Fins' Big Oyster Brewery expanding to Lewes

It may have been only about a year since Big Oyster Brewery starting brewing beer at Fins Ale House and Raw Bar, but it's already time for an upgrade.

Operating a seven-barrel system in a corner of Fins' Coastal Highway location, brewmaster Andrew Harton has produced enough beer to serve both Fins locations and about 40 other restaurants statewide.

But with demand continuing to rise, it's time to expand the operation. This summer, Big Oyster will be opening a new 6,000-square-foot facility at the former Silk and Sands Florist property on Kings Highway just outside the city limits of Lewes. The new spot will serve primarily as a production facility for Big Oyster Brewery, but it will also feature a restaurant.

“Basically, it's a small brewpub that will complement what we are already doing at Fins,” said owner Jeff Hamer. “However, the food will be very different, with a concentration on using our beers in the recipes. [It will be] a more complete mix of land and sea, but it will still have a rocking raw bar.”

The facility will have a 15-barrel system with 30-barrel fermenters, a system similar to what's found at 16 Mile in Georgetown and Mispillion in Milford, Harton said. The goal is to increase productivity to about 3,000 barrels annually, he said, significantly more than the 500 to 600 barrels the brewery produces today.

Big Oyster's staple brew is its Hammerhead IPA, a West Coast style India pale ale. Other than that, the beers are brewer's choice, said assistant brewmaster Red Killpack.

The new facility will provide an opportunity to establish several staple beers for the Fins restaurants, Harton said.

“I like the idea of what we do here, of a constantly rotating list. But the new facility will definitely allow us to establish house beers,” he said. “It will definitely expand our ability to put out different stuff.”

Prior to joining Fins, Harton worked with Iron Hill Brewery for more than three years at its West Chester, Pa.; Wilmington; and Vorhees, N.J., locations. Before that, he said, he was an avid homebrewer while in college.

A larger operation also allows Big Oyster to distribute its beer at liquor stores statewide. Killpack said they plan to do a mobile canning run, meaning they will hire a company to come in to can their beers for distribution. Harton said it isn't cost-effective to can under the brewery's current situation, but with a larger volume it makes more sense.

“They say most beer is consumed at home, and right now, we can only provide draft,” Harton said, noting customers may also purchase growlers of Big Oyster's beer to take home from the restaurants.

Big Oyster will also put more emphasis on its barrel program. Harton said the new facility will have a big barrel room with about 40 barrels. Each will be filled with beer that will ferment with Brett yeast and other various bacterias for eight months to a year. The result will be a variety of wild and sour beers. Harton said the program has already begun at Fins, but will ramp up at the new facility.

Construction on the new facility has not yet started, but Harton and Killpack are optimistic it will open this summer.

“It's been fun,” Killpack said. “We kind of brew every style we can right now, seeing what we like and seeing what people like.”

A variety of Big Oyster brews are on tap at both Fins locations. Seasonal and one-offs are on a constant rotation, offering a new selection each time a customer visits. For more information about Fins, go to www.finsrawbar.com or call 302-226-FINS or 302-227-FINS.