Regular concerts with amplified music will not be returning to Yorklyn’s Dew Point Brewing Co. any time soon.
Seven months after the state’s Office of Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control first ruled against the brewery following neighborhood noise complaints, the office’s appeal commission rejected the brewery’s appeal in a written decision earlier this month.
Owner John Hoffman and his attorney Adam Balick had filed an appeal in June, asserting that amplifiers and speakers should be allowed because microbreweries are not covered under noise limitations in the Delaware Code.
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The commission, which held an appeals hearing in August, found “the applicability of noise limitations … to microbreweries is susceptible to multiple interpretations and could benefit from revision by the General Assembly for clarity.”
The decision continued, however, noting the commissioner’s conclusion regarding decibel limitations “is supported by substantial evidence and is not an error of law.”
The decision was upheld unanimously by the commission in a final written decision filed on Monday, Oct. 9.
When contacted, Hoffman told Delaware Online/The News Journal he could not comment on the appeal ruling because he had not yet read the decision.
Original ruling pulled the plug
The long-brewing legal battle came to a head in August 2022 during a five-hour public hearing with the alcoholic beverage control commissioner’s office, complete with more than 100 exhibits submitted, including videos, decibel meter readings and more.
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The hearing was triggered when at least 10 residents signed a petition that claimed the brewery had “not complied with the conditions of its variance or honored its representations, and it has been unwilling to work with its neighbors in ameliorating the negative impacts of its activities on the community.”
They complained their quality of life had been destroyed by the noise.
The brewery, opened seven years ago at the historic 1901-built Garrett Snuff Mill complex at the former site of the National Vulcanized Fibre facility in bucolic Yorklyn, contended its prior approval for live music inherently implied permission for the use of speakers or amplifiers.
But Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner Jacqueline Paradee Mette decided Dew Point’s 2018 application for its patio permit, which included a variance for a wet bar and live entertainment, also should have had a separate variance request to allow for external speakers or amplifiers.
She rejected the contention that being approved for live music implied approval for the use of speakers or amplifiers.
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“This office disagrees,” she wrote in the original March ruling. “The Delaware Administrative Code specifically distinguishes between each standard …”
Mette did not find that Dew Point was a “noisy establishment” under the law, which could have led to a license suspension or fine.
Since the ruling, Dew Point’s regular live music schedule has largely remained inside its small second-floor taproom. There was no dispute over amplified live music shows held indoors.
Mette had affirmed that any live unamplified outdoor entertainment must cease by 9 p.m., which had been part of the original variance. There is no limit on how many outdoor events the brewery can host.
Outdoor acoustic shows, sports and exercise classes fill schedule
For years, Dew Point has increasingly become a hub for live music in Yorklyn, a live music desert of sorts.
During the fall and winter, the brewery’s indoor tasting room plays host to a variety of live local acts from acoustic sets to fully amplified rock bands. Once the weather warms, the music had moved to Dew Point’s outdoor stage with some patrons sitting at picnic tables and more dotting its hilly front lawn, sitting picnic-style on blankets or in camping chairs.
Once the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Dew Point was one of the only venues in the entire state to host live music by painting socially distanced circles on its lawn, allowing families (and even their dogs) to safely gather for outdoor concerts. A food truck usually could be found in the parking lot because the brewery does not have its own kitchen.
At the time of the spring decision, Hoffman told Delaware Online/The News Journal that outdoor acoustic music instead of the amplified concerts were not immediately planned.
“I’m not sure the economics of doing that would work,” Hoffman said. “By the time we have to pay the band with the limited number of people who would be able to hear it, I just don’t know.”
Since the ruling, the indoor concerts held at Dew Point on Saturday and Sunday nights have continued with the brewery hosting only a few outdoor shows, including an acoustic night of bluegrass and an Oktoberfest celebration with a brass band performing polkas, waltzes and folk songs.
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The brewery also turned to hosting everything from pingpong and disc golf putting nights to yoga, pilates and boot camp workouts outdoors during the summer to round out its schedule.
Dew Point has been a family affair ever since they first opened their doors and flicked their taps in August 2016. Hoffman, a retired chemist, oversees the operation with son Cody brewing the beer and wife Georgiana running the business. Daughter Alexa ran special events until recent years after having a child.
Have a story idea? Contact Ryan Cormier of Delaware Online/The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier) and X (@ryancormier).
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