9 North Front Street
Wilmington, NC 28401
910-251-1935
E-mail: frontstreetbrewery@gmail.com
Website: http://www.frontstreetbrewery.com
Hours: Daily, 11:30 A.M.–midnight
Tours: Daily, 3 P.M.–5 P.M.
Owner: Tom Harris
Brewmaster: Kevin Kozak
Opened: 1995
Regular beer lineup: Coastal Kölsch, River City Raspberry Wheat, Port City IPA, Dram Tree Scottish Ale, Lumina Lager
Seasonals: Milds Davis, 80 Shilling, Oktoberfest
Those walking Front Street in historic downtown Wilmington find it impossible to miss Front Street Brewery. Although the brewery’s tall neon sign has been lighting up the street since 1995, the building has been there for 130 years. The brewery occupies Front Street’s only freestanding building (alleys are on both sides of it). Prior to housing the brewery, the building served as a clothing shop and a candy store. “I like to tell people it was a brothel,” says Kevin Kozak, Front Street’s brewmaster, “but I have no evidence of that whatsoever.”
People gather outside Front Street Brewery.
Kozak didn’t intend to be a brewer. He just sort of fell into it. “I moved to D.C. after college to live with my sister while I was trying to get into law school,” he says. While there, Kozak was introduced to craft beer. His brother-in-law was a homebrewer. Inspired by having great beer around, Kozak started waiting tables at Capitol City Brewing Company in Arlington, Virginia. He spent time learning and chatting with the brewmaster. When an assistant brewer position opened up, he took it. After earning some experience, he moved to a job at Thoroughbreds Grill and Brewing in Leesburg, Virginia, which closed its doors about a year later. Finally, he found an opening at Front Street. Upon moving to Wilmington, he fell in love with the area.
The bar at Front Street Brewery
Kozak took the helm at Front Street after an extended remodeling closure in 2006. When the brewery reopened, he faced the daunting task of creating all new recipes from scratch for a drinking public that had a decade of expectations. “Basically, they told me to make whatever I wanted, but to include the four flagship beers: Lumina Lager, Port City IPA, River City Raspberry Wheat, and Dram Tree Scottish Ale. It was a little intimidating, but it worked out all right.” At the start, the Scottish ale wasn’t popular, but then “it just took off.” Today, it’s one of Front Street’s bestsellers. Beyond that, Kozak gets to experiment in the brewery, mostly in the winter. In the summertime, it’s all he can do to keep up with the tourist traffic.
Front Street is a gorgeous brewpub full of warm lighting and dark-stained wood. Upon entering, patrons are greeted by the brewery—first the fermenters, then the small Bohemian copper kettle system. Seating radiates from the brewhouse toward the long, dark bar. Toward the back of the space, stairs climb to additional seating. The tall restaurant space is crowned by an ornate skylight that looks up onto the building’s top floor, a space used for parties, events, and even the occasional mystery dinner theater.
A piece of lore is connected to Front Street. “The brewery is haunted,” says Kozak. “People see things. Weird things happen at night.” It seems fitting that the brewery is a stop on the city’s “Haunted Pub Crawl.” According to Kozak, the building is inhabited by the ghost of Henry Wenzel, a German immigrant who fell to his death while painting the ceiling in the early 1900s. Wenzel’s obituary said that he had previously worked as a driver for Palmetto Brewing Company in South Carolina. To Kozak, it all makes sense. “A German immigrant and an old brewery worker? No wonder he sticks around the brewery.”
While Front Street Brewery is a model of a successful brewpub, it is nonetheless looking toward further expansion. “We’ve been talking about the possibility of a production brewery to bottle the flagship brands,” says Kozak, “to sell up and down the coast where we still don’t see a lot of craft.”
• When it happens: October
• Where it happens: Lighthouse Beer Festival grounds in Wilmington
• Ticket prices: About $30 for a regular ticket or $45 for VIP admission
• Features: Up to 90 breweries serving well over 200 beers
• Note: This is one of the few festivals in eastern North Carolina and by far the largest.