Aristaeus Craft Brewing is coming soon to Langhorne, PA. The creation of longtime homebrewer Harry Arnold, the brewery will be in the former Paramount Industries building, an old machine shop off Big Oak Road, between Township Line Rd and Woodbourne Rd (but more on that later). Aristaeus is aiming for a late October/early November opening, depending on the construction progress.

We recently sat down with Harry to find out more about the upcoming brewery, and what beer fans can expect.

First, we asked about the name. Since it is not very common, we knew there had to be a story behind it. As Harry explains, he likes brewing with honey, so that led him to researching honeybees, and he repeatedly found the story of Aristaeus and his bees. In Greek mythology, Aristaeus was the son of Apollo, he mastered many and varied rustic arts such as beekeeping and fermentation of mead, wine, and beer. Conferring the benefits of his extensive knowledge of these crafts upon man, he ascended to the dignity of a god. His name was derived from the Greek word aristos, “most excellent” or “most useful.”

Harry felt “Aristaeus was the God of all things craft” and wanted to pay homage by naming the brewery after him because there was a direct tie-in to the craft beer industry of today. Consumers of craft beers are always seeking knowledge of how their favorite beers are made. They want to meet the brewer, see the equipment, know what kind of hops, how many types of hops, number of hop additions, specialty ingredients, fermentation, and aging process used to create that special beer they love so much. It was then that Aristaeus Craft Brewing was born.

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Read below for our conversation with Harry, and what beer fans can expect.

BIPA: What stage are you currently in?

HA: We currently have our state and federal licenses, and they are in safekeeping until construction is done. We are in the buildout phase and plan to keep at it through the rest of the summer and fall.

BIPA: How did you become initially interested in craft beer? Who is all involved in the brewery?

HA: I started homebrewing and brewed my first beer in 1996, an English Brown ale. I was fascinated with Samuel Smith’s Brown ale packaging, and like many homebrewers had dreams of one day opening my own brewery.

The laws at that time were not very friendly for small microbreweries, so the business model was not profitable unless you had mass production. Once The laws changed and the business model for small breweries became profitable, I knew it was not only what I wanted to do in retirement but now it was economically feasible. I began planning Aristaeus 5 years ago leading up to my retirement last December from my telecommunications career of over 30 years.

I have no partners in the Brewery, it is me, myself and I to do everything. I do have my IT/Web design person on staff as well since that is most likely going to be a huge revenue stream now and into the future for most breweries.

BIPA: Can you describe the space you are opening?

HA: The brewery is 3,000 sq/ft and will be an open concept with high ceilings, and have space built in for expansion when ready. We will have the capacity for 70 people in the entire building, with space for 15 seats at the bar. 

We will be utilizing a 5BBL brewhouse to feed 12 taps at the bar. 4 of the taps will come directly from serving tanks in the cold box. We will have flexibility with the remaining taps to allow for guest beers, and a nitro tap, to always keep a variety of products.

There will also be a patio & cafe that stretches the entire outside front of the building wrapping around the left side, and that will be surrounded by steel railing, and accessible through huge glass panoramic doors that will bring the taproom outside and the outside in. All that outdoor space plus a grass side yard offers customers plenty of room to relax and enjoy their beverage of choice.

BIPA: What styles of beers will you focus on?

HA: I will brew a variety of styles to have on tap, as well as many seasonal releases each year. I am not tying myself to any one style, and everything I make will be true to the style. As a consumer of craft beer, I always like to change up what I drink and discover new styles and I want to provide that to my customers now too.

As a nano community brewery, everything we do is small batch and limited to a certain extent. Our customers can expect a variety of crowler sizes. Our crowler machines can be switched out to produce 4 different sizes, one machine seals 25.4oz and 32 oz cans, and another machine seals 12oz and 16oz cans. It is all about having a choice and variety in to-go beers, pick-up, and direct shipping.

BIPA: Will there be food offered?

HA: Unfortunately, Due to current guidelines from the state, breweries are trying to figure out how to provide food while staying within the new and ever-changing restrictions from state and county governing agencies. Once those restrictions are removed customers will be able to exercise several options including bring-your-own food, Uber Eats, Grub Hub, Door Dash, and we are also working to partner with a local restaurant, and of course, food trucks will be available on occasion.

BIPA: Have you run into any roadblocks?

HA: I struggled in the beginning with the plan to put the brewery together. It was difficult to figure out how to actually start certain filings and how to create a realistic financial budget. I had to really read and research a lot. Thankfully the industry is filled with amazing people who were more than willing to give their knowledge on every aspect of the business. I owe a huge debt of thanks to everyone I’ve discussed my project with.

You also can’t plan for a pandemic and we definitely hit a few snags with several of the regulatory agencies despite all the preplanning. This is a strange time to be starting up or operating a brewery, but I’m heartened at the resilience of so many in the industry. We are now in a great place and will be making significant progress and can’t wait to open up.

BIPA: What breweries have had you back and helped you on your journey?

HA: There were a lot in the area that I was able to gain knowledge from, just by being able to walk in and have conversations with owners, brewers, and staff. They all helped me to understand what works and what doesn’t. Specifically, I would say Broken Goblet, Moss Mill, Naked Brewing, and Neshaminy Creek provided early influence and much of the knowledge I was seeking. More recently other breweries have helped like Newtown Brewing and Iron Hill. Of all the breweries I have traveled to throughout the country in the last 5 years, all have contributed in some meaningful way.

BIPA: How can the community support you?

HA: Sign up to our email list to get the most up to date news, information, and special beer and merchandise offers. Follow us on the social media of your choice. Once our online store is up and operational, the best way to support us would be to buy merchandise and when available order beers for pick-up and delivery.

BIPA: Will the brewery be kid or dog friendly?

HA: We will be both kid friends and dog friendly. There is a dog park down the street from us, and dogs will be allowed outside.

BIPA: Anything else our readers should know about the Aristaeus Brewery?

HA: We will be looking at all options to get out beer to everyone. We eventually would like to be flexible with direct shipping and pick up when we open.

Thanks to Harry Arnold of Aristaeus for talking with us. To follow along with the construction, make sure to follow Aristaeus on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We will have another update once we visit Harry at the brewery and get a look around!