Four years in the making, Topsail Island Brewing is open as Sneads Ferry’s first and only brewpub.
Four years of planning, permitting and building came together on a beautiful day in April 2024, as Topsail Island Brewing opened its doors to long lines and happy customers.
The idea for the Sneads Ferry brewery started about 12 or 15 years ago, according to co-owner and founder Rebekah Pearson. She says that her brother, Jordan, mentioned it to her dad and grandfather when he was working at Rick’s Restaurant & Sports Bar. Pearson explains that she and several of her siblings worked for their family at Rick’s throughout the past 21 years that the restaurant has been in business.
“Craft beer was still up and coming then,” Pearson says, so the idea was put aside until the beginning of 2020. “I was running the restaurant and mentioned to dad and grandpa that we have land.” By that time, craft beer had become more popular and Rick’s was serving a “ton of craft beers” Pearson says.
As the bar manager at Rick’s for 10 years, Pearson saw that people wanted more than just four craft beer options. Thinking more
about the brewery idea, she says, “We were learning about the craft beer industry and thought it would be a good idea.”
They put up a sign in the early months of 2020, saying the brewery was coming. Four years later, on April 13, 2024, Topsail Island Brewing officially held its grand opening. Pearson says lines formed out all the doors all day long. The day, she says, was “overwhelmingly amazing.”
Pearson and her husband, Jesse, co-owner of the brewery, worked 15 hours that day, alongside their staff of bartenders. “It was amazing to see how many people showed up,” she says. “Everybody was happy.”
A steady stream of customers stood in line for a taste of the newly brewed, hyper-local beer. “We went through a lot of beer,” Pearson says. “The community was really coming forward and supporting us, more than I expected.”
Topsail Island Brewing is a brewpub, with a brewery, taproom and beer garden. The taproom is the bar area, and the brewery area is where the expert brewers prepare the beer. Customers can watch the process through a brewery window where all the tanks are visible.
Brewing takes place about twice a week now, as they try to keep up with demand.
Each beer is different in its process and the time it takes to brew, Pearson explains. “A faster beer will take about three weeks from brewing it to pouring it. A pilsner could be anywhere from six to eight weeks,” she says. After a beer has been brewed, the spent grain is donated to Warren’s Crab Farm in Sneads Ferry. Warren and his wife use the grain to feed their livestock.
The Topsail Island Brewing team includes Jesse, who is active-duty military and was deployed during the height of the build-out work for the new business. Pearson’s father and grandfather are a big part of the project as well.
Head brewer Zach Wakefield was hired before they broke ground. Originally from Georgia, Wakefield lives in Wilmington. Pearson says he helped them design the building and order the equipment, adding, “He’s awesome. He’s done a lot.”
Assistant brewer Cisco Amieva is also from Wilmington. Wakefield had worked with him previously and spoke highly of his work. Amieva was brought to the team in November 2023, when the first tanks were being delivered.
While the community has come out in big numbers to support Topsail Island Brewing, Pearson says they, in turn, “want to support the community as much as we possibly can.” Plans include vendor markets on Sunday afternoons in the beer yard. They will have local farmers and artisans visit each week.
The Lazy Daisy Bookshop will participate in Books and Brews once a month at the brew pub. The bookshop, owned by Kristen Rochelle, is a converted 1971 Sprite Caravan vintage camper that has been transformed into a mobile bookstore that travels throughout Sneads Ferry and Jacksonville for events such as this.
Live music will be held on the weekends, particularly on Saturdays and during the vendor markets on Sundays.
The brewery’s large outside area features porch swings, rocking chairs, tables and open spaces for enjoying beer, music and events all summer. The inside of the taproom also features a military wall, “with a couple hundred photos that people have sent in.”
As for the beer selection, Pearson says they are planning on doing a little bit of everything. That includes IPAs, blondes, a kellerbier (that is “most popular right now”), a kolsch, a gluten-free cider and sour beers, which Pearson describes as “interesting.”
Pearson and her team also collaborate on some draft selections. They have worked with breweries in Atlanta, Asheville and Leland to brew a style on a different brewing system. They collaborate with Brunswick Beer and Cider in Leland to make their top-selling cider and ran out of that selection quickly during their grand-opening weekend.
While Topsail Island Brewing does not serve food, Rick’s is just across the parking lot, and they are offering a special menu just for the brewery. The Brewfood menu is only available to Topsail Island Brewing customers and will be delivered to their customers’ tables. Selections include pretzels and beer cheese, chicken tenders, local peel-and-eat shrimp, a hummus platter, wings and cauliflower bites.
The taproom is open seven days a week. They typically open at 11 am every day and close around 10 pm (11 pm on Friday and Saturday in the summer).
They want to be sure everyone is happy, including their customers and the community. Now that the doors are open and the beer is flowing, the four-year wait has proven worth it for everyone.
Ready to Tap in?
Topsail Island Brewing
9 514 Pete’s Way, Sneads Ferry
(252) 369-2628
topsailbrewingco.com
@topsailbrewing
Topsail Brewing
