Revelation Craft Brewing is acquiring the former 16 Mile Brewing property in Georgetown.
Co-owner Frank Metcalfe said the Rehoboth Beach brewer says the location is a “right opportunity” for the craft brewer.
Revelation plans to have the location open as a brewery and tasting room in the spring. Also planned is meeting-reception space and a kitchen. Room for smaller events can be hard to find, he noted.
The 16 Mile brewery abruptly closed earlier this year. It was one of the craft beer pioneers in Delaware and for a time operated a beer-focused restaurant on Newark.
Demand has been great than the ability of the Rehoboth brewery to supply upwards of a dozen and a half different brews.
Metcalfe says popular offerings include sours and Mother-in-Law IPA. “It’s a good problem to have,” he says.
Metcalfe noted that the 16 Mile location is modern and well maintained and is capable of allowing a phase-in of growth. “We don’t have to run at capacity,” he said.
Revelation beer is available at about 75 restaurants, mostly in Sussex County. The production from the new site would allow expansion into New Castle County as well as Maryland and Pennsylvania.
The 16 Mile site is the third largest in the state behind Dogfish Head and Fordham and Dominion.
Metcalfe went on to say that Revalation has its sights set on New Castle County, with plans calling a brewpub at the Village of Whitehall, a planned community near Middletown. Another location in the northern county is a possibility.
Whitehall is a new planned community in the Middletown area that will eventually have commercial space. Metcalfe says Revalation plans to be one of the first commercial tenants in the town.
The brewery’s brands include Mother In Law IPA and Sussex County Mule.
The Rehoboth location will remain, with plans for upgrades at the site, a production brewery and tasting room.
