Surf City will soon have a brewery of its own with the opening of veteran-owned Salty Turtle Beer Co.
 
Co-owners Daniel Callender, Dean Kelley and Zack White have been working since January on the 2,400-square-foot nanobrewery that is part of new construction at 103 Triton Lane in Surf City.
 
Callendar said he was confident that given the growth of Wilmington’s brewing scene, the Topsail/Surf City area would eagerly embrace a brewery as well. Thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, the partners gained nearly $5,000 over their initial $10,000 goal.

They chose to incorporate turtles into the name as a way of further connecting with the local community that houses the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center.
 
According to the craft beer website americancraftbeer.com, a nanobrewery is generally defined as a brewery that produces no more than three barrels of beer in one batch and typically less than 2,000 barrels annually. 
 
Callender said Salty Turtle would have a three-barrel system, allowing them to brew 120 gallons of beer at a time. The brewery's 70-seat taproom is expected to have 10 beers on tap, ranging from session beers to New England-style IPAs to stouts. Brewing is expected to begin next week, and owners are hoping for a mid- to late-December opening.
 
“We are a neighborhood brewery, and we want to focus on the local community,” Callendar said. “We will see what our customers respond to and plan our brewing accordingly.”
 
In partnership with the sea turtle center, Salty Turtle will donate a portion of the sales of one of its brews per month to the center.
 
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