This is the first bottle of beer made by a Wilmington production brewery in 65 years

It's been 65 years since the last bottle of beer rolled down the production line at Diamond State Brewery on Wilmington's Fifth Street, which closed in 1954.

Since then, another production brewery hadn't made the city its home again until Wilmington Brew Works opened in August with the promise that beer bottles will once again flow from the state's biggest city.

Eight months later, promise kept.

Eloquation, its heavy-duty triple India pale ale with an 11.9 percent ABV, will be available in 22-ounce bomber bottles starting next week.

The bottles will first be available at the brewery starting May 1 for $15 each.

The brewery's social media pages (Facebook and Instagram) will allow bottle reservations on April 30 via a link that customers can use to purchase up to two bottles in-person the next day.

Any unclaimed bottles will be put up for sale Thursday when the brewery opens at 5 p.m., says co-owner Craig Wensell.

In addition to selling the bottles at the brewery, Wilmington Brew Works has teamed up with online beer retailer Tavour, which will allow beer drinkers in 18 states to buy bottles from Wilmington via the internet. (Sorry Delawareans, our state does not allow online beer sales, so no home delivery for you.)

The brewery is located on Miller Road at the former site of the Harper-Thiel Electroplating Co., which closed in 2000 and remained vacant until the beer bubbles arrived.

Constructed in 1916, the space was originally used by Francis Irénée du Pont as an experimental laboratory.

It's believed that inside the building — initially registered under the name The Delaware Chemical Engineering Co. — smokeless gunpowder was developed.

Got a tip? Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).