Brent Osborn is counting on the popularity of craft beers and wine to translate into success for his new business venture.

Anybody who wishes to brew their own beer or wine at home will be able to get the tools and the knowledge at Osborn Brewing when it opens in late April in the strip mall just north of Ohio 63 on Cincinnati-Dayton Road.

Osborn is opening in Monroe because its location offers easy access to several markets.

“If you do some quick numbers on Butler, Warren and Montgomery counties, that’s quite a bit of people,” he said. “The nearest home brew supply shops are up in downtown Dayton and right across the street from Xavier University.”

The craft beer industry has been growing between 20 percent to 25 percent annually for the past seven years, he said. One out of 160 to 170 people over the course of a year will try to make beer at home, according to Osborn, and one out of 100 tries to make wine in that time.

Those statistics are just as much about people’s love for beer and wine as they are a reflection of people’s economic realities, he said.

“People are finding new ways of stretching their dollars, just like in any recession-era time,” said Osborn, who moved to Monroe from Missouri when his wife, who works for P&G, was transferred to Cincinnati. “People enjoy world-class, high-caliber wines and beers and they’re finding out today’s products that are available are just as good if not better than what the commercial breweries and wineries are getting.”

Osborn has also received some help from the city of Monroe to get his business launched.

The city has helped Osborn develop his business plan since early 2011.

“This project has been in the pipeline for quite some time,” said Monroe Director of Development Kevin Chesar.

Osborn lauded the city’s efforts during a council meeting earlier this month, telling the board the department made him feel like a Fortune 500 company and not a startup.

“We believe he has a fantastic idea, and we know he can very successfully access the Cincinnati and Dayton markets from Monroe,” Chesar said.

The city connected Osborn with the Warren County Small Business Development Center through the Warren County Alliance and business workshops organized by the Monroe Area Community Improvement Corporation and Dayton SCORE.

“Any business, regardless of size, is vitally important to the entrepreneurs, owners and investors that are making it a reality,” Chesar said. “Our job is to help them through the lengthy process of developing and refining that rough idea to make it successful.”