Where brewing began in Dayton


Map image showing Dayton's first breweries close to Warped Wing and The Barrel House.
Warped Wing and Barrel House are in the heart of Dayton's original brewing district.
© 2019 Timothy R. Gaffney

 When you visit the Warped Wing Brewing Co. or The Barrel House in downtown Dayton—as I will on Aug. 7 and Aug. 15—you journey to the heart of Dayton's Historic Brewing District.

 Warped Wing occupies a former foundry building at 26 Wyandot Street, just south of East Main between North Patterson Boulevard and Wayne Avenue. The Barrel House is in an old commercial building at 417 E. Third. They're both close to where Dayton's founders built their first cabins and close to where its first breweries opened.

George Newcom, one of Dayton's original settlers, built his cabin  on the southwest corner of Main and Monument in 1796 and later enlarged it into a two-story tavern. He added a brewery about 1810. It was Montgomery County's first brewery, according to historian Augustus Waldo Drury.
Historic Sketch of Newcom Tavern, Dayton's first permanent building.
Sketch of Newcom Tavern, from Lutzenberger Picture Collection, Dayton Metro Library.
Henry Brown built Dayton's first brick brewery about 1820 on the south side of Second west of Jefferson. It became known as the Dayton Brewery. 

 A later owner, George C. Davis, moved the business in 1828 to the west side of Jefferson, midway between First and Monument. John W. Harries took it over shortly after arriving with his family in 1829. He owned it until his death in 1873.

 Even closer were the breweries of James Riddle and Henry Ferneding. Riddle was an Indiana Mounted Ranger in the War of 1812 who came to Dayton sometime in the 1820s, if not earlier. Exactly when he started a brewery isn't clear, but he was in business by 1840 on St. Clair near East Third.

 Ferneding worked for Riddle before opening his City Brewery on the east side of Kenton near East Third. In 1859, he built a new brewery a mile south on the west side of Warren, just south of Apple. He closed the old brewery but kept a malt house on Kenton.   
Sachs-Pruden, with tall chimney on right, skirted the Miami and Erie Canal—now Patterson Boulevard.

 The breweries of Brown, Harries, Riddle and Ferneding are long gone. Newcom Tavern is now at Carillon Historical Park, where it's a neighbor of the reproduction 1850s brewery Carillon Brewing Co. But one brewery still stands close to Warped Wing and the Barrel House—the former Sachs-Pruden brewery at 120 South Patterson. It's now the Dayton Metro Library's administration building.

 While most of Dayton's old breweries are gone, their stories remain, and I retell them in my book Dayton Beer. Join me at Warped Wing on Wednesday, Aug. 7, starting at 5 p.m., for its official release and the launching of my History and a Pint™ book tour. I'll be at The Barrel House a week later on Thursday, Aug. 15, starting at 5:30. Bring your copy and I'll sign it, and I'll have books available for sale.

 In case you miss me at either location, here's the full tour schedule: 

 Wednesday Aug 7—5:00 pm
Warped Wing Brewing Co.
26 Wyandot St. Dayton

Thursday Aug 15—5:30 pm
The Barrel House
417 E. Third St. Dayton

Friday Aug 23—5:30 pm
Star City Brewing Co.
320 S. 2nd St. Miamisburg

Tuesday Sep 10—6 pm
Eudora Brewing Co.
3022 Wilmington Pike, Dayton

Wednesday Sep 18—6 pm
Lock 27 Brewing
329 E. First St. Dayton

Saturday, Oct 5—3 pm
Carillon Brewing Co.
1000 Carillon Blvd. Dayton

Saturday, Oct 12—1 pm
Moeller Brew Barn-Maria Stein
8016 Marion Dr. Maria Stein

Thursday Oct 17—6 pm
Mother Stewart's Brewing
109 W. North St. Springfield

Location: Dayton, OH, USA

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