Union County has its first craft brewery with the recent addition of beer production to Dalton Union Winery.
Located just outside of Marysville, about 25 minutes northwest of Columbus, sits Dalton Union Winery, founded in late 2014 by husband and wife Tonya and Dale Mabry.
“My husband’s grandfather made wine and he grew up watching him make wine in the basement,” said Tonya. “[My husband] started making his own wine off and on again for 25 years, and then we started making wine together. We were taking our wine to parties and getting positive feedback over the years, so our friends encouraged us to open up a winery.”
They opened Dalton Union Winery with a tiny tasting room which they quickly outgrew, expanding into their current current tasting house in June 2016. Despite the local popularity, they felt like something was missing.
“People would come into the tasting room to enjoy our wine or our hard cider, but they’d have a friend or spouse with them who was not partaking in the experience because they were beer drinkers,” said Tonya. “We wanted them to get to have the same experience, so we decided we needed to be able to offer something for them as well.”
Dalton Union received all the requisite permits to start brewing in December, and their first beers hit the taps in January. The current draft list includes Inconsistent IPA, Metzger Kolsch, Marzen Madness and Big Buck Brown. A wheat stout and cream ale are currently in production.
“We’re not looking to offer 30 different kinds of beers,” said Tonya. “Our plan is to have six beers and six hard ciders on tap at all time as a compliment to our wines so that anyone who comes through the door will be able to find something that they can enjoy.”
In addition to wine, cider and the new brews, Dalton Union plans to start offering a few flatbreads within the next few weeks. Their tasting house features live music every Saturday night, and food trucks serve every Saturday April through October.
Despite almost 300 breweries across the state of Ohio, Dalton Union is the currently the only brewery in Union County — Elevator Brewing started in Union County but now produces their beer in Franklin County.
“Union County is the fastest growing county in the state, so the fact that we were the first to jump on [the brewery] bandwagon, I am very thankful for, but it is kind of surprising that we are the first ones to open a brewery,” said Tonya. “We have some great taphouses, but no actual breweries.”
Dalton Union Winery (and now brewery) is located at 21100 Shirk Road in Marysville, Ohio, and is open Fridays and Saturdays from 2-10pm, and on weekdays by appointment.
photos courtesy Dalton Union
