Evo Brewery plans outdoor fun space, test beer tasting, expansion

Evolution Craft Brewing Co., a brewery that was on the forefront of craft brewing on Delmarva, is reinvesting in its community roots with changes at its Public House. 

In August, brewery fans can enjoy a new green space with fire pits, cornhole, and a stage and food truck. In September or October, Evo will also add a pilot system, a small brew house allowing visitors to watch the process through fishbowl glass. 

This news comes on the heels of Evo's partnership with Five Good Inc. to distribute beer in various areas of Japan including Tokyo. 

“We want to maintain our local identity, our strong hold as a small craft brewer, but as our demand gets bigger, our brewing gets bigger, which gets less personal," said marketing director Austin Widdowson. 

The green space and pilot system allows the brewery to connect with its local customers and experiment with beer flavors on a smaller scale.

“We can make some of those more unique, small batches," Widdowson said. 

Currently, the brewery runs a 40-barrel brewhouse, which allows Evo to brew every five hours, producing about 1,240 gallons of beer, said founder Tom Knorr. The smaller brewhouse will be a five-barrel system, doing about 150 gallons every five to six hours — a significant size difference. 

“It would give us a lot more, an ability to experiment a lot more than doing these huge batches of beer," Knorr said. 

Knorr said the small batch experiments could become big batch brews depending on customer feedback. Evo can also create small batches for collaborations with local restaurants.  

But, no matter what Evo is brewing, its mission stays the same: Create beer for food. 

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Knorr, working with his brother John Knorr, opened the brewery in 2009, originally in Delmar, Delaware.

Most of the brothers' knowledge was in the restaurant industry. The two purchased The Red Roost restaurant in 1996 and run numerous other restaurants around the area, including Sobo's Wine Beerstro and Boonies Burgers, Beer & Bait. 

However, Tom Knorr always had a passion for craft beer. With his knowledge from home brewing while in college in Utah during the early 1990s, Tom said he started researching commercial brewing. He purchased a used brewing system and hired a brewer. 

Then, the experimentation began. 

“We know how we would sell beer to a guy that’s running a restaurant, so let’s design our beers around certain menu items," Knorr said of the brew brainstorming process. 

For the first nine months, Evo specifically sold to restaurants, introducing bottles shortly thereafter. As the business grew, Knorr knew Evo needed a bigger building and found its current building in Salisbury, which used to be an ice plant. 

The building has its own water supply, allowing Evo to brew without any additional filtration. Knorr said when they tested the water, it came back with perfect results for brewing, an important factor since water is one of beer's main ingredients. 

Evo officially opened in its current building in 2012. Now, the brewery has three brewmasters, allowing for different visions to create different flavor components. 

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All of Evo's beers are meant to be paired with food. Knorr said every IPA has a malt backbone that balances out the bitter flavor. That makes a beer that allows for easy drinking instead of feeling finished after one drink. 

He said Evo's No. 1 focus is quality and consistency. 

“What it does really for me is it drives us to make sure we’re really balancing the beers to make them really food-friendly," Knorr said. 

He said when thinking up beer flavors, Evo's brewers focus on a specific food, like steamed crabs, or a specific setting, like a backyard barbecue.

Knorr said Evo's best seller is its Lot No. 3 IPA, which "pairs well with Indian food, jerk, Cajun, burgers and spicy seafood," according to the Evo website. Another popular beer is the Evo Delmarva Pure Pils, a summertime beer is best served with foods like steamed crabs and fried chicken. 

The brewery recently released Hops Limón IPA, another beer perfect for summer and fresh fish dishes, Knorr said. 

“Our consistency is on point, and we’re making beer for food," Widdowson said. "I think a lot of brewers make beers for flavor profiles. But where does that translate into the market?"

With food-focused beer must come a well thought-out menu.

Executive Chef David Wells said he likes to make simple, ingredient-driven dishes. The Evo kitchen's focus is on what's fresh with menu change-ups at least quarterly and regular specials. 

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“All of our menu items are going to have that seasonality," he said. 

While Evo is one of the older Delmarva breweries, Knorr focuses on staying relevant by consistently releasing new beers.

“It’s all one big lab," Knorr said. 

On Twitter: @The_MegRyan

If you go

What: Evolution Craft Brewing Co.

Where: 201 East Vine St., Salisbury

Public House hours: Mondays through Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. to midnight, Thursdays through Saturdays from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 a.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m.-midnight 

Taproom hours: Mondays through Thursdays from 3-8 p.m., Fridays though Sundays from noon to 8 p.m.

Contact: 443-260-2337, evolutioncraftbrewing.com