Newest in Craft: Denton County Brewing Co.
Next to Second Hand Sports off McKinney, behind the brown butcher's paper that covers the double doors, something is brewing. Currently moving through renovations, 200 E. McKinney is in the process of transforming into Denton’s next brewery, Denton County Brewing Co.
Paperwork was filed with the TABC in January of this year, and the brewery is looking to be the second one to officially open its doors in Denton. With this being one of the first breweries to take advantage of the zoning changes this past July, there was a lot of other firsts to go along with the process. “The landscape is shifting sand, the laws are changing, and everyone has been super helpful,” says Morgan, following a glowing review of Amber Rogers, of the Commercial Plans Examiner Staff, who went as far as to call other states about their permitting process and exhaust resources to find answers to questions no one had ever had a reason to ask.
Seth Morgan has been in Denton since the 70’s, and met his wife Jen during his time at the University of North Texas. Together Seth and Jen are hoping to create something that Denton can be proud of. “What can I do to add to Denton, what can I do to enrich the community," Seth explains of his motivation to move to larger scale production from the past decade he spent homebrewing.
Seth and Jen envision DCBC as Denton’s second living room, creating an environment that feels like you're hanging out on your couch in your home with your buds. TV’s, games, couches, and craft beer at your fingertips, and a resident pizza food truck will probably get you feeling like you never want to leave. In addition to an expansive space for indoor activities, an outdoor seating area, the brewery will also have meeting rooms you can reserve to take all the boredom out of those business meetings. With a mission to create a beer you want to drive to Denton for, the Morgans are excited to pair it with a brewery experience that may end up persuading you to stay.
“DCBC is beer to be enjoyed here,” explains Seth, and DCBC will be keepin’ it local with plans to keep distribution inside Denton County limits. “I want to create beer the city is proud of, something that people drive to Denton for,” and this mad scientist of beer is most passionate about taking something traditional and giving it an unexpected twist. “I want to brew traditional styles, and take these beers, experiment, and make a beer that resonates with Denton,” Morgan continues, “Beer is one of those things that brings communities together. It’s all about celebrating what we have in common, and beer is one of those things, beer brings people together.”
Ben Esley, craft beer enthusiast and owner of The Bearded Monk,and craft beer enthusiast is right next door to the work in progress and is eagerly anticipating their grand opening. "It's going to be great to have another brewery in town that brews such magnificent beer," he says. "Denton County Brewing Company will be yet another reason for the North Texas Craft Beer community to visit the craft beer side of Denton."
With hopes of opening by Christmas, or at the latest the New Year, Denton’s next brewery will be something to toast to. Tune in to The Dentonite LIVE on Facebook tonight at 8:00pm for more information.
Header image design by Brittany Keeton