The explosion of craft beer in Licking County continues this weekend with the opening of Trek Brewing.

Owners John and Kristen Ream are returning to their roots in Licking Country after a stint in Seattle where John worked as a Simulation Engineer for Boeing. They fell in love with the local beer culture in Seattle, which led John to take a deep dive into homebrewing, resulting in a slew of brewing awards and him becoming a Certified Beer Judge. The only logical conclusion was to return to Newark and open their own brewery.

“The Seattle beer culture is huge, and we wanted to share that back home,” said Kristen.

Located on the western edge of Newark, Trek takes the space of a former Damon’s restaurant. The 2,500 square foot taproom provides seating for 150 beer lovers, with room for more on a 1,000 square foot patio. In the rear corner of the taproom is a special playroom for kids that allows parents to keep a close eye on their little ones while enjoying a pint. Trek also has a collection of board games available to play, plus nearly a dozen flat screen TV’s to keep up with your favorite sports team.

Trek will be acquiring the 15-bbl brewing system from Seventh Son in the next month or so. In the meantime, John has been brewing furiously to build a stock of kegs on his current 1-bbl system. For the grand opening this Saturday there will be four Trek beers on tap: a cream ale, a pale ale, a vanilla stout and an IPA, in addition to five Ohio-brewed guest drafts.

John and Kristen hope to make Trek a community gathering space, hosting regular events in support of local non-profits. These events will be known as “Trek Together,” at which the brewery will donate $1 per pints to charitable partners.

Trek Brewing’s opening will take place this Saturday, March 3 from 5-9pm. The taproom’s hours will be limited to Saturdays for the coming weeks to allow John time to build sufficient beer stocks to support additional hours. Once the new brewing equipment is in place and operational, expanded hours and weekend food trucks will be added.

Trek Brewing is located at 1486 Granville Road in Newark, off Route 16.