Photo by Christina Peters
The small-batch experimental brewing company in Delaware recently turned two years old with plenty to celebrate.
Autumn Arch keeps its two flagship beers on tap all year while also offering patrons a rotating selection of new brews.
Tucked inside a Newark industrial park is one of the city’s most innovative watering holes.
Autumn Arch Beer Project, at 810 Pencader Drive, is a small-batch experimental brewery specializing in deep flavor profiles. It pays particular attention to fundamental brewing principles and respects traditional styles while creating something all its own.
Autumn Arch produces ales, lagers and sour beers available to take home or enjoy in the intimate taproom with a view of the beer-making process. Food trucks are a regular sight in the parking lot.
The idea for the brewery was born after couple Jimmy and Kathryn Vennard visited Asheville, North Carolina—a city known for its breweries.
“There was such a fun and unique kind of brewery vibe down there that we were both sitting there like, ‘Wow, I wish something like that was where we live,”” says Jimmy.
Jimmy kept the idea of creating a local brewery alive as he and his brother Dan Vennard began homebrewing and forming a business plan. After a few years of planning, Autumn Arch came to life in April 2019. All three have engineering backgrounds, and founding the company allowed them to find passions in different career spaces. Jimmy handles the overall business operations and social media, Kathryn handles finances, and Dan manages the brewing operations.
Autumn Arch keeps two flagship beers on tap year-round, with other styles and flavors changing to match the seasons, Dan explains. The 15-tap bar offers a variety of options available individually or in flights.
Autumn Arch doesn’t expect everyone to be a beer aficionado, Kathryn adds. “What’s important for our tasting room has always been accessibility. So, you don’t have to be the most knowledgeable beer drinker out there to come and have a good time and try something new or different or stick to what you like and what you know—and that’s OK too.”
For the spring and summer, Autumn Arch is releasing multiple new brews for fans to try before the kegs kick.
Fresh releases include Uncertain Direction, a Helles lager (5.6 percent ABV); Inspiring People, a West Coast double IPA (9.5 percent ABV); Day One, a Berliner Weisse (4.8 percent ABV); and the DelaWeAre IPA, a hazy IPA (6.2 percent ABV). The DelaWeAre IPA is part of a statewide collaboration that sees 20 percent of the proceeds going to the
Delaware Brewers Guild, a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit organization advocating for the state’s craft breweries.
In addition, the brewery is releasing a sour and stout hybrid called C* this month. Pronounced “C star,” the black currant and raspberry dark sour blended with a bold imperial stout will be available in 500-milliliter bottles.
The Newark State of Mind, a West Coast double IPA (8.5 percent ABV) and one of the flagship brews, is available in cans starting this month. Offering Autumn Arch cans in more First State locations is another business goal, Jimmy explains.
“We had just started canning because we were like, ‘You know, it’s a good idea to start getting beer into people’s fridges,” not knowing that when we were doing that it was kind of a practice run for what now has become a more regular event at our brewery,” Jimmy says.
The brewery aims to keep a neighborhood feel even amid COVID-19 safety protocols. Patrons can attend a variety of socially distanced happenings, including beer tastings and the run club, a weekly group that meets for physical fitness and brews afterward. Check its website for an up-to-date calendar of events.