USA, OH: Royal Docks Brewing Co. to open its doors this spring

The new Royal Docks Brewing Co. is a mere 4,500 miles away.

Or maybe it’s only 4,000 by now — or even closer, the Akron Beacon Journal reported on February 8.

The brewery’s Italian-made, 30-barrel Simatec brewhouse is aboard a ship somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea — or perhaps an ocean — sailing to its new home in suburban Canton.

It’s setting up to be a big year for Royal Docks.

Not only is the Jackson Township brewery expecting to fire up its new production brewery this spring, it’s releasing new brands in cans and expanding its distribution back into the Columbus market and for the first time hitting the Dayton and Cincinnati areas with the help of Heidelberg Distributing.

“We’re trying to make some strides,” founder John Bikis said.

Royal Docks, which started out as a brewpub in the Marketplace at Nobles Pond shopping plaza, has been growing steadily since it opened in September 2015. The brewpub is affectionately known as the kitchen and taproom, while the new production brewery will go by the name Royal Docks Brewhouse and Cannery.

Bikis expects the new brewing system to hit U.S. shores in about four weeks, when it will be hooked up to its Columbus-made Heritage Equipment tanks and Stow-made PneumaticScaleAngelus canning line. He hopes to fire up the brewhouse — a 24,000-square-foot facility across the street from the current brewpub — for test batches in late March or April.

The new production brewery won’t be open to the public initially, although Royal Docks will likely open up on Saturdays at some point.

“As far as construction, we’re moving along like snails a little bit,” Bikis said.

Meanwhile, Royal Docks will continue contract brewing at Four String Brewing Co. in Columbus. Royal Docks will hit the Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton markets starting next week. (Feb. 12)

“We’re really excited about that,” Bikis said.

Royal Docks is set to debut four new brands in cans in March and April:

• Leatherhand IPA, an offshoot of the brewery’s popular Leatherhead IPA. It’ll be sold in 16-ounce six-packs and retail for $9.99.

“We had great success with Leatherhead,” Bikis said. “Since we’ve started canning it, it’s been our best-selling beer in package.”

The football-themed Leatherhead was available at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland for the Browns season. It’s also being sold at Quicken Loans Arena where the Cavaliers play. Leatherhand is baseball-themed.

• Backyard Crusher, a lime shandy with sea salt. It will be sold in 16-ounce six-packs and also retail for $9.99.

• Crime of Passion, a fruit IPA. It will be sold in 12-ounce six-packs and retail for $9.99.

• Daemonium, a Belgian-style tripel. It will be sold in 12-ounce four-packs and retail for $10.99.

Both Crime of Passion and Daemonium had fared well at the brewpub on draft and that’s the reason they are being canned, Bikis said.

Leatherhand, Crime of Passion and Backyard Crusher are expected to be released in mid-March, while Daemonium will be available starting in April.

07 February, 2018