E-Malt.com News article: USA, KY: Darkness Brewing planned to open in Bellevue by September

Two friends and home brewers are working to open a brewery with an emphasis on dark beers on Bellevue's Fairfield Avenue, Cincinnati.com reported on March 10.

Eric Bosler and Ron Sanders are the owners of Darkness Brewing, which they hope to open by September at 224 Fairfield Ave.

Bosler's father was in the Air Force, so the family moved around during his youth and finally settled in Denver. Though he has lived in Bellevue for 10 or 15 years, he misses the beer scene he experienced in Colorado.

"You go there and you can't throw a rock without hitting a brewery," he said. "I'm trying to bring what I remember from Denver back this way."

Admittedly, others have beat him to it: a half-dozen new breweries opened locally in 2013 and 2014, and at least a dozen are expected to open this year.

But Bosler — a veteran of local bars and restaurants such as Crazy Fox Saloon, Buckhead Mountain Grill and Virgil's Cafe — likes the idea of the neighborhood brewery, serving patrons who live close.

"We like the idea of people walking to us instead of driving," he said. He particularly wanted to open the business in his own neighborhood.

"We're right on the cusp of being super awesome here in Bellevue," he said. "When I moved here 10 or 15 years ago, Fairfield Avenue was 90 percent plywood."

Now, he said, it's rare to find an empty building. Businesses are staying.

Bosler has been home brewing for six or seven years. Sanders, who has a sales and marketing background, started brewing with Bosler about three years ago. (They met because their wives worked together; both women now work at 501 Salon in Bellevue.)

Though as the brewery's name implies, they'll focus on dark beers — stouts, porters and browns, but also some less expected offerings, such as a dark beer that tastes light — they'll also offer other beers, such as a wheat. They'll start with five or six styles to sell in-house only and expand from there.

"We may have a few kegs going out, but as a general rule, we're saying we're not going to distribute" to start, Bosler said. He said they plan to produce about 216 barrels per year, give or take.

They'll supplement their beers with a couple of guest taps for other breweries' beers — maybe something from Louisville or Lexington that's hard to find locally, for example.

They've just signed a lease on the Fairfield Avenue space, under contingency that their licensing goes through and that code issues can be addressed. The 4,200-square-foot space was originally a car lot and showroom. The front third to half will be the public tap room area, and Bosler and Sanders will brew in the back. It will have an industrial feel, with exposed rafters and duct work, and hold about 50 seats at the bar and tables. A stage will let them offer live music on occasion.

"For us, it's perfect," Bosler said. "It's just a big, raw space."

The space will be non-smoking, though smoking will be permitted in an outdoor area. Food won't be served, but customers can get delivery from local restaurants.

To start, they plan to be open Thursday through Monday, beginning at around 3 or 4 p.m. each day. They added the atypical Monday hours because many bars and restaurants are closed, which means people who work in those service industries could visit the brewery then. They might add hours if the demand is there.

Bosler said the brewery is self-funded, and the partners plan to launch a Kickstarter campaign in a few months.


11 March, 2015