Matt Harris of Butler Twp. and Mike Legg of Medway opened the brewery in 2013 after working together for about 15 years in the machining-related manufacturing field. Harris had been homebrewing for a few years before pitching the idea to start a brewery.
When they first started, they only had about half the space and a third of the taps they have today.
Credit: Submitted Photo
Credit: Submitted Photo
The small-batch brewery is known for having a wide variety of beers from Lagers and Sours to Hazy IPAs and Porters — there’s something for everyone. The brewery recently re-released its popular Rainbow Sherbet Sour.
“We’ve become very well known for our sours,” Legg said.
In addition to 13 beer taps, the Hairless Hare Brewery has eight hard cider taps with flavors such as Blue Raspberry, Blueberry, Tropical Sunrise and Strawberry. They also have a Pomegranate Hard Lemonade and four flavors of alcoholic slushies including Margarita, Strawberry Daiquiri, Piña Colada and Berry Blue Blast.
Credit: Submitted Photo
Credit: Submitted Photo
If you’re looking for food, the brewery is known for its smoked chicken wings and pizza. Wing sauces include Chocolate Habanero, Thai Sweet & Spicy, Spicy Honey Garlic, Buffalo and BBQ. Their homemade ranch is a huge hit.
The owners described their pizza as craft pizza with most ingredients made in house and all veggies hand-cut. Popular pizzas include:
- Brewhouse Rancher (House cold war ranch topped with a blend of mozzarella and provolone cheese, seasoned chicken breast, bacon and jalapenos. The pizza is finished with house buttermilk ranch and parsley.
- Carne Pie (House red sauce topped with a blend of mozzarella and provolone cheese, pepperoni, cupped pepperoni, smoked Italian sausage and ground sausage. The pizza is then finished with fresh basil and bourbon hot honey)
Other unique pizzas to try include the Smoked Salmon, Pesto Veggie and Blue Mushroom that were originally created by Harris’ wife.
Credit: Submitted Photo
Credit: Submitted Photo
The brewery thrives off of being community driven.
In 2016, they started a mug club that has grown to 667 mugs. The mug club is currently sold out, but twice a year they “purge” the mugs that are not used. Mug club members receive special discounts like half-priced pizzas on Wednesdays and Thursdays, in addition to having a unique mug made by local potter Sally Watson that’s housed at the brewery.
The brewery is casual, laid back and has a diverse audience with people of all ages.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
The wood on the walls throughout the brewery was donated by the Hertlein Family, whose farm has been a staple to the Vandalia community since the early 1900s. The oak planks that make up the standing bar and handrails was donated by the Trick Family, another Vandalia farming family.
From the wood and the mugs to the drinks and the food, the Hairless Hare Brewery creates a family friendly environment that’s focused on the customer experience.
And if you’re wondering where the name of the brewery comes from, Harris said “hairless” was his older brother’s nickname in high school. He said his brother had really short hair in the 1980s when his friends had long ponytails. The nickname was derived from that and their last name. Harris always thought it was a “neat nickname” and it ended up being the perfect brewery name as well.
The brewery is located at 738 W. National Road. For more information, visit the brewery’s Facebook or Instagram pages.
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