Chaffee’s Brewhouse is located in a portion of the old stomping grounds of the Pink Ribbon Girls on South 2nd Street in downtown Tipp City.
The brewhouse will be offering a plethora of locally made craft beer and wine through a total of 18 taps and collaborations with local breweries and wineries. This collaboration is the result of the relationships that owners Lisa Smith-Richards and her husband, Shawn Richards, have been in the local beer community through their work with Hop Yard at Lock 16, a three-acre hop farm cultivating Cascade, Centennial, and Zeus varieties, and Miami Valley Draft Services.
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
To prepare for the opening of their brewhouse, the couple has spent the past few months giving the historic building a makeover and ensuring that their space was safe enough for dine-in guests amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Though the brewhouse will only be serving light fare, they will be allowing patrons to bring in food from surrounding restaurants. This light fare presents itself in the form of thoughtful charcuterie boards with cheeses, jams, olives and crackers. The brewhouse will also be offering carryout for select draft items, though these plans have not been finalized.
This light fare includes the following items:
- Gin and Juice Salame: Lamb and a little pork for texture with crushed juniper berries and orange peel
- Soppressata: Pork salame with clove, nutmeg, ginger and black pepper
- Traditional Prosciutto: Hand-rubbed, salted and air-dried for a perfect melt-in-your-mouth texture
- Finocchiona: Tuscan-inspired, coarsely-ground salami mixed with organic fennel and spices
- Manchego cheese, aged six months: This cheese starts not only in the La Mancha region of Spain, but with milk from Manchega sheep native to the area. This semi-soft cheese — made using a pure blend of rennet, milk, and salt — is aged for six months to marry the tangy acidity of younger Manchego with the rich, nutty, almost caramel like sweetness of a “Viejo”
- Roquefort Blue Cheese: Ivory-colored paste with emerald-green veining and a creamy, moist texture
- Purple Haze Goat Cheese: Distinct and unexpected marriage of lavender and hand-harvested fennel goat cheese
- White Sharp Cheddar: Natural, premium crafted Wisconsin cheeses made in small batches and aged just the right amount of time
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Just like every other business venture during the coronavirus pandemic, Chaffee’s Brewhouse has faced new and unexpected hurdles throughout the opening process. Despite the new protocols and procedures that have come about because of the coronavirus, Smith-Richards and her husband have been rolling with the punches.
“There’s just a lot more rules to follow now,” said Smith-Richards. So, we were already on a steep learning curve and this just adds to that. The Health Department has been great about communicating with us and just telling us what needs to be done, but the rules change a lot. We’ve just been trying to work with them as best we can.”
To meet these new regulations, Chaffee’s Brewhouse has ensured that all of the tables are spaced at least six feet apart from one another. And, in accordance with the state mandate, all employees and customers are required to wear masks unless they are consuming food or beverages.
Eventually, the brewhouse will also be opening up its patio space to the public, though it will not be ready for service for the next month or so, according to Smith-Richards.
Credit: TOM GILLIAM
Credit: TOM GILLIAM
Despite any and all hurdles presented by the coronavirus pandemic, Smith-Richards and her husband have worked tirelessly to create a space that many Tipp City residents have been waiting to frequent for years — and, at the end of the day, it’s their clientele and community that matter the most to the owners of Chaffee’s Brewhouse.
“We’re looking forward to our grand opening that’s a month or so away so that we can get the chance to really celebrate and define what our community needs,” said Richards.
Chaffee’s Brewhouse is located at 15 S. 2nd St. in downtown Tipp City. For more information, visit the brewhouse’s Facebook page and website.
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