But I don’t think it should last a week. Why not all summer long?
If you are a beer lover there’s no better time to enjoy a cool sudsy drink at one of our local breweries, many which boast great patios and food options.
To help you there is a Dayton Ale Trail with the 2023 Passports you can take to the 28 breweries and 32 locations (some breweries have multiple locations) that are a part of the Dayton Ale Trail to get a stamp with a purchase and journey through summer adventuring beyond your normal stomping grounds. Passport books can be found at any of the participating breweries.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
The Dayton Convention and Visitors Bureau has put together the four lists below that can serve as mini-brewcations by visiting some of the craft breweries on the Dayton Ale Trail that are geographically close to one another and booking a stay in a nearby hotel to cap off your beer tasting explorations.
There are four “regions” with breweries within a five-mile radius of one another. The four Brewery Clusters are downtown Dayton, Kettering, Centerville/Miamisburg and Vandalia/Huber Heights.
Greater Dayton Brewery Regions
1. Downtown Dayton Breweries
Branch & Bone Artisan Ales
905 Wayne Ave., Dayton
(937) 723-7608 or www.branchandboneales.com
This charming brewery located in the Historic South Park neighborhood of Dayton shows their love of the craft through aesthetics and the beers that they make. They don’t have food, but South Park Tavern and Pizza is just down the road if you find you need sustenance.
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Toxic Brew Company
431 E. 5th St., Dayton
(937) 985-3618 or toxicbrewcompany.com
Located in the Oregon District, Toxic Brew Company is the perfect place to meet with friends for some tasty house-brewed Bavarian, Belgian and American-style beers in a great environment. Its location in downtown Dayton makes it the perfect spot to grab a drink after a long workday.
Lock 27 Brewing
329 E 1st St., Dayton
(937) 433-2739 or lock27brewing.com
Located in the heart of Dayton next to the Day Air Ballpark, Lock 27 brewery is the perfect spot to meet up with friends before a Dayton Dragons game for a cold beer and tasty food. Get the smoked chicken wings ($16) — they are a perfect pairing with a beer.
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Warped Wing Brewery
26 Wyandot St., Dayton
(937) 222-7003 or warpedwing.com
Located in a historic industrial building in downtown Dayton, Warped Wing Brewing Co. is inspired by Dayton’s history of aviation innovation and various inventions. They offer a full menu of food that includes appetizers, soups, salads, wings and nuggets, sandwiches and flatbreads. I love that they have a Greek Gyro ($12) on the menu or as a salad that brings rich savory flavors with a bright summery housemade tzatziki sauce. It’s a nice option against typical brew pub fare that you find on typical brewery menus. (Warped Wing’s newest location at 6602 Executive Blvd., Huber Heights, is scheduled to open this spring/summer. The brewery also has locations at 25 Wright Station Way, Springboro and 5650 Tylersville Rd., Mason.)
Dayton Beer Company
41 Madison St., Dayton
(937) 228-2337 or thedaytonbeerco.com
Just down the street from Day Air Ballpark, this brewery is the perfect spot to meet up with friends you haven’t seen in a while before heading to a ball game. They have a very small limited menu in case you find yourself needing a nosh, but for me this is the place to go to start the night with food that will be sourced later on at a future destination.
Fifth Street Brewpub
1600 E. 5th St., Dayton
(937) 443-0919 or fifthstreetbrewpub.com
Located in the beautiful St. Anne’s Hill District, Fifth Street Brew Pub is truly a unique brewery — it’s Ohio’s first cooperative brewpub in Dayton. Hang out on the patio for trivia or head inside for a bite to eat and bring your well-behaved and leashed furry friends on Wednesdays for Yappy Hours. Go healthy and light with a salmon salad ($12) or go all in with one of their four burger options. There’s also a really good southwest veggie burger topped with guacamole, cotija cheese, a dusting of chili powder and fresh veggies ($14).
Carillon Brewing Company
1000 Carillon Blvd., Dayton
(937) 910-0722 or www.daytonhistory.org/visit/shop-dine/carillon-brewing-co
After spending the day exploring Carillon Historical Park, sit back and relax on one of the best outdoor spaces in town with a cold beer at Carillon Brewing Co., an 1850s style brewery and the nation’s only brewery in a museum. The food menu is small. Snack on a German soft pretzel with house bier cheese ($10) or choose from their selection of wursts — bratwurst, kielbasa, hot link, Frankfurter or a Beyond Brat.
Credit: Sarah Blankemeyer
Credit: Sarah Blankemeyer
Little Fish Brewing Company
116 Webster St., Dayton
(937) 949-3055 or littlefishbrewing.com
Located on Webster Street near the 2nd Street Market, Little Fish Brewing Company prides itself on utilizing Ohio-grown ingredients in their beer and in their food. When this Athens brewery began in 2015, its mission was to brew world class beer, while sustainably supporting local economies. They designed several of the original core beer recipes utilizing the Ohio-grown ingredients available at the time before anyone was malting grain in Ohio. These included organic spelt in Saison du Poisson and organic heirloom corn in Shagbark Pilsner, as well as many specialty ingredients like locally-grown fruits and herbs. Today, Haus Malts in Cleveland provides Ohio-grown malted barley, wheat, spelt, rye, corn, and triticale for the majority of their beers. A number of small hop farmers are also producing Ohio-grown hops, which they purchase for their 100 percent Ohio-grown offerings. Little Fish’s Athens & Dayton kitchens are both run by Becky Clark of Pork & Pickles (www.porknpickles.com). Clark was recently nominated for a James Beard Award for Best Chef, Great Lakes Region, for her work at Little Fish. The Dayton location offers lunch, dinner and a brunch on Sunday.
Moeller Brew Barn
416 E 1st St, Dayton
(937) 813-8237 or moellerbrewbarn.com
Moeller Brew Barn’s new downtown Dayton location is situated next to Day Air Ballpark and the newly opened AC Hotel Dayton. With 24 tap selections of barn-made beer and seltzers, you’re sure to find something to sip on. They have a robust food menu. Highlights include the “Nacho Ordinary Nachos” ($13) topped with beer cheese, corn, black beans, shredded cheese, cilantro sour cream, jalapenos, scallions and a side of pico. Pulled pork or chicken can be added for another $5. In addition to a large menu of brick oven pizzas, they have some fun handhelds like a caprese wrap, baja shrimp tacos, a meatloaf mac-n-cheese burger and a fried bologna sandwich.
2. Kettering Breweries
Eudora Brewing Company
3022 Wilmington Pike, Kettering
Eudora Brewing Company is a brewery, taproom, and kitchen offering an extensive menu and an extensive 8,000 square-foot taproom space with six glass bay-style garage doors that open when the weather is nice out. It also has a 4,000 square-foot patio which is the perfect place to visit with friends and any friendly four-legged furry friends you might have on a warm summer night. Go for a street taco flight of one tequila grilled shrimp taco with guacamole, mango puree, queso fresco and cilantro, one carnitas taco with creme fraiche, diced red onions, queso fresco and cilantro and one thunderball braised shredded beef taco with avocado aioli, pickled red onion and queso fresco and cilantro ($9.20 for the three). The apple and goat cheese salad with housemade honey-lavender vinaigrette dressing is a wonderful way to start any meal when the weather is warm out ($6 for a half, $10 for a full).
Credit: Alexis Larsen
Credit: Alexis Larsen
Nowhere in Particular Cabinet of Curiosities
4716 Wilmington Pike, Kettering
(937) 999-4133 or nipcoc.com
This brewery and taproom serves aggressively experimental brews in various styles from brewer Charles Navillus a.k.a. Pat Sullivan who once brewed for Toxic Brew Co. The brewery is dog and child-friendly, but they ask you to keep both on a leash. They feature karaoke on Mondays and Fridays, trivia on Tuesdays, Stand up comedy the frist Wednesday of the month, a Survivor watch party on Wednesdays when Survivor is airing, music bingo on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month and a market on the first and last Saturday of the month. The fantastic Phat and Rich tacos is behind the brewery serving up food. Visit www.facebook.com/phatandrichdyt to check hours and menu.
3. Miamisburg/Centerville Breweries
Heavier Than Air Brewing Company
497 Miamisburg Centerville Rd., Centerville
(937) 433-1500 or heavierthanairbrewing.com
Heavier Than Air Brewing Company proudly serves up a menu of aviation-themed craft beers in its small but mighty taproom. Avion Rapide (Fast Airplane) Saison is back for the season. This farmhouse Belgian style has light bready notes with a hint of rye and delicate herbal finish. Avion Rapide clocks in at 6.3% ABV and 28 IBUs and on tap now. Pick up a growler and take it to enjoy on your patio with anything you fancy off the grill for a win.
Lucky Star Brewery and Cantina
219 S 2nd St, Miamisburg
(937) 866-2739 or luckystarbrewery.com
If tacos, burritos, quesadillas or nachos sound good then Lucky Star Brewery is a great spot to head to. Not only does it have tasty Mexican fare and an outdoor patio, it has craft beers. The Ojos Locos Mexican lager is a great choice if you are able to pass up their Devils Juice Margarita ($8).
Star City Brewing Company
319 S. 2nd St., Miamisburg
(937) 701-7827 or starcitybrewing.com
Nestled inside the 19th-century Peerless Mill Inn, Star City Brewing Company offers a wide variety of beer styles on tap and several house-made Peerless Mill Wines including a watermelon wine. Grab a pie from Ron’s pizza nearby and you’re up for a great night out.
Lock 27 Brewing-Centerville
1035 S. Main St.., Centerville
(937) 433-2739 lock27brewing.com
This is the original Lock 27 Brewing location, just two miles off I-675. This location serves as the lab for experimenting and creating new beers for both locations. Not only do they have delicious house-brewed craft beers, but they also have a full menu that includes a Blue Buffalo Fried Chicken Sandwich ($17) that begs for a beer to tamper the heat.
Loose Ends Brewing
890 S. Main St., Centerville
(937) 723-6328 or looseendsbrewing.com
This brewery has a great mix of craft beer, but it’s the food from Chef Adrian Madrigal that you need to get over there for. The crab rangoon ($8) is divine and the Korean style twice fried chicken wings ($13) area must. There are wonderful burgers and sandwiches and even a 10 oz. ribeye aged for 21 days ($25). The grilled chicken kabobs ($24) are a great choice when searching for something that pairs well with all things summer.
Bock Family Brewing
8150 Washington Village Dr., Dayton
(937) 813-2000 or bockfamilybrewing.com
Visit Bock Hall for a beer from one of 16 taps and enjoy pool, darts, foosball, shuffleboard, and loads of other fun games while you are there. The Drunken Waffle food truck is there often to provide food to pair with brews. Visit www.facebook.com/TheDrunkenWaffle for menu and hours.
4. Vandalia/Huber Heights Breweries
Hairless Hare Brewery
738 W. National Rd., Vandalia
(937) 387-6476 or hairlessharebrewery.com
Founded by owners Matt Harris and Mike Legg in 2013, the Hairless Hare Brewery offers a wide selection of craft beer ranging from a pale ale all the way to their Buckeye Nation Porter, a chocolate peanut butter stout, there is something for everyone. There is a large list of pizzas and smoked wings tossed in housemade garlic teriyaki sauce drizzled with a creamy chili dressing and finished with fresh Thai basil and chili flake.
Credit: Jim Witmer
Credit: Jim Witmer
Alematic Artisan Ales
6182 Chambersburg Rd., Huber Heights
(937) 813-8901 or www.alematicbrewing.com
This twist on the normal brewhouse, Alematic Artisan Ales, is an immersive experience and open layout. Whether you’re relaxing at the bar or hanging out in the taproom – when you walk into the Alematic, you’re walking into the brewing experience. While you enjoy the beers, you’ll have a front-row seat to all the action. There’s no kitchen in the brewery but, feel free to bring in or order whatever you’re hungry for.
With this list just covering Montgomery County, It’s clear that our region has an impressive amount of independent breweries to enjoy, so if beer is up your alley you now have a list and a plan. The Dayton Ale Trail Passports have the complete list including breweries like Yellow Springs Brewery and Mother Stewart’s in Springfield, so be sure to pick one up and grab your prize pint glass at Yellow Cab when you are done.
As with all things, endeavor to be moderate and please drink responsibly. Cheers!
DAYTON EATS runs Sundays in the Life & Arts section of the Dayton Daily News and features the latest on menu updates, special dinners and events, new chefs, interesting new dishes, and food adventures. Contact Contributing Writer Alexis Larsen at alexis.e.larsen@hotmail.com.
About the Author