FLEMINGTON -- Lone Eagle Brewing is taking flight. People can get a taste of what the brewery has to offer when the Thursday Night Lights series opens on July 21. The brewery, at 44 Stangl Road across from the Polo and Timberland outlet stores, will be open from 4-10 p.m.

Its grand opening is set for Friday and Saturday, July 22-23. The brewery will have eight beers on tap: American Pale Ale, Extra Special Bitter, West Coast IPA, Cream Ale, Hefeweizen, Porter, Double IPA and Saison.

People will be able to order beer by the flight, which is like a selection of samplers; by the pint; half-growler; growler; sixtel (a sixth of a keg); and half-keg.

It will be easy to take a tour of the brewing process; the tanks and other machinery are at the right side of the brewery as you walk in the front doors. A second-floor loft offers a bird's-eye view.

There are tables upstairs and down where patrons can gather, crafted by students at Hunterdon County Polytech.

Lone Eagle Brewing owners Todd Becker and Bob King, both of Raritan Township, started off as home brewers in the 1990s. The timing was right for a microbrewery in Flemington, they said last fall when they introduced their plans. "The craft beer industry is exploding in the United States, where the number of breweries nationwide recently surpassed 4,000," King said. "Hunterdon County has mostly missed out on this growth."

They brought in head brewer Alex Franko, who left world-renowned Dogfish Head in Milton, Del., to join Lone Eagle.

Franko said a lack of hierarchy among the staff at Dogfish Head meant that he was able to learn all aspects of the brewing process. Now he's embracing brewing on a smaller scale. "Bob and Todd and I get to build it up and make it our own," he said in May. "We get to pick different beer styles and see what people like. There is more creative freedom. It's going to be a new experience."

Lone Eagle Brewing will be open Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 4-10 p.m., Saturdays noon-10 p.m., and Sundays noon-6 p.m. For more information call 908-237-2255 or visit its website, loneeaglebrewing.com.

Sallie Graziano may be reached at sgraziano@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SallieGraziano. Find NJ.com on Facebook.