Hoster Brewing Co. will pour its last pint at its James Road taproom on October 31, closing a brick-and-mortar chapter that lasted barely two and a half years for a beer brand that traces its lineage back to 1836. The brewery, located at 653 N. James Rd. near John Glenn Columbus International Airport, cited rising ingredient, material, and energy costs along with shifting consumer habits as the challenges that made continued taproom operations unsustainable.
As reported by Columbus Underground, Hoster released a statement Wednesday confirming the closure and detailing the taproom's final weeks of hours. Wholesale kegged distribution of the brewery's beer, including its award-winning Gold Top lager, will continue to local bars and restaurants through the end of 2026 or while supplies last. Current owner Dan Meyers said Hoster honored the brand's traditions through hospitality and by brewing beer in the spirit of the original Hoster recipes.
The James Road closure was also driven by a specific real estate pressure beyond general cost inflation: an upcoming multi-year lease renewal carrying a steep rent increase, according to Columbus Navigator. Meyers purchased the trademark rights to the Hoster name back in 2004, initially relying on contract brewing at other regional facilities to produce Gold Top before finally taking over the James Road site in 2021 and opening the brick-and-mortar taproom in April 2024. That means Hoster operated for two decades as essentially a contract brand before it ever had a dedicated home of its own, per the same outlet's reporting.
A Building With a Complicated Brewing History
The James Road space previously housed Actual Brewing Company, which closed in 2019 before Hoster's planned October 31, 2026, closure. Hoster brewed German lagers and Belgian ales.
An On-Again, Off-Again Legacy Since 1836
Louis Hoster, a German immigrant, founded the brewery in 1836 on Front Street, and it produced 300,000 barrels annually by 1900 before Prohibition shut it down in 1920, according to historical records from Tavern Trove. The brewery was located in what is now known as Columbus' Brewery District. The Hoster name was revived in the 1990s as a brewpub on South High Street, which closed in 2001, per Wikipedia. Ownership has changed hands multiple times across the brand's long history, and Meyers has said he remains open to finding another brewery partner to keep the Hoster name alive beyond October.
Another Central Ohio Brewery Closure
Outerbelt Brewing in Carroll also announced it would close on October 5 after seven years in business.
Final Weekend Hours Before Halloween
Until October 31, Hoster's James Road taproom remains open on its regular schedule: Wednesday and Thursday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Friday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from noon to 10 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. Whether Meyers finds a new brewery partner willing to carry the 190-year-old Hoster name forward remains an open question, one that will determine if Gold Top and its sibling lagers survive past this year.
