Cape May Brewery

If anyone out there is trying to open their own brewery, take Cape May Brewing Company as proof that you can get started small and build from the ground up. My wife and I stopped by their location in Cape May, NJ recently and it's essentially a scaled up homebrewing operation in a warehouse space. I imagine that's similar to how every brewery starts but I've never been to a commercial brewery that's at such an early stage of development.

http://www.capemaybrewery.com

The mixture of risk and possibility of a new brewery seemed exciting to the guy who is running it. He was all over the place trying to pour beers, explain stuff to people, and take pictures of the crowd that had gathered inside the garage. They had just brewed a new beer (honey porter using local honey) and they showed off their small custom brewing system and explained the details about how they incorporated the honey. A wheat and an IPA were on tap for tastings. During the 45 minutes or so that we were there, at least three people came in for growler refills, so it looks like they have some solid support from the locals. If you are ever at the Jersey Shore near Cape May, give them a visit.