USA, OH: FigLeaf Brewing Co. to hold grand opening on October 8

FigLeaf Brewing Co. in Middletown, OH will open this Saturday, October 8, with a grand opening from noon to midnight, Cincinnati.com reported on October 4.

The brewery is in a new 8,400-square-foot building at 3387 Cincinnati-Dayton Road. That includes a 2,000-square-foot tap room and a 1,400-square-foot patio, to which the owners are adding an awning and enclosing for year-round use.

Those owners are Brian Yavorsky, a long-time home brewer who helped found Star City Brewing in Miamisburg in 2013; head brewer Jeff Fortney, who previously brewed at Warped Wing in Dayton; assistant brewer Andy Allgeyer, a home brewer who has also worked in craft retail; and Rich and Tasha Brown.

Yavorsky said the brewery won't necessarily have flagship beers.

"We want to continually evolve what we're doing," he said. "We think that by continuously innovating, people will keep coming back to try new things."

At the opening, Fig Leaf will offer four beers: A red saison, imperial brown porter, basmati rice cream ale and an IPA. Yavorsky said they hope to quickly grow their offerings to 10 and possibly expand to fill all 20 taps with their brews.

They'll self-distribute to local bars and restaurants, and they hope to start packaging their product within a year or two.

FigLeaf doesn't serve food but will partner with local food trucks and a local caterer to bring in food from time to time.

Yavorsky said he and his partners were interested in the location because "there's a lot of demographic here that has a long way to drive" to craft breweries. They also saw it as a way to connect the craft breweries located north and south of them. Yavorsky envisions hosting events on-site that would draw from both neighboring cities.

"We think it's a great opportunity to bring the Cincinnati and Dayton markets together," he said. "The fact that we're on Cincinnati-Dayton Road really kind of plays into that."

After the opening, hours will be 4-10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 4 p.m.-midnight Friday, 1 p.m.-midnight Saturday, noon-8 p.m. Sunday.

06 October, 2016