…and transform it into Birdfish Brewing Company, dispensing craft beers, good times, and benevolence in Columbiana, Ohio
Written by: Robert Kurtz
Photography by: Rob Wetzler / Wetzler Studios
It's a hopping Tuesday evening at Birdfish Brewing Company in Columbiana, Ohio. And with good reason, as Tuesdays host their heralded pinball league. Players are already staking out their preferred machines, craft beers in hand, enjoying themselves immensely. Which, as it turns out, is a common theme to any evening spent at Birdfish, dedicated as much to camaraderie as to their many unique brews.
Birdfish Takes Wing
The idea for Birdfish was hatched by its four owners—brothers Josh and Jon Dunn, along with their cousin Jared Channell and the Dunns’ brother-in-law Greg Snyder. Brewing flows through their DNA, as Josh, Jon, and Jared’s great-grandfather Fred Kochert managed the Akron-Youngstown Renner Brewing Company during the mid 1900s.
Jared and Josh’s own brewing journey began in Jared’s garage in 2010, expanding exponentially. But going public and opening up a taproom, “that was a collective idea. It was more of a hobby, a single-barrel operation, brewing 31 gallons of beer at a time,” Jon Dunn states. “From there it just grew, and we learned more about brewing beer and educated ourselves.”
The original 1,200-square-foot alehouse on Columbiana’s South Main Street was a one-barrel brewing system, a slight upgrade from the 10 gallon system in Jared’s garage. Success led them to form a larger plan, and in 2017 they moved to the current 7,000-square-foot taproom and brewery on Park Avenue, just around the corner from the original site.
The Birdfish website reveals a cascade of events catered to the community—bingo, board game nights, a Euchre league, yoga classes, even a literary group (‘Drinking Club with a Book Problem’; you gotta love it). The spacious public rooms also host the occasional Saturday morning Farm and Art Market.
Former homebuilder Keith Campanelli helped design and construct Birdfish’s beguiling public spaces, which exude an affable Hip Industrial meets Middle Earth vibe. Walls composed of interwoven barrel staves enchant; the sawcut tabletops did previous duty siding a Columbiana County barn. Campanelli’s many pinball machines are featured, and passionately played, throughout.
And the name? “Early on, as home brewers, we saw that the YSU teams and the Pittsburgh hockey team both had the name ‘Penguins’. We wanted to relate to that. And penguins are birds that swim, so, ‘Birdfish’,” Jon states.
The Lineup
While Jared Channell and Greg Snyder shoulder most of the beer making duties, “No one person has the final word on what we brew,” Jon Dunn explains. “One of us brings in an idea. We discuss it. Family, friends say ‘that sounds good.’ So a consensus forms and we decide to try it. There's no one boss.”
Eleven very different beers and one seltzer are on tap at any given time, from mainstays to seasonals to occasionals. “We have some favorites in a constant rotation, like ‘Too Hip to Sip’, our hazy IPA,” Dunn states. “It’s in the style of a Hazy IPA. Because it’s unfiltered, it has a more citrusy, hop profile.”
The lineup is ever-changing, which is part of the fun. The slate in mid-March included a Japanese Rice Lager, a big blonde ale called ‘Larry Birdfish’, the hazy triple IPA ‘Too Thug to Chug’, and, the German-style dunkel ‘Dunkeldore’ (rather tasty). The list, and the enjoyment, goes on.
Birdfish produces an impressive 1,400 barrels of beer a year, or almost 46,500 gallons. With nearly half of total sales coming through their own taps, they distribute the remainder in kegs and cans (100,000 cans filled in 2023) throughout NE Ohio. “We deliver to over 200 locations—bars, restaurants, retail establishments,” Jon Dunn says.
Their largest retail account is Chalet Premier beverage store in North Lima, Ohio. “We’ve been selling Birdfish’s beers since they started canning,” manager Josh Fithian states. “Their ‘Too Hip to Sip’ is our biggest seller by far, but ‘Park IPA’ and ‘Harvey’s Irish Red’ move pretty well, too. Excellent products and just the best guys to work with.”
Farmers is an Active Ingredient
Farmers National Bank has partnered with Birdfish almost from the beginning. “We took out our first loan, for $20,000, from Farmers in 2015,” Jon states, “which we used for equipment purchases and leasehold improvements [startup costs] on our first Main Street location. We purchased our initial one-barrel brewing system and some conical fermenters.” The financing was in conjunction with Valley Economic Partners.
Moving six years ago to their larger location and going all-in for their brewing plans, Birdfish required assistance to step up their game. “We needed four fermenters for our new brew house,” Jon says. “Farmers helped us with a term loan for the new system.” In 2020, they applied for and received financing for a new canning line. Add to that a line of credit for working capital, and it’s clear they’ve had a long and beneficial relationship.
And their relationship with Farmers is a unique one. Jon works at the bank during the day, then moonlights as one of the owners of the brewery. Or maybe it’s the other way around. Regardless, they rely on Amanda Stewart, Assistant Vice President, Small Business Lender, at Farmers to manage the Birdfish account and help in areas that are outside of Jon’s wheelhouse.
“They are knowledgeable and ask the right questions, which makes it easy to accomplish what they intended,” she states. But it’s more than that. “I love working with them and helping to make their business dreams come true because they are incredible at giving back to our community.” That goodwill is on both sides: “As a Commercial Lender, Amanda is great to work with,” Jon adds. “She’s responsive, knows what she's doing. She answers our questions quickly.”
There’s Farmers, and then there’s Farmers…
Whenever possible, Birdfish works with regional farmers to obtain the needed ingredients. “We use roughly 60,000 pounds of Sammy Yarian’s malted barley annually in our beer, all grown in New Waterford, Ohio, less than four miles from our brewery,” Birdfish brewmaster Jared Channell states. “We’re proud to say our beer is brewed with quality ingredients grown in Columbiana County.”
Likewise, Medina County’s Barn Talk Hops provides their quality product to Birdfish. “We’ve been supplying hops to them from their opening day,” Barn Talk owner Mike Napier states. “We have trademarked and patented hops bred in Youngstown by hops grower Bob Bero.”
Denny Bullen, proprietor of Columbiana’s outstanding Homestead Kitchen and Cocktails restaurant, doubles as a pumpkin farmer. “Last year, we processed 120 pounds of pumpkin puree for their Imperial Pumpkin Ale,” Bullen states. “They were ready for it at the brewery the moment it cooled at the restaurant. We drove it over and in it went. Can’t get fresher ingredients.” Devotees washed down 200 gallons of Imperial Pumpkin Ale last autumn.
The renowned Birdfish community spirit continues with the food(s) offered up nightly. Kitchenless, Birdfish relies upon the kindness of regional food trucks to serve up an ever-changing rotation of options for their patrons. A monthly food truck list is posted on their website. Regular vendors include Sauceeino Mobile Food Truck featuring Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine from Boardman, Los Gallitos of Pittsburgh’s authentic Mexican food, and The Youngstown BBQ Company, to name a (very) few.
Generosity is Always on Tap
The Birdfish crew’s community involvement goes far beyond locally sourced ingredients, extending to regional nonprofits. “One day we owners stepped behind the bar and donated 100% of our tips to the local ‘Relay for Life’ chapter of the American Cancer Society,” Jon Dunn states. “We probably raised over $1,000 that day.”
They also support the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center in Youngstown. “We’ve transitioned in how we raise funds for nonprofits,” Jon states. “If an organization has an event here, like Second Harvest Food Bank, we’ll have a basket raffle or donate a dollar of every beer sold that day. It adds up.”
Birdfish’s partnering with Keith and Carrie Campanelli has had a lasting effect within both the brewpub and the community. In 2019, Carrie’s Austintown Pediatrics and Keith’s Pirate’s Life Pinball bought Birdfish a $10,000, fifteen-barrel fermenter (emblazoned with the Austintown Pediatrics logo). The goal was to give back to the community, which they all have, and magnificently--“Over the course of the next two years, on behalf of Birdfish, Austintown Pediatrics, and Pirate’s Life, Birdfish made four $2,500 donations to the local Project MKC (formerly Making Kids Count), Doctors without Borders, The Cure Starts Now, and Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley,” Dunn states. Birdfish’s rising tide lifts a lot of boats.
It's Going Swimmingly at Birdfish
An enjoyable Tuesday evening continues apace at Birdfish Brewery. Laughter and pinball machines ring out as friends and regulars join the festivities. All according to plan. “Our mission?” Jon Dunn asks. “Easy – to bring the local community together to enjoy fresh craft beer and create unforgettable memories with the people we love and the people they love.”
