Craft beer chain Casual Pint opens new Mason bar, restaurant

A beer bar chain is looking to capitalize on the craft beer boom with a new location.

Casual Pint, a pub, tap room and retail seller of craft beers, opened June 2 at 6360 Tylersville Road in Mason, just two miles east of the border of Butler and Warren counties.

Craft beer from throughout Ohio and the Midwest is poured from 32 different beer taps, with 75 other tap handles ready to replace them once a brew runs out, according to owner Mike Blankenship. That way, Casual Pint can switch things up to allow for variety, he said.

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“When somebody comes in here, we want them to have a choice,” Blankenship said. “There’s so many different styles and so many different beers, that having 32 taps, you’re going to get that and if it’s not (listed) up here on the wall, you can walk back to the cooler in back, pull it out and have one of those here, as well.”

The Casual Pint’s menu features starters like Brewers Wings, Bavarian Pretzels & Beer Cheese, hand-crafted Chicken, Pepperoni Pizza or Cheese Pizza Flatbreads. There’s also a Chicken and Cheddar Wrap, Buffalo Chicken Wrap, Southwest Chicken Wrap and Seasonal Craft Beer Brat.

“We want to let somebody have a little bite to eat while they’re having a nice beer,” Blankenship said.

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Beer may be purchased by the glass, in a 64-ounce growler, a 32-ounce crowler, a one-use can that is filled and seamed at the bar using a can seamer.

For those who aren’t sure if they’ll like a particular brew, Casual Pint offers samples based on what a person says they typically prefer.

Those who purchase a mixed 6-pack of cans or bottles receive a discount.

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Alison Shiver, of Mason, who walked over from work Tuesday during her lunch break, said the business made a favorable first impression on her.

“There’s just so much to choose from and they also serve wine as well, and then the menu is really good,” she said.

The first Casual Pint opened in Knoxville in 2011. In 2013, it began franchising, and its first six franchise locations opened in 2014, all in Tennessee.

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The Casual Pint opened its first southwest Ohio locations in Loveland and Oakley in 2016, according to Casual Pint CEO Nathan Robinette. Mason is the 19th store to open. A Youngstown location is set to open this weekend and 26 more locations are set to open in the near future.

Robinette said he hopes to open another in the area in the next year, but a location is yet to be determined.

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