Photos by Moonloop Photography
Text by Richard L. Gaw

When the Hoffman family gave a new life to a crumbling, two-story brick building in the heart of Yorklyn in 2016, it repurposed what had been the abandoned Garrett Snuff Mill site and gave it a name: Dew Point Brewing Company.

Within the span of a few weeks, the word began to spread that something magical was brewing in this intimate tasting room, well beyond brewmaster Cody Hoffman’s signature beers. Dew Point was becoming a destiny of nonchalance, conversation, camaraderie and music – live music, living and breathing music - where a guest could cozy up with a pint of Nit Wit and kick back to the sounds of local bluegrass bands and emerging singer-songwriters. Over time, thanks to a full-time music permit, the best of the music was heard outside – Danny Paisley and the Southern Grass to name just one - emanating from a sturdy performance stage to a meadow lawn that on any given weekend was filled with everyone from music aficionados to friends in event tents to moms and dads on blankets, watching their children performing impromptu dances in rhythm to the sounds coming from the stage.

“For our Dew Grass concerts, we would regularly draw as many as 400 people,” said Dew Point owner John Hoffman.

During the time of COVID-19, when visitors positioned themselves in circles spray-painted around the Dew Point meadow to enjoy outdoor music, the first rumblings of what became a four-year journey for the popular brewery began. A small group of neighbors began to complain about possible sound violations coming from Dew Point, which led to a seemingly endless period of back-and-forth litigation.

“The first thing we did in response to the complaints was to buy our own sound system, so that we had more control over volume regulation,” Hoffman said. “We began doing decibel readings all around the property. We worked to keep volume as low as possible and meet the sound level requirements. We would end most of our concerts at 6 p.m., and we would only invite certain bands to play here based on the stipulation that we knew they would not be very loud.”

In the summer of 2022, Dew Point received a notice of a protest, and after an August hearing, Hoffman decided that in order to remain in compliance with state laws, the outdoor stage would be shut down, and immediately, the tasting room became the brewery’s exclusive music venue. Although the outdoor music scene was dormant, the friends of Dew Point rallied in unison, attaching their signatures to a nearly 5,000-name petition.

“We had 20 to 30 people approach us every week and ask us, ‘When is the outdoor music coming back?’” Hoffman said. “The conversation about our outdoor music issue was the stuff of constant buzz. It wasn’t just affecting us. It was affecting the community who has come here for several years.” 

Finally, after three years of hearings and appeals and court appearances, on July 30, Dew Point Brewing Company received the news it had been patiently waiting for: the Delaware Alcohol and Beverage Commission ruled in Dew Point’s favor, and their permit was renewed.

On October 18 and 19, the Dew Grass Music Festival drew throngs of people to Yorklyn for two full days of sweet music in the meadow.

“For those who came to the Dew Grass Music Festival – the first one we had in three years – it was three years of pent-up demand,” Hoffman said. “Dew Point Brewing Company has become such a large part of this community, and in many ways, it has become a third place, where people come and meet and socialize with their friends and families.”

To learn more about Dew Point Brewing Company, visit www.dewpointbrewing.com, or visit them on Facebook for an up-to-date calendar of events.