USA, OH: Marion Brewing Company already open in Marion

A Marion brewery is now serving up new craft brews every weekend, the Marion Star reported on November 12.

The Marion Brewing Company, 151 S. Main St., opened in late September and is now pouring locally brewed beer Friday and Saturday evenings.

"Everybody seems to really like the beer," said brewer Joe VanBuskirk. "We're selling it much faster than we expected."

VanBuskirk and business partner Tim Chambers have been working to open the brewery since 2017, when they purchased 151 S. Main St. and began renovations, all while working their day jobs.

The business partners wanted the taproom to be a laid-back place for craft beer enthusiasts and people who just enjoy a good beer.

VanBuskirk tries to keep a rotating cast of beers on tap, with new styles and flavors every weekend, he said. The taproom has bar seating with TVs lining the north wall, as well as couches and barrel tables with stool seats. There are board games for people to play and an arcade game machine.

Business has been good since the brewery opened several weeks ago, they say, especially given the limited hours from 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

"We're already talking about expansion which at least to me, happened a lot sooner," said business partner Rick Lyon. "We've barely been open and we're already talking about larger brew systems."

They have been surprised by how well-received some of the less conventional beers have been, including a peach-mango Berliner Weisse. VanBuskirk said one of the most popular beers has been the Scotch Ale. Other brews that he has made include Kolsch-style beers, Saison beers and the Wet-Hopped Pale Ale, made with his home-grown hops.

The brewery is the latest business to open on a strip of South Main Street in downtown Marion that is undergoing major renovations and development. The ice cream store Topped opened just a few doors north of the brewery in July. The wedding and event venue The Brickyard, a couple of doors north of the brewery, is under construction and is slated to open in early 2020.

VanBuskirk and Chambers hope to take advantage of the growth downtown and team up with local businesses to support one another. Marion Brewing Company has already teamed up with Topped, which has extended its hours to offer food, including paninis, to brewery patrons Friday and Saturday nights.

The brewery has also ordered T-shirts from Willy and Wade, the handcrafted leather and clothing retailer just down the street, and has used coffee from Marion coffee roaster Alamo in its coffee stout brews.

"Any chance I get to try to use some local ingredients and prop up a local business," VanBuskirk said.

The brewery is pacing itself and hopes to grow along with the downtown.

"We thought we could pace ourselves that way by opening limited hours and getting a feel for things, not over-extending ourselves," VanBuskirk said. "We still have the breathing room of, we're able to get our feet under us before what we hope is a boom."

They are already having a hard time keeping up with the demand, he said, something he was quick to say was a good problem to have.

The taproom also sells beer to take home in crowlers, which are 32-ounce cans the brewery operators say keep the beer fresher than would a growler, the larger take-home container often offered by breweries.

Twenty-Nine Brewpub was the only brewery in Marion until it burned down last December. Now, the Marion Brewing Company is the only brewery that the business partners say is in town.

11 November, 2019