Shauna Steigerwald

ssteigerwald@enquirer.com

A former marketing exec and a longtime homebrewer are teaming up to open 16 Lots Brewing in Mason.

It will be located at 753 Reading Road. That's the former Mason Pub space, in a small strip center.

Mike Burton and his family moved from Newport to Mason in August, and he quickly saw what he felt was an opportunity.

"Having lived up here for a short time, there are no breweries up here (in Mason) yet," he said.

In October, he took a package offered at Sunny Delight, where was chief marketing officer, and devoted his full attention to planning a brewery, which he hopes will be the first one to open in Mason.

"It's been a pretty productive three months," said Burton, who is originally from Youngstown, but has lived in Cincinnati twice, most recently beginning in 2007.

His partner, whom Burton isn't naming yet because that person is still working full-time, has an engineering background and has been home brewing for 20-plus years.

Burton said 16 Lots will have six flagship brews. "We want to make sure that when someone comes in for 'their' beer, we have it," he said.

Those standbys will likely be a pilsner, two IPAs, an amber, and a dark beer (stout or porter), plus one other beer to be determined. On top of those, the brewery will have between two and four seasonal/rotating taps.

A 10-barrel brewing system is on order and should arrive by mid-May. Burton said he and his partner hope to serve 500 to 600 barrels in the tap room during the first year and eventually serve 2,000 barrels there. They'll also distribute kegs to other local establishments.

Whether or not they'll package beer is still up in the air. But if they do eventually take that step, they would have to operate that part of the business from a second, no-frills location, as their original space won't be set up for it.

16 Lots won't serve food to start. But the space does have a kitchen, so adding food down the road is a possibility.

The taproom's design will be an industrial-meets-farmhouse look that incorporates wood and other natural materials, plus wrought iron and concrete. The space is 6,600 square feet, with the tap room accounting for about 4,000 square feet. Both indoor and outdoor seating will be offered.

As for the name, it taps into Mason's history, which goes like this: William Mason, a Revolutionary War veteran, bought land in the area at the turn of the 19th century. Around 1815, he mapped out 16 lots on the property to create the village that grew to be the city of Mason.

"We want to show a little bit of Mason pride," Burton said.

Info: http://16lots.com/