E-Malt.com News article: USA, VA: Bull Island Brewing Company plans to open in Phoebus by the end of spring

The brewing industry in Phoebus might add a new brewery in 2016. Owner Doug Reier wants to enter Hampton Roads with Bull Island Brewing, a brewpub that he envisions on 34 E. Mellen St., Daily Press reported on September 5.

"Virginia has been lagging behind" in attracting craft breweries, Reier said. “The Peninsula in particular is sorely lacking when compared even to South Hampton Roads,” he added.

Reier has been brewing for a decade at his home in Poquoson, hence the name of the brewery. Bull Island is an old nickname for the small city. He said he's excited to unleash his brews on the public, including a heavy Belgian-style beer, a hoppy India Pale Ale and a vanilla bean stout. Reier plans to offer other, more experimental options after he gets things up and running.

Reier has been planning to open a brewery for more than a year and happened on the space when driving with a friend through Phoebus looking for antiques. Reier said he has an affinity for the old parts of town and brick buildings, and fell in love when he saw the old Benthall Brothers storefront.

The building is owned by Richard Levin, a developer who owns several Mellen Street properties and is behind much of the development in Norfolk's Ghent district. Reier said he'll sign a 10-year lease for the space to house his seven-barrel brewing system.

Leonard Sledge, the city's economic development director, says the district's master plan aims to make Phoebus a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly retail environment.

"Bulls Island Brewery certainly fits into that with the prominence of craft breweries in Hampton Roads and around the commonwealth," Sledge said. "Mellen Street in particular is different from some of the other commercial areas in the city, in that you're not likely to see a national franchise there, rather entrepreneurial types of businesses."

Reier said he's been welcomed with open arms by the other Mellen Street merchants. "They want stuff to happen down here," he said.

Reier wants to play into the community aspect of Phoebus as much as possible by not directly competing with those next door.

Reier has the plan, the investors and the beer. Now, he's just waiting on a series of zoning changes and permits from the city before Bull Island Brewing can officially become Phoebus-based.

That starts with a zoning amendment which would permit microbreweries, wineries and distilleries in the Phoebus area. The Hampton Planning Commission signed off on the amendment on September 3, sending it up to the City Council for a final decision.

Pending city approval, Reier said he hopes to be up and running by late next spring.


09 September, 2015