorites like Yellow Springs and Warped Wing. Their selection of craft beers is a fine one, and the ones we had went down well. You have your choice of taps which are always rotating, bottles, and cans of other favorites. If you want to keep up with the beers they have, you can find them on BeerMenus and keep tabs on their changes. The bartender knew his way around the taps and bottles, which is a good thing. The impressive chalk board and printed menus on the table had not been updated in a while. There is a cocktail menu as well, filled with comfortable favorites like the classic Dirty Martini and Cosmopolitan. The staff has added their own unique cocktails like the Dog Gone Good Martini and the DBT Bulldog for good measure.
We are planning on making a return trip in the future, and not just because of convenience. The atmosphere was friendly and the food was delightful. Did we mention the pretzel bites? There will be other beers to explore the next time we step in, and a few cocktails to try out as well. I am not sure anyone in our group is going to step up for karaoke, but when the pool tournament starts up, count us in!
The bar is just as I remember it. The rest…
We love to talk about the crafted, well built side of the culinary world: fine dining, well balanced cocktails, and hand crafted beers. What we don’t discuss very often is the other side of the coin. The places where the food is comfortable, the shots are full, and the beer is cheap. Dive bars do not get the love that fine dining gets, and there is no good reason for it. There is a certain charm to loud and dimly lit places. You have some control of the music. They are a little more willing to serve one more (heavily poured) drink after last call. They have character, and there is nothing better for a drinking establishment to have than character.
The first of many Dive Bar Tuesdays happened at Miami Valley Sports Bar, a watering hole I remember from my days working at Jokers Comedy Cafe. It was a place we would periodically go to on a Sunday after work to unwind. There was virtual golf, pool tables as far as the eye could see, and some snacks to nibble on as we discussed the shift. It was smoky, and they had dart boards for metal tipped dart, not just electronic ones. If you ordered a shot of something, it was a double. I found that out the hard way the first time, but subsequent visits were not as painful the next morning. Good times were had by all into the wee hours of the morning.
Fast forward quite a few years to our visit. When we walked in the wooden trellis and candy machines were still there, as were the pool tables and game machines. It looked exactly as I remembered it from the last time I went. Even as I approached the bar with their variety of flavored whiskies and Skittles infused vodkas, all was familiar. Then I turned the corner and saw there were some huge changes. The space where the steel tipped dart boards and virtual golf had occupied was glowing purple with dozens of taps and bottles of liquor. There was a separate patio room with a few more pool tables and a kitchen. A kitchen I say! There was some serious remodeling of the building, and from chatting with some of the staff the changes had not stopped.
Thirty one taps is nothing to sneeze at.
The taps are part of Tillie’s Tap Room, a little slice of craft beer heaven. They currently have thirty two taps, thirty one pouring craft brews and one with Abita Root Beer for the designated drivers and children who visit the bar. The prices are reasonable, and the list is organized by color and tap location, with Ohio-brewed beers indicated with a state shaped magnet. The glassware is not fancy, but it really does not need to be. The taps had some delightful liquid coming out of them, like Warped Wing’s Whiskey Rebellion, The Brew Kettle’s White Rajah, Lucky Star’s Wicked Step Mutha, and other Ohio favorites. Have no fear, it is not all craft. I saw a few people while I was there with the old standbys of Budweiser and Michelob Ultra.
Cocktails. They have cocktails! A wide variety of Mules, including the classic Moscow Mule, are available. Some of them came in collectable cups, some came in the proper copper mugs (which are NOT collectible), but all of them stuck to the original formula while adding some flavorful twists. My friends and I sampled the Hawaiian Mule and the Canadian Mule. The ginger beer had the right snap to it, but did not overshadow the rest of the flavors that were in the drink. We did not get to the rest of the cocktails that covered a few pages in the menu, but it looked like there was something there for everyone.
And did you know that Miami Valley Sports Bar had food? Not the nachos with questionable cheese sauce and popcorn that you might expect, but pizzas, wings and sandwiches as well? We tried the wings and the pizza and were pleased with both of the offerings. I am going to guess that the kitchen will keep expanding its menu, as it is only a few months old.
A cozy place to sit down with a good drink and better friends.
The food and drink offerings, as well as the large screen televisions on the walls and a few of the columns, make this a great place to watch the game of your choosing. For those in your party that are not sports fans, there are enough pool tables and dart boards to keep everyone entertained. They also have shuffleboard, air hockey, and skee ball. The air hockey alone is enough to tack on an extra star to the review, if giving stars was something I did with the reviews.
If you have not been to Miami Valley Sports Bar in any length of time, now would be a good time to revisit it. For those of you that are south of town, this is a great little bar that has something for everyone. It is just off of 75 if you live near downtown and want to make the ten minute drive and check it out for yourself. Head over on Tuesdays to take advantage of deals in Tillie’s Tap Room or have a few cocktails with friends. Just be careful with the shots. One thing they have not changed is the pours for the shots; they are still doubles.
My rating: 4.5 out of 5 shot glasses.
Miami Valley Sports Bar is located at 930 Watertower Ln, West Carrollton, OH 45449. They are open daily from 4 PM to 2:30 AM. You can keep up with their specials on their Facebook page.
Enter the Fifth Street Brewpub Drink Up Dayton Challenge! Just drink 18 great Dayton beers at FSB in January.
Earn your Drink Up Ohio t-shirt by drinking just 18 beers at the brewpub. Eight FSB Beers & one from each of the ten local participating breweries…you’ve got the whole month of January to do it!
How to play ~ First ask your server for an official Drink Up Dayton Playing Card. With each beer you drink in January, your server will “stamp it”. Then return your completed card with 18 beers stamped to FSB no later than January 31st and qualify to receive your Drink Up Dayton t-shirt. Please provide your name, email address and phone number when you submit your completed card. Your t-shirt will be ready for pick up March 1st.
The Miami Valley’s newest brewery opened their doors up tonight for a friends and family preview in the Springoboro Settlers Walk shopping center. Crooked Handle owner and head brewer Jason Moore he and his partner Jeff Pedro Jr started shopping their business plan for the micro brewery about 2 and 1/2 years ago. They found two Springboro investors and signed a lease for their Crooked Handle Brewing Co. location at 760 N. Main Street, just around the plaza from Dorothy Lane Market, on May 1st and began ordering equipment soon after. 
And then they waited. Equipment they expected in a couple of months didn’t arrive in full until November, pushing their opening back. While waiting they finished all the construction of the 3,600 square foot brewery and tap room. Their occupancy has been set at 104, with plenty of seats at the bar and a small lounge area of leather couches and come spring they’ll add another 20 seat on a small patio.
Jason and his wife Kristy, who will run the tap room, used some of that waiting time to get their Cicerone Server certifications. The certification requires competent knowledge of beer storage and service issues as well as modest knowledge of beer styles and culture and basic familiarity with beer tasting and flavors and basic knowledge about brewing process and ingredients.
With all of the equipment finally in place, they began brewing. Tonight for the preview they had 3 beers tapped, one they called Batch #1, which Jason admitted wasn’t exactly what he planned, but that’s typical when home brewers go from 5 gallon batches to a 7 barrel brewing system.
The Farm Saison seemed to be the crowd favorite at tonight’s tasting. Coincidene that the Saison is Jason’s favorite beer style? We think not. Beers were available in 5 oz tasters, pints or growlers to go. The other beer on tap was Your Mom’s Oatmeal Stout, rolled oats with a chocolate, nutty finish.
Moore says the next to be added to the taps are an IPA and an Amber Ale. By then end of January he predicts they’ll have all 10 tap handles filled with their beers. A quick tour of the cold room filled with kegs and 26 six barrels, Jason shared they’ll be doing some local distribution. Later on they will add bottling or canning and down the road they will be looking for a larger production facility.
Dorothy Lane Market and Milano’s have already signed on to carry Crooked Handle brews. While the Tap House will not have a kitchen , a notebook of to -go menus was seen on the bar tonight.
You’ll get your chance to check out Dayton’s 12th brewery this Christmas, when they will open the tap room at 4pm. They will have limited hours during the holidays and start working a regular schedule after the New Year. Cheers to Crooked Handle!
In the last several years the craft beer movement has found a solid audience in the Miami Valley. With 11 local breweries (soon to be 12, as Crooked Handle Brewing Co will open in Springboro anytime now) and over 40 local places to fill growlers in the area, beer lovers have grown a more sophisticated palate. The way they drink beer has changed. No longer content to pick up a 6 pack of what’s on sale, consumers are becoming much more discerning about the beer they want to drink at home.
Realizing that, Andy Elshire of the Town and Country Shell has just opened up a growler fill station located inside the recently remodeled gas station located at the corner of Stroop and Far Hills Avenue. The station underwent a huge renovation in order to stay on top of the trends in the gasoline, convenience store, and car wash industries These renovations make it unlike any gas station you will visit in the Miami Valley. The store now features a state of the art car wash tunnel, a large wine selection, and Krispy Krunchy Chicken and 15 tap handles of craft beer.
Elshire says it took over a year to get their D1 permit, allowing them to sell carryout beer. While he was waiting, he began researching other gas stations selling beer, visiting the “The Growler Stop” Cincinnati’s first growler pouring station outside of a grocery store or a brewery itself. They’ve been just over 2 years and Elshire just knew Dayton was ready to support one as well.
Opened just last Friday, Elshire shares he wants to feature many local beers. He says he’ll always have some Rhingeist and Madtree beers, and he’s looking forward to adding some Dayton Beer Company and Yellow Springs Brewery selections. He also encourages tasting, offering a flight of 4 beers for just $4, knowing that once you find the beer you like, you’ll likely take home a growler. He’s happy to fill any growler, or pick up one of theirs for just $5 plus the fill cost. Speaking of costs, looking over his price list, this might just be the cheapest place in town to fill your growler. A growler of Warped Wing Ermals was just $11, cheaper than you can get at the downtown brewery. The most expensive tap today was $16, which would get you a Troegs Mad Elf, Founders Breakfast Stout or Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale
Elshire even sprung for The Pegas Pressure filler, that eliminates oxygen which allows for a 30-45 day shelf life of your growler. It pours with no foam, no mess and superior taste! The Pegas system uses the same operating principle found in large beer bottling factories around the world, counter-pressure method. This method ensures the bottles are filled in the way that only automatic fillers can provide – without foam and at a rate two liters in sixty seconds. Pegas CrafTap gives the user the ability to use a wide variation of bottle sizes and shapes, so they can serve different sizes and bottle styles to fit the individual need of each establishment. The video below is representative of the Pegas system:
Another advantage for the Shell station, it will fill your growlers day or night, including Sunday’s whenever it is legal to sell beers. For the full list of what’s on tap, check their website or Facebook page. And if you’d like to gift the beer lover in your life with a fill or two, the Shell gift card will cover gas, beer and even a chicken dinner.
The Hairless Hare Brewery and the Dayton Beer Company have teamed up to bring you this festive Ginger Bread Ale. Stop out this Friday night to start your weekend of right with refreshing Ginger Bread Ale.
One of the core values of the Ohio Craft Brewers Association is Empowerment: we strive to give Ohio’s independent breweries the training and tools to sustain and improve their craft. The Ohio Craft Brewers Conference enables us to empower our breweries during two days of educational programming geared towards providing breweries from the well-established to the still-in-planning with information to advance their craft and the opportunity to interact with and learn from their peers from across the state. Another core value of the OCBA is Fun: we commit to an industry culture built on transparency and a deep passion for the craft beer-making community. We intend to have some of that as well as we explore the craft brewing scene in and around Dayton.
“The Ohio craft brewing industry has shown tremendous growth as we surpassed 150 breweries this year,” said Mary MacDonald, Executive Director of the Ohio Craft Brewers Association. “The Ohio Craft Brewers Conference was created to instruct, inspire and connect our state’s craft brewers and partners in support of this burgeoning industry. Dayton is the perfect location for our second year enterprise as the flourishing local beer scene will offer ample opportunity for our conference attendees to get a literal taste of the region.”
New this year, one room of the conference will be entirely devoted to breweries in the planning and start-up phase. Topics will range from financing a brewery to the basic safety equipment that every brewery should have on site. The Ohio Craft Brewers Conference is a great place where those who are considering opening a craft brewery can learn some of the basics of what the business takes as well as rub elbows with and get advice from some of the best in the local craft brewing industry. This year the esteemed participants include Jim Koch of Sam Adams who will be delivering our keynote address.
The second Ohio Craft Brewers Conference will take place February 3-4, 2016 at the Dayton Convention Center. Registration is $200 per person. Discounted registration is available for OCBA brewery and allied members for $150 per person ($125 per person for groups of 3 or more from the same organization). Registration includes breakfast and lunch both days, a flash drive containing the conference presentations, a trade show with allied industry members and optional post-conference activities. Registration is available at this link: http://www.beerfesttickets.com/conference2016
The Ohio Craft Brewers Conference Presented by Ohio Beer Counsel is supported by Brewers Professional Alliance, Hunter Consulting Company, Sahm Inc, Reminger Co., LPA, Dayton Convention & Visitors Bureau and Briess Malt & Ingredients Co.
Dayton’s premier craft beer + food-pairing event returns to the Masonic Center on Sat, Feb 6th from 4-7pm.
Tickets are $50 each, but for the next 24 hours you can buy them for $10 off.
Some 30+ local and national breweries will present over 75 beers during an afternoon salute to craft brewing and the Miami Valley’s local independent restaurants like Amber Rose, El Meson, Mudlick Tap House, Esther Price and more to come.
• More than 75 craft beers from more than 30 world-class breweries.
• Fine food paired with corresponding beer styles at 15 stations,
• Select Draught Craft Beers.
• Commemorative AleFeast sampling glass.
• Event sampling & reference guide.
• Live entertainment by the incomparable Nick Mitchell.
• Retail sales of wearables and glassware.
• Silent auction featuring beer memorabilia.
