Town Brewing Company, Wesley Heights’ first brewery, opens today near Rhino Market

Town Brewing Company opens at 2 p.m. today, Friday September 28, at 800 Grandin Road in Wesley Heights.

Hours are Monday through Thursday 4 p.m. – 10 p.m., Friday 2 p.m. – 11 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Right next door to Rhino Market, Town Brewing Company is housed in a roughly 11,000-square-foot space that has played home to an auto garage and industrial equipment supplier.

It’s a heritage that co-founders and longtime friends Allen West, George Sistrunk, Mark Kutny and Richard Morton, along with architecture firm Cluck, wanted to honor. You’ll find nods to the past with large garage doors that open to a patio, original gray brick columns (they expected to find red) and rehabbed furniture such as re-upped church pews.

But the goal is to make the brewery’s intimate 24-tap taproom feel less like a warehouse and more like a living room and almost Cheers-esque environment with a staff that makes customers feel welcome while simultaneously educating them on all things beer.

“We want to be very interactive with the guests,” brewer Brian Quinn explained. “We want our staff to be able to talk to a beer novice and someone who’s the ultimate beer snob.”

When it comes to the beer, the 15-barrel system will churn out a large variety

It’s important to Quinn to cover his bases when it comes to the beer the brewery will pour, and the selection includes IPAs (both hazy and otherwise), kettle sours, porters, English and Belgian styles plus a rotating selection of other crafts.

12oz pours run either $4 or $4.50 and 16oz pours run $5.50 or $6.

If you’re only doing one beer, go with the “Escape Plan” — an American IPA (6.6%). It’s described as “Bursting with citrus and tropical hop aromas, this double dry-hopped IPA features a healthy dose of Mosaic, Citra, Amarillo, and Centennial hops…. Notes of grapefruit, pineapple, geraniums, and pine dominate the aroma and flavor, and a pleasant, subtle hop bitterness lingers on the palate creating a crisp, refreshing finish.”

They also offer ciders, champagne, wine, kombucha, housemade sodas and other non-alcoholic options.

Town Brewing has a full kitchen and the food is legit

Go with the veggie flatbread, smoked 1/4 chicken or their signature pretzel with malt salt and both IPA mustard and beer cheese for dipping.

Here’s a look at the menu and a few of their signature dishes.

When all is said and done, Town Brewing Co. hopes to be the neighborhood’s go-to craft brewery.

“There’s a real sense of community in this area,” Sistrunk said, citing local staples like Pinky’s and Rhino that, along with their customers, help hold up the neighborhood’s economy. “We want to be a neighborhood hangout. That’s important to us.”

“I think NoDa and FreeMoreWest are similar – very, very eclectic, lots of diversity here,” West added. “We love that. We want to really be a part of that.”

Connect with Town Brewing Co. on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.