Craft brewery, distillery set to open in area

The Dayton area’s newest craft brewery is in the works in Washington Twp. between Centerville and the Dayton Mall, and this one comes with a twist: it will include a small-batch distillery, too.

Sojourners Brewstillery, coming soon to 8150 Washington Village Drive in the Yankee Business Center in Washington Twp., is the brainchild of Jeff Marjamaa, who moved to Sugarcreek Twp. with his family last fall.

Marjamaa is the co-founder and served as chief financial officer of two other breweries: Aegir Brewing Co. in Elk River, Minnesota, and JAKs Brewing Co. in Falcon, Colorado.

“We want to put down roots here,” he said.

The 6,000-square-foot space will be split between a tap room and production facilities, and will seat about 100, Marjamaa said. The tap room will have the feel of a public house in England — “a community gathering place where everyone feels welcome, including those who don’t like to drink beer,” he said.

The distillery portion of the business will focus on smallbatch spirits, and the beers will be “light and clean,” Marjamaa said, ranging from older European styles to West-coast IPAs. A barrel-aging program will be an integral part of both the beer and spirits lineups, he said.

Marjamaa said hopes to open Sojourners in late summer or early fall.

Terry Baltes of Baltes Commercial Realty said he has received “very positive feedback” from other tenants of the Yankee Business Center about the addition of Sojourners Brewstillery.

Ryan Lee, development and zoning director for Washington Twp., said the township has approved the brewery’s planned use of the space.

Sojourners Brewstillery will add to the craft-brewing renaissance that has swept across the Miami Valley in the last decade. More than 15 craft breweries have opened across the region in the last eight years, and to date, none of the breweries that are part of the most recent wave have closed.