WILMINGTON — The Cape Fear region will officially welcome its 18th brewery next month, as Flying Machine Brewing Company prepares for its grand opening weekend.
The brewery plans to open Friday, Nov. 9, and took to Facebook to announce it.
“I’ve been writing beer recipes since I was about 15 years old,” assistant brewer Matt Wiley said on a video released Thursday announcing the brewery’s opening. “And I hadn’t really been able to put those beers into practice [until now].”
Quality Assurance Manager Dean Moore then summarized their brewing philosophy: make clean, low-alcohol-by-volume (ABV), dry beers with yeast-driven flavors, “then get funky and weird” with their barrel-aged and sour beer selection.
“I think weirdly enough, and not by direction, we kind of married our ideas with what beer should be, and it just happens to mirror what Flying Machine is representing as a company,” Moore said.
Founders Grant Steadman and David Sweigart had first submitted plans to the city in the summer of 2016, and after a year of planning and working with neighbors to address noise concerns — they finally broke ground on the building’s construction on Randall Parkway.
“We had a pretty detailed search for the right piece of land, the right neighborhood and we believe we found the perfect spot,” Steadman said at the time.
The 16,600-square-foot facility, with a 10,000-square-foot production area, includes a taproom, two-story outside patio, and inside and outside bars.
Although Flying Machine’s opening will mark the city’s 13th brewery, Sweigart sees its addition as a compliment to a healthy craft beer industry.
“We’re really looking to complement that scene, to fit in with our thing, just to introduce and educate craft beer drinkers in a different way,” Sweigart said.
Flying Machine Brewing Company is located at 3130 Randall Pkwy. Stay tuned to their Facebook page for upcoming announcements on hours, tap list, and contact information.