Little Fish Brewing Company is a place for Athens locals and Ohio University students alike to try draft beers, an assortment of burgers and pizza and experience live music. Tucked away just off campus, this time of year one can choose to dine inside, surrounded by Halloween decorations and warm company, or sit on the patio to enjoy the beautiful view of fall in Athens.
Little Fish, located at 8675 Armitage Road, hosted Frights and Flights Saturday. The costumes-encouraged night at the brewery featured DJ Reuben Sauce, who spun some spooky and alternative tunes. Specialty drinks curated by a lead bartender were available on the frightful cocktail menu.
Zack Shornick, Little Fish’s taproom manager, said the drinks were delicious and recommended a couple for guests to try.
“I'd say Wood Gollum would be great for Halloween,” Shornick said. “We have Spiked Malice for Halloween, which is a triple as well and fantastic. We have some special cocktails that our lead bartender, Brett, just came up with. One is called Dr. Hyde ... and then Dark Cauldron, which is served up and meant to be a cold brew Mezcal cocktail.”
DJ Reuben Sauce, otherwise known as Chris Raubenstraw, is a head brewer at Jackie O’s Public House Restaurant and primarily DJs for fun. Raubenstraw said he has been DJing since he was 13 and plays an all-vinyl assortment of genres and artists.
Raubenstraw performed at Little Fish last Halloween and said he was happy to come back and play nostalgic Halloween tunes, including “Monster Mash,” “Purple People Eater” and songs from “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Ghostbusters.”
Raubenstraw, who dressed up as a ghost, also played songs by modern artists, including “Nine Inch Nails” and “Rob Zombie.” The DJ said he is ready for any occasion as long as he has the music in his large vinyl collection.
“So I DJ mostly at the tap room at Jackie O’s,” Raubenstraw said. “I do a lot of reggae stuff. I play electronic music. I play 70s rock. I play Christmas music. I’ll play anything people ask for as long as I have it on vinyl, but I collect many weird things.”
Little Fish fall festivities continue with a hog roast Nov. 8, with pastured pork from MoSo Farms. Shornick said serving the community with not only good food and beer, but also engaging events, is memorable.
“It should be relaxed, casual alternative to the crowds uptown,” Shornick said. “If that is something you want, we're family-friendly and want to engage everyone as we can.”
Ryan Morris, a 1994 Ohio University alumnus, said Little Fish was not around when he was a Bobcat, but it’s nice to see a “strong business” succeeding in the area.
“It's a really great new location,” Morris said. “There's much going on downtown, but (Little Fish is) utilizing and showing people more of what's outside of the fringe of Athens. It's a great spot to come with ample parking and be able to be outside and enjoy the atmosphere they've created.”
