Fins to open brewpub

Fins Ale House is about to get into the beer brewing business.

Head brewer Jason Kennedy said Fins is targeting President’s Day as the date to start brewing at its Route 1 location in Rehoboth Beach.

The plan is for Fins to be a 24-hour brewing operation servicing three restaurants – the Route 1 location and Fins Raw Bar and Claws in downtown Rehoboth – and also distributing on a limited scale. Licensing for Fins to become a brewpub is pending before the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.

As to the name of the new beer, Kennedy said, “It’s really good. It’s been in my head with a long time, and it happens to work out with Delaware,” he said. “I really can’t go any farther than that.”

Kennedy said it was Fins owner Jeff Hamer who started the idea for the brewery, and the two friends decided to create beers tied to the restaurant’s seafood menu.

The brewery operation will occupy space Fins recently took over next door to the restaurant. Right now, the operation is behind closed doors, but eventually, Kennedy said, windows would be cut out of the drywall so diners can see the brewery.

Kennedy said the merchandise room at the Route 1 Fins will be fitted with a growler filling station, so customers can get their growlers filled without waiting at the bar.

Tanks for the seven-barrel system are being made in China. Kennedy said it will take nearly two months to import the brewing system, but once it arrives, it will quickly be hooked up.

Kennedy said Fins will feature eight taps with Fins' own beer, in addition to the 24 already offered. He said the line would feature an oyster stout, scotch ale, pilsners, lagers and a brown ale.

Kennedy said he wanted to have more lager style beers, and move away from trend of India pale ales with a lot of hops.

“I’ve had more requests once we started this process where someone is saying, ‘Why can’t we find a lager somewhere?’ And the reason you can’t is because it takes longer to hold that beer. It takes longer to make. It’s less forgiving. So generally people try to shy away from that and push out ales,” he said.

“I personally am not a fan of IPAs at all,” Kennedy said, adding that the extensive addition of hops used in IPAs is not healthy. Kennedy said Fins would offer cask beers from other breweries at first, but going forward, the restaurant plans to produce their own cask beer.

Kennedy has been involved in brewing beer for over 20 years, having honed his skills at Wild Goose Brewery in Maryland before coming to Delaware during Dogfish Head’s infancy. He also is interested in distilling and hopes to add a distilling element to the Fins brewing operation down the line.

“We’re not out here to change the world,” Kennedy said. “Beer should be about what people want right now.”