Credit: Submitted Photo
Credit: Submitted Photo
Julie, a Bellbrook native, opened the brewery with her husband, Jeff, who had been homebrewing for several years. His interest in the brewing industry was first sparked in the 1990s when he frequented Main Street Brewery in Cincinnati.
“They were way ahead of their time before the craft brewing industry even took off,” Jeff said. “I was really fascinated by the equipment and someone being able to make beer on a small scale on-site.”
He continued to check out breweries as he traveled across the country for work and would always try to engage with the owners. About 10 years ago, he began homebrewing, and as he got better, he shared his product with his family, neighbors and friends.
Besides his love for craft beer and a desire to bring something new to the community, he said he decided to open a brewery because of the economic development happening in the area.
“I think providing people with good quality, crafted beer and a place where they can gather, unwind, meet friends and family and just connect with people in the local community, to me that’s what’s most important,” Jeff said.
“We knew Bellbrook needed something like this,” Julie added. “We have one great community tavern, and a lot of people convene there, but Bellbrook has grown so much. It could support something else.”
Sugarcreek Brewing Company is located at 26 E. Franklin Street in the historical Sugarcreek Township House. The building most recently housed Little Miami Handworks. In the late 1800s the building notably commenced the first-ever graduating class of Bellbrook High School. Over the years, the space housed musical events and city council meetings and was also a polling place.
Julie recalled visiting the building in 1980s with her dad when he was in the construction business and needed to pull permits.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
The block building in the rear, now serving as a brew room, once housed the township’s only ambulance and police department evidence rooms.
The 4,400-square-foot space features a tap room with 10 taps and seating for up to 100 guests. On Friday and Saturday they had nine taps filled and plan to have all 10 filled within two weeks. Jeff said they went through 25 to 30 percent of their supply opening weekend so he is planning to ramp up production by nearly three times.
Two of their most popular beers on tap over the weekend was the Golden Eagle Ale, a golden ale, and The Rookie, a blonde ale. The Rookie is named after Julie’s brother, Tony Ernst, who held several football and basketball records at Bellbrook High School and the University of Dayton.
If you’re wondering about food, the brewery plans to host different food trucks. They have also partnered with Veli’s Pizza & Pasta, who will provide a special QR code at the brewery for customers to order from and get it delivered.
In the future the couple plans to add acoustic panels, ramp up production, expand hours, add outdoor seating and open up an upstairs loft area for customers.
The brewery is open 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday for the month of June. For more information about Sugarcreek Brewing Company, visit www.sugarcreekbrewingcompany.net or the brewery’s Facebook page.
About the Author
