In December 1995, Sly Fox Brewing Company opened in Pikeland Village Square, and the local craft beer quickly established a frenzied fan base.
Now, with this year’s relocation across Route 113 to the Maple Center Shopping Center, a production brewery and restaurant in Royersford, a canning line, and a Gold Medal at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival, the brewery continues to flourish.
In early August, we caught up with the brewmaster of Sly Fox Brewing Company, Brian O’Reilly, who talked about local beer and his career as a professional brewer.
CC: As a home brewer turned professional, how do your first concoctions compare to the batches you are producing now? What made you decide to take home brewing to the next level, and while living in New England, volunteer at New Hampshire-based breweries?
Brian O’Reilly: My fist home-brewed batches were not very good, almost undrinkable. After a few months, they were OK. I decided to get a job at a brewery because I enjoyed it. I wasn’t sure that it would be a career. Volunteering seemed like the best way to get involved quickly.
CC: You moved to the Phoenixville area to open the New Road Brewhouse in Collegeville. How did that come about?
O’Reilly: I moved west from Cleveland, where I had opened a brew pub for the John Harvard’s chain. While I was working there, I met a chef that had been transported from this area to help in Cleveland. He was the person who recruited me for New Road. I’m not sure that I chose the location. I needed a job. John Harvard’s was closing the store there and this opportunity hit at the right time. That venture brought me to the “Fertile Crescent” of brewing and I have never left.
CC: Since taking the lead at Sly Fox Brewery, in 2002, the local brewery has become recognized and honored. What beer would you say you are most proud of?
O’Reilly: I am most proud of our Pikeland-Pils. The all-occasion, everyday, simple, yet wonderfully complex beer. We have progressed most by becoming a production brewery. We are no longer a pub with one or two people involved with the beer. We have a team of brewers, mechanics, marketing and salespeople, all involved with growing our brand.
CC: How do you come up with new beers for the brewery?
O’Reilly: I don’t know that there is one process. We are always thinking about new reasons to brew new beers in Phoenixville. We just brewed a red ale for the Oyster Fest in Reading. It seemed to go with the Celtic theme, and I wanted the beer to be distinctive from Seamus Red ale that we brew for St. Patrick’s Day. We had a few odd varieties of hops that seemed like they would work, so the parameters were set.
CC: Sly Fox seems to be the leader in the renaissance of craft beer in cans. Why cans?
O’Reilly: Cans are cool. That is the reason. They are also lighter, more protective, won’t shatter, have a better seal and take up less space. We hope to add more cans in the future, but first we will have to add some more capacity.
CC: How do you stay sane, keeping up with demand for Sly Fox beer?
O’Reilly: I’m not sure that I do. There are days when I wish I had a more normal job. I often get to the brewery early and work late into the evening. I think it is important to try to balance work and play. This week has been insane, so I guess it is appropriate that I will be on vacation next week.
CC: What are you most looking forward to? Any new beers on the horizon that we all should be getting jazzed about?
O’Reilly: I’m looking forward to building our brand. There are so many people that do not know who Sly Fox is, or who do not drink craft beer. As we grow, we will be able to purchase better and better tools to make the beer with. It will only get better. Once things settle down a little, I’m looking forward to brewing some new beers in Phoenixville, now that we can pour up to 23 beers there.
CC: And, here’s a wild card: If you weren’t working in the beer industry, what would you choose as your career?
O’Reilly: No idea. I often think that my job has a great deal of politicking. Maybe I would run for Congress?
For more information about Sly Fox Brewing Company, visit www.slyfoxbeer.com.
