Supervisors review plans for proposed brewery
A new brewery has been proposed for an industrial property in Towamencin, and its owners hope to be open by late summer.
Co-owners Cory McDonald, Jason Scholl, and Kyle Fetch presented their concept plans to the board of supervisors Wednesday for Blueprint Brewing Co., a brewery they hope will create a new destination on Gehman Road.
“Our goal is to really embrace the community. We’re not after living the rock star lifestyle. We want to brew really great beer and
we want to have people enjoy it with us,” McDonald said.
“We wanted something that captures our passion for building things, and certainly a blueprint is a part of that,” he said.
The proposed brewery will occupy 6,400 square feet the end suite of an industrial building at 1571 Gehman Road. Of the total space, 4,600 square feet will used for brewing, testing and office space, and the remaining 1,800 square feet for a centralized cooler surrounded by seating, with taps to serve the beers brewed on site.
“This is not a bar. This is not cars rolling out the door at 2 a.m. That’s not what this is — it’s drinking a finer product, fewer of them, and it’s more about the atmosphere,” Scholl said.
Hours of operation would be from 3 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 3 to 11 p.m. Fridays, noon to 11 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays, hours designed to fit well with the neighboring businesses, whose workers would leave as the brewery customers arrive.
“Those retail hours, they would be opposite most of the other businesses on that space, which is why we’ve been talking to them. We could overflow when we have to — their hours would finish and we would begin,” Fetch said.
No cooking will be done on site, but the trio said they plan to make arrangements with local food trucks, bakeries, and other suppliers to provide pre-made food visitors can buy there.
“We will not be producing food. I know beer really well, I hope to have a beer with you at some point, and we would really want to focus in on that. None of us have (food) experience outside our own kitchens,” McDonald said.
“We’ll also allow folks to order their own takeout. If you wanted to call a local pizza place, pick it up, bring it in, or have it delivered to you, or a bag lunch — you can bring whatever food in you like,” Scholl said.
The seating area will feature TV screens to show sports or other big events, live entertainment could be brought in, and the facility could be used during daytime hours for other activities like fitness classes.
“We all have very young families, and I want a space where I’m comfortable with my little girls running around with (Fetch’s) little boys — and Jason’s dogs,” McDonald said.
In time, Blueprint could also offer classes on how to grow hops, and those who grow them successfully could bring them in to be brewed, a program McDonald said they tentatively call the “hop-pocalypse.”
“There’s no real competitive nature behind everything. If everyone does well, it’s better for the craft beer world, and the community as a whole,” Fetch said.
“I would be extremely happy if, 10 years from now, they were referring to the three of us as the ‘Johnny Hop-seeds’ of Towamencin,” McDonald said.
Part of the menu will be gluten-free beer, which McDonald said he learned to brew after a family member developed celiac disease. The food trucks could vary their menus based on demand or availability, and park in the front or back of the building depending on the weather and time of year.
“Whether it’ll be pulled pork, tacos, pizza, burgers, whatever that may be, we’ll bring those folks in, and we’ll exchange customer bases,” Scholl said.
McDonald said the team is roughly three-quarters through the federal permit process, has begun to seek approvals from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, and hopes to start construction in June, with the goal of opening in September.
Township Manager Rob Ford and Solicitor Jack Dooley said that timeline may be optimistic, because while the brewery use is allowed under current codes, the team will need a zoning change to be vetted by the township and Montgomery County planning commissions, then approved by the supervisors, to allow the accessory uses of retail sales and sale of prepared food at that property, which is in a limited industrial district.
“What these gentleman are laying out is not permitted at this point under our zoning code. The brewery use itself is permitted in this zoning district, but none of the other nice things we’re talking about,” Dooley said. “The ball is in their court, and in their attorney’s court, to draft a proposed zoning amendment.”
Supervisors chairman Chuck Wilson said that process could take 60 to 90 days, and encouraged the team to proceed.
“I think it’s pretty exciting. It’s a great project. It might be a little challenging to get through that (approval process) and make it work, but it seems like it would be a great addition to the community,” Wilson said.
Supervisor Laura Smith said she thought the brewery could be for Towamencin what the Round Guys Brewing Co. has been in Lansdale: a public gathering spot for the community.
“All I ask is that you take a page out of (Round Guys’) book and do for Towamencin what he’s done for Lansdale,” Smith said.
“That’s our intent,” Scholl said.
For more information on Blueprint, visit www.BlueprintBrewCo.com, search for “Blueprint Brewing” on Facebook or follow @Blueprint_Brews on Twitter.
Towamencin’s supervisors next meet at 7:30 p.m. on May 10 at the township administration building, 1090 Troxel Road; for more information or meeting agendas and materials visit www.Towamencin. org.