E-Malt.com News article: USA, OH: Royal Docks Brewing Co. to build new production brewery in Green

Royal Docks Brewing Co. is ready to grow.

The Jackson Township brewpub, which celebrates its one-year anniversary next month, is eyeing a grassy field in Green to build a new production brewery that will include a tasting room and canning line, Akron Beacon Journal reported on August 16.

Royal Docks hopes to construct the facility across from Diebold Inc., at the corner of Mount Pleasant Road and Mayfair Road/Pittsburg Avenue Northwest.

Owner John Bikis and brewmaster Dave Sutula were in Europe last week for a trip that included buying a 20-barrel brewing system from Simatec in Italy. They hope to have the new brewery operational by next summer.

“It’s exciting to break out of the mold that we’ve grown into,” Sutula said in a phone interview from Romania, where they were doing a collaboration brew with Ground Zero Beer.

The Royal Docks brewpub, 7162 Fulton Drive, Canton isn’t closing. They plan to keep operating that site, along with the new brewery.

Asked why Royal Docks needs a production brewery, Sutula replied: “Ego.”

The current eight-barrel system isn’t capable of feeding the brewpub and keeping up with the distribution demands from bars and restaurants.

“We’ve always needed to produce more,” Sutula said. “We were undersized 30 minutes after we opened.”

Royal Docks is the latest in a long line of smaller breweries that have upgraded quickly to larger systems because of thirsty customers and the craft beer boom. MadCap in Kent, Mucky Duck in Green and Maize Valley in Marlboro Township are just a few examples in the Akron area.

While the upcoming expansion is exciting, it’s also a bit scary. Sutula said they expect to invest more than $3 million in the project.

“It’s one thing to know you can sell beer,” he said. “It’s another thing to know that you have to sell beer.”

Royal Docks also has inked a distribution deal with Ohio Beer Co., a distributor that is bringing its brews to Cuyahoga and Hamilton counties, and central Ohio.

As for that collaboration beer, Bikis and Sutula stopped by Ground Zero Beer in Bucharest, Romania, to create what they are calling the first-ever collaboration between U.S. and Romanian breweries.

The beer, tentatively named Two Dollar bill, is a spiced fall seasonal that employs cinnamon, allspice and ginger.

“That’s never been done in Romania and that’s exciting,” Sutula said about the spiced beer.

He also brought Cascade hops from Second Sons Hopyard in Stark County to Romania to use in the beer.

“I gotta believe that it’s the first Ohio hops ever in a Romanian beer,” Sutula said.

The brewers from Ground Zero now will travel to Royal Docks to make the beer here. It should be available here around the end of September.

Royal Docks also has plans to make collaboration beers with breweries in France and Scotland.


15 August, 2016