Yellow Springs Brewery: Progressive Brew from Ohio to You

America is a nation rife with memorable historic moments. Much of this history took place in the larger population centers, but American small towns often have unique stories of their own to share and a perfect example is the small town of Yellow Springs, Ohio. Home to Antioch College, the school known for its activism and for several notable alumni like Coretta Scott King, Antioch often finds itself in the news at a high rate of frequency and many people know about Yellow Springs for this reason alone. But there are other things worthy of news coverage in Yellow Springs, Ohio and one that beer lovers need to seek out is Yellow Springs Brewery, located at 305 Walnut Street.

Brewery and Tour

Yellow Springs Brewery is a small brewery with an attractive tasting area and outdoor back patio. The interior is large enough to hold and seat about 50 to 70 people comfortably and while they do not serve any food of their own, it is common to find food trucks parked out front, ready to calm those hunger pangs between beers.

The back patio of Yellow Springs Brewery backs right up to the Greater Miami Bike Path. This makes it a perfect- and common- stopover for people riding their bicycles on the path. They offer brewery tours as well, explaining the brewing process and answering questions to interested parties.

Pour Me Some Brew

I got to try a handful of beers when I visited Yellow Springs Brewery. Here is an alphabetical listing of the beers I tried, followed by my Untappd rating for each, on a 5- point scale:

• Boat Show, IPA, 4.25
• Captain Stardust, Saison, 3.75
• Springer, Golden Ale, 4
• Wyatt’s Eviction, English Pale Ale, 4

Overall average rating: 4 out of 5

I liked all of the beers I sampled here, but was most partial to the Boat Show IPA. Every beer, however, had its merits and all were worthy of a second helping.

History in the Making

Yellow Springs Brewery was my first brewery visit when I visited the Dayton area just recently. Inquiring with locals about the best breweries to visit, Yellow Springs was consistently mentioned among the best the Dayton area has to offer. With so many votes of confidence, I headed east from Dayton and arrived in the small town of Yellow Springs in a matter of minutes, ready to sample beer and evaluate the hype.

Yellow Springs Brewery, I learned, is presently brewing a few thousand barrels of beer annually and production is on the rise. You quickly get that optimistic feeling from the brewery personnel. It’s a feeling common to many growing businesses and it is marked by confidence, pride, and positive thinking. Things are going well from a production and quality standpoint and the brewery continues to outdo itself. Talking with personnel, they indicated that they will likely outgrow their present space in relatively short time and may need to relocate in order to reach the brewing capacity necessary to satisfy so many thirsty fans.

Prior to my visit, I had already heard many positive accolades about Yellow Springs beer, especially Boat Show IPA. I love a good IPA as much as any craft beer drinker and, sure enough, the rave reviews were accurate. Boat Show, not surprisingly, is the brewery’s top selling beer and they have a difficult time keeping up with the high demand. Boat Show features flavors of mixed citrus, a touch of passionfruit, and a little bit of tea and vanilla. It would likely become my IPA of choice if I lived in the Dayton area and since it and other Yellow Springs beers are packaged in cans, you can get hold of the beer you love and drink where you like, without having to visit the brewery itself, a tavern, or a restaurant.

I liked what I saw and tasted when I visited Yellow Springs Brewery. My only regret is that they didn’t have any of their own dark beers available at the time. They did have dark beer from other breweries on tap, so I was able to satisfy my dark beer desires. I like it when breweries serve competitor’s beers on tap, but I would have liked it more if they had been serving a few of their own. Oh well, I suppose it’s a good excuse for a return visit the next time I’m in the area.

Yellow Springs is well- known for its progressive outlook and its Antioch College has been in the news many times, often for reasons relating to political and social expression. Yellow Springs Brewery provides local news sources with a different type of news story; one that is dedicated to the non- political and eminently uniting beverage we know and love as craft beer. It’s a cool place to stop by for a beer or friendly chat so plan a visit to this historic small town the next time you’re in the Dayton, Ohio vicinity. And tell them Great Beer Now sent you.