Five year old Rockmill Brewery, located on a former horse farm near Lancaster, sits on a gorgeous 20 acre property approximately 30 minutes from downtown Columbus. The farm was built in the 1870s and once was owned by Ohio Governor Thomas Worthington. The barn was recently refurbished and expanded and now serves as the brewery’s tasting room and dining room. The stables house the brewery. The idyllic grounds also include a pond and a small chapel.

Word started brewing early last week that something exciting was percolating over at Heartland Bank Ambassador Greg Ubert’s Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea. The headline in Columbus Business First read, “America's top coffee roaster is from Columbus”. ThisWeek community newspaper’s headline read ‘Crimson Cup gets Toast from Roast’. Both publications announced that Roast Magazine (the trusted source of information on the art, science and business of coffee) had just named Columbus-based Crimson Cup as the 2016 Macro Roaster of the Year.

After identifying a hole in the market for a modern suit store and making a decision to build a concept specifically for a modern customer, Nate DeMars opened Pursuit in October of 2011. “Learning an industry from the ground up was tricky. With no experience in fashion retail, nor with suits, we were able to build something really unique,” Nate said.

Owner Malika Jacobs opened Kingmakers in January of 2014 and her 80 seat ‘basement lounge’ on Buttles Avenue is in the heart of Columbus’ Short North arts district. A board game parlour at its core, Kingmakers is also a hip, trendy gathering spot for suburbanites, yuppies, downtown dwellers, millennials, families and more. During non-business hours, the space is available for holiday parties, corporate and private events. Her space offers not only a wide selection of games and tables on which to play, but a menu of fine beers, wines, soft drinks and snacks.

Just a little over five years ago, references to “craft beer” might have needed some explanation. Today, the craft beer business is booming in Columbus and throughout the United States and the industry needs very little clarification. In a 2013 study by the Brewer’s Association, a not-for-profit trade group representing small and independent craft brewers, Ohio’s craft beer industry was named the fourth largest producer in the country, crafting more than one million barrels. Locally, there are more than a dozen breweries inside the I-270 beltway and even more on the way. Looking out farther into the Zanesville, Lancaster, Newark, Delaware and Mansfield areas, the number of operational breweries in central Ohio totals closer to 25. Driving Columbus’ ascension in the exploding craft brew industry is brewmaster, Eric Bean.