Brews Up recently moved from Berlin to downtown Snow Hill. The business offers beer and wine-making kits, as well as classes and demonstrations.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

March 15, 2018) Following Toy Town Antiques by about a year, beer- and wine-making business Brews Up recently moved from Berlin to downtown Snow Hill.

Tony Hilligoss started the shop five years ago on Route 113 and later settled on Old Ocean City Boulevard in Berlin. The store is now open on 211 North Washington Street.

“We’re in the process of purchasing the building and turning the upstairs into an apartment,” he said. “We had to move twice, which kind of put a wrinkle in our systems. This is going to give us some longevity.”

Hilligoss rented in Berlin, but will own the building in Snow Hill.

“The town has created a lot of opportunities,” he said. “Also, the [location] is incredible because we’re basically right on Route 12, so 7,000 cars a day drive by.”

He called the business “a hobby that got out of control.” Hilligoss is a chef by trade and has taught in the culinary program at Parkside High School in Salisbury for 27 years.

Brews Up, he said, offers just about everything a home brewer or wine maker needs, from supplies to step-by-step tutorials.

“We’ll have wine making experiences where the customer will get a full appreciation of what the process is to make and bottle wine, and obviously taste the wine,” he said. “We do the same thing with beer – you can make, taste and take beer from our property.

“That’s the gift we have – we’re a facility that gives people something to do and creates an appreciation for what it takes to fill a beer bottle or a wine bottle,” Hilligoss added.

Customers can brew beer onsite, allow it to ferment, then come back, bottle it and take it home. Hilligoss said the fermenting process generally takes four to five weeks, depending on the type of beer.

“We’ll create your recipe, or I have over 30 beer recipes I’ve created that are idiot-proof where the customer can buy the beer kit, go home, and as long as they have a pot and bottles they can make that batch of beer,” he said. “My standardization skills as a chef have really incorporated well into this profession – it’s still science.”

Hours are 4-7 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 2-4 p.m.

Weekly wine experiences are scheduled every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. Beer-making experiences start at 11 a.m. each Saturday. Reservations are required.

For more information, contact Brews Up at 443-513-4744. www.brewsup.net or e-mail homebrew@brewsup.net.