E-Malt.com News article: USA, NJ: Cape May Brewing Co.'s to open in July at Cape May Airport

Cape May Brewing Co.’s opening in July was welcome news not only for beer connoisseurs, but also for the local economy, Press of Atlantic City reported on December, 1.

The small business started by Ryan Krill, his college friend Chris Henke, and Krill’s father, Robert, already has a following, drawing fans to the brewery’s headquarters at the Cape May Airport.

“I was a home brewer. I love drinking craft beer,” said Ryan Krill, who is originally from West Chester, Pa., but vacationed in Cape May County each summer in Avalon. “We were surprised there was no microbrewery in Cape May County, so we decided to dip our toes in the water.”

The company’s beer varieties, including wheat, stout and Cape May IPA, are selling.

“Everything we make, we sell,” Ryan Krill said.

The business is doing well enough as it officially opened a tasting room on December, 1, and is now looking to expand its staff. Ryan Krill said he expects the business will hire three employees in the spring.

That’s good news to the Delaware River and Bay Authority, which owns the airport, and to Lower Township officials.

“We want jobs, jobs, jobs. That’s our mission. That’s our goal,” said Frank Minor, deputy executive director of the DRBA.

Minor was on hand on December, 1, to welcome the business to the airport.

The hope, Minor said, was to make the brewery “the next Anheuser-Busch” or something close to it.

“It’s going to take a community to build these small businesses,” Minor said.

Lower Township Mayor Mike Beck echoed that sentiment, welcoming another business to the township.

“It’s a real American story,” he said of the decision by Krill and his partners to take an idea and turn it into a functioning business.


02 December, 2011