Put-in-Bay Brewery and Distillery

Our Story

Opened in 1996, we are proudly the island's first brewery. We are also proudly housed in a building that boasts over a hundred years of history. The property originally belonged to one of the island's wealthiest and most influential citizens, Valentine Doller, who served as the community's third mayor (1880-1889).

On this site around 1898, "Bennie" Rosenfeld constructed a small wooden building for his dry goods store.

It was destroyed by a fire a few years later. Afterwards, the property was purchased by the Rittman Family and a new building was constructed. Over the next several decades, it would be expanded and serve a variety of functions.

The first portion housed Mr. Rittman's store where islanders could buy fresh meat and groceries. He also opened a garage to directly compete with the gas station located next door. Eventually, the building was purchased by Put-in-Bay Township for use as the island's fire station.

Through a 1995 auction, the property was acquired by Carl and Chris Krueger. Carl and long time friend Scott Jackson worked around the clock in the Spring of 1996 on the Brewery installation. Since their May 1996 opening, the brewery has been expanded with a back enclosure, and in 2012, the open air patio was completed. In 2013, the Brewery added a beautiful new still to our impressive collection of copper. We are proud to add: "island's first distillery" to our history.