Tuckahoe Brewing Company: Some more press...

Partners crafting a plan for Dennis Township brewery

Written by Bill Barlow

Thursday, 30 June 2011 04:30

Tim Hanna says there’s a beer renaissance going on, not just nationally but also on the local level.
Hanna, of Seaville, and three other friends are working on launching Tuckahoe Brewing Company. They have a lease on a property in Dennis Township, at 9 Stoney Court, near a marine company, a coffee roaster and a lobster business.
“It’s nice to have neighbors,” Hanna said.
Their lease starts in August, he said, but it will be months before the new business gets the state and federal approvals needed to start brewing at the site. Hanna said he hopes they can start offering tastings by late October or early November.
The company recently published a public notice required by the state division of Alcohol Beverage Control announcing their application for a limited brewery license. That means they will be able to sell their beer on site, but won’t serve food like a brew pub. They plan to offer tours and tastings.
Hanna’s partners are Matthew McDevitt of Egg Harbor Township, Christopher S. Konicki of Margate, and James McAfee of Seaville. Three of the four are teachers at Mainland Regional High School, and McAfee is an architect at Blaine Steinman Architects.
McDevitt has been home brewing beer – from scratch, mind you, not a kit – for about 15 years.
Hanna started working with him about six years ago, and they would brew every couple of weeks. A few years later, the other two joined in, and “we thought we could take this beyond something we were doing for fun, and make it something we could do professionally.”
They came up with a business plan, and started looking into the licensing process, which he described as a six-to-eight-month waiting game.
“I wouldn’t say it’s difficult. It’s comprehensive may be a better way of putting it,” Hanna said.
He suggested that the ABC and the federal authorities want to have a thorough idea of who is getting into the business, and that they have the background to make it work.
“The making the beer is the easy part it’s the business aspect that’s tough,” he said.
For instance, two very well respected New Jersey microbreweries, Blue Collar Brewery in Vineland and Heavyweight Brewing in Ocean Township, have closed their doors, even though beer connoisseurs loved their product,
“Obviously it wasn’t the beer that was the problem,” he said.
All four men plan to keep their day jobs, and don’t expect the brewery to turn a profit for years, he said.
This is the second microbrewery to launch in Cape May County recently. Former college buddies Ryan Krill and Chris Henke launched Cape May Brewery at the Cape May Airport in Erma, with plans to use local materials in their beers.
Right before being interviewed, Hanna was on the phone with a representative of the state Department of Agriculture, to talk about the possibility of creating a beer that includes only New Jersey agricultural products.
“Right now is a great time to get into it,” said Hanna. “There’s certainly plenty of room. The way I look at it, wouldn’t it be nice for people to be able to choose between several locally brewed beers?”

Partners crafting a plan for Dennis Township brewery