Jon Offredo

The News Journal

Ron Price remembers the exact day he decided to take the plunge and pursue opening his own brewery: Aug. 7, 2012.

And despite what he says, he's not at a loss of words to describe it.

"Everything that I do, all my thoughts, all my actions and all of my words were completely focused on developing this business," he said. "It was like a sort of renaissance, a culmination of my thoughts, emotions, spirit and my soul."

For the 48-year-old Smyrna resident and longtime home brewer, to say crafting beer is his passion is a bit of an understatement. His basement and garage are filled with everything he needs to brew batch upon batch.

His dream to open his company, Warlock Brewing, is nearing reality as Smyrna officials have agreed to amend the zoning ordinance to allow microbreweries as a conditional use at the town's business park.

The brewery is expected to include a tap room for tasting, live events and the sale of cases and pints.

"We will be a destination for folks near and far," Price said.

It wasn't an easy path to that approval. Smyrna officials first denied amending the zoning in May, concerned that they already had changed the zoning of the business park too much and that it might not be the best location for a microbrewery, said Mayor Joanne Masten.

But that decision was overturned after residents and Price's supporters pressured them for another vote.

Masten, who supported the project from the get-go, said it is realistic to expect that the business park would go through as many changes as it has in the past few years. The park, off Del. 300, is home to a National Guard location and Walmart distribution center and recently was zoned to have a compassion center to distribute medical marijuana.

This is not the first time the town has dabbled in allowing good brews. The Painted Stave, a craft distillery, recently opened after rehabbing the old Smyrna Theatre along West Commerce Street downtown.

"Twenty years ago, who was thinking about distilleries, craft breweries and compassion care centers?" she said. "I'm hoping that having the Painted Stave and a brewery here means we can become a destination for people passing through on their way to Dover or on their way to Maryland."

Kent County is slowly becoming the destination in Delaware for craft brewing, with breweries like Fordham & Dominion Brewing Company in Dover and Mispillion River Brewing in Milford opening their doors in recent years.

Cindy Small, who directs Kent County tourism, said she reached out to Price before knowing where the brewery would end up. The idea was one that fit in perfectly with the brewery boom Kent County – and Delaware – is experiencing, she said. The brewery will make a solid addition to the tourism office's "Good Libations Tour," which sends drink-lovers on a route to the county's two breweries, wineries and the Painted Stave.

"We're just excited about Warlock – it's a win," she said.

Price, a craft brew aficionado and home brewer for nearly 22 years, said it was high time that the northern part of the county had its chance to shine.

"There's really a black hole for craft beer in the Smyrna-Middletown area," he said. "If you look at the national trend, the Brewers Association reports that the average American has a brew pub or microbrewery within 11 miles of their home."

That's not the case for the Smyrna area. The nearest is Fordham & Dominion Brewing Co., roughly 15 miles away in Dover.

The hope is that the 24,000 square-foot building he's been looking to lease for some time will change that. He plans to use about half of the space to brew about 2,500 barrels a year, or 77,500 gallons of beer with names like Bellwether Pale Ale, Witchraft, Mojo Hand and an India Pale Ale seasonal series called Superstition.

All that's left is to obtain the conditional use approval from the town, get the lease and secure the appropriate state and federal licenses to operate the brewery. The plan is to be open by late fall, sometime around November.

He's convinced the tag line to his brew – Taste the Magic – will prove to be true.

A blues musician as well, Price recalled the saying that led to a Richard Berry song, covered by The Sonics, and later The Black Keys.

"Have beer, will travel," he said.

Contact Jon Offredo at (302) 678-4271 or at joffredo@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @jonoffredo.