Family Owned and Operated Brewery

Family Owned and Operated Brewery

We started Dancing Kilt Brewery as a way to bring locally brewed craft beer to Chester. Traveling Europe skiing the Alps, every town had their own local brewery, so why not our own home town? Our passion for the culinary arts has found brewing beer to be a natural extension. ~ Papa "P"

Our History

2014-2018

A wooden shelves with craft beer bottles and glasses

Concept to Planning

A seed was planted … Right after Christmas break within a two week period, twelve people asked if I was starting a brewery.  The answer each time was emphatically “NO”.  In retrospect, after twelve people asked in such a short period, perhaps I was just not listening.  Time to do some research, and a feasibility study.  The research turned into a business plan and site selection.

2018-2020

Breaking Ground

August 2018 we signed a lease. Time to start architectural design, ordering equipment, building permits, and scheduling contractors. After all the work was completed and equipment set in place, we passed all final inspections from various Federal, State, and Local authorities.

2020

Buildout complete – Government Shutdown – Navigating a Global Pandemic … rethinking delivery model

February 2020, we licensed to start brewing. Navigating federal, state, and local authorities we had our final inspections and ready to fire up the kettles. March 2020, we were asked to close for two weeks due to a global pandemic, CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19). Customers were not allowed into our tasting room. Rethinking our delivery model, we purchased a canning machine and 8oz cans for “Flights-to-GO”. A two week order cycle for canning equipment turned into months of delays.

2020-2021

Opening during a Pandemic | Flights-to-Go

Soft Opening June 30th: we served our first beer through Curbside Service. Customer purchased multiple flights-to-go for home tasting parties. August 11th we opened the tasting room with limited seating capacity including bar seating restrictions. We created a clean safe space with enhanced cleaning protocols. It was unfortunate we had to turn folks away due to limited seating capacity. During this time, many folks would not go out; however, would come to the brewery as they felt safe. We did not feel it was appropriate to advertise during a pandemic and turn folks away due to limited seating capacity. Our customer are so awesome, all social media including untappd was crowd sourced.

Grand Opening: One year after opening the tasting room, cautiously optimistic we had our outdoor Grand Opening. This was the first time we advertised outside of our local community. One month later, we brought home several medals (Gold, Silver, and two Bronze Medals).

2022

Expanding food menu and additions of wine, mead, & ciders

Our customers kept asking if we had beer alternatives, others were asking for more of the wines I crafted for the holidays. December 2021, we received our Wine License and have begun making wine, mead, and cider.

Brewing Philosophy

Brewing Philosophy
Dancing Kilt Brewery

No. 1

Yeast | the key to great beer is “making happy homes for yeast”

No. 2

Malt | brewing with the best – ingredients sourced from around the world

No. 3

Water | water additions emulate beer styles of the source water

No. 4

Hops | a natural preservative and the multi-step hop additions create bitterness, flavor, and aroma

NO.5

People | our brewers take great pride brewing styles from around the world

The Fractured Fairy Tail Collection

Origin Story

The Origins of Fractured Fairy Tales

A Fairy Tale, Myth, or Legend is an instance of a folklore genre that takes the form of a short story. One day Papa was telling Fairy Tales to his children as he remembered them from his childhood, and upon hearing those tales Mama acclaimed, “that’s not the way the story goes”. Papa rethinking he had forgotten his childhood stories revisited them in some old children’s books. As he read, he found the story true to his oral traditions. Then sharing again with Mama, “oh my what did my Mother do”? Grandma O’Connor, Mama’s mother, would tell her children fractured fairy tales and cut out all of the bad parts, leaving only the happy endings.

Naming The Beers

Naming the Beers

Keeping Grandma’s memory alive, we create beer names from Fairy Tales, Myths and/or Legends from around the globe. We like to think there are untold, nicer sides to each story, and that some of the original characters were misunderstood, such that tales were woven over time that grew larger than life. The goodness long forgotten soon gave way to deep dark tales used to scare children straight.

Wendigo

The Tale Of Wendigo

Wendigo was a misunderstood kid from the Great Lakes area in North America. The kids at school were mean and would constantly tease and bully him. There was no basis for their taunts, all because one day Wendigo was seen going to Hannibal’s house and they had a friend for dinner. It was totally unfounded, and he was bullied until his story became legend. He really was a nice kid.

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Legends

What Do The Legends Say?

Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy, and celebration. The hummingbird’s delegate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life’s sweetest creation.

Fractured Fairy Tale Collection

Fractured Fairy Tale Collection

When life lacks magic, so do the fractured fairy tales we tell. We are a trapdoor into a more fantastical world. A world where truth and fiction aren’t black and white, where stories told come to life, take a life of their own, and captivate your imagination.