How the first brewery in the city of York sprung to life, inspired by family tradition
The idea for opening a brewery in downtown York came from Jesse VanVoorhis’ ability to homebrew his own beer.
The Smyrna, South Carolina, native picked it up from his father and godfather, who used to brew their own beers back in the ‘70s and ‘80s and loaned their own equipment to him back in 2016.
It started out as a hobby for VanVoorhis, but now he’s preparing for the grand opening of Working Theory Beer Co., his first brewery and the first in the city of York.
The grand opening will be this Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. However, it took a long road to get to this moment.
When VanVoorhis first started homebrewing, he found that his beers kept tasting like soap, so he went to seek some advice.
The homebrew supply manager asked how VanVoorhis was washing his stuff. “I told him I’m washing it out with Dawn dish soap, so I know it’s clean,” VanVoorhis said. The supply manager said to drop the Dawn, and use a new residual wash that other breweries use, without leaving “a flavor and all that type of stuff. That very next beer was pretty decent.”
From that moment on, VanVoorhis said he “caught the bug,” testing recipes and finding out brews he liked and didn’t like.
People in the community caught wind of VanVoorhis’ homebrews and asked him to supply beer for different parties and social events.
Knowing that the city of York lacked a brewery, VanVoorhis saw an opportunity to turn his hobby into something a lot more serious and substantial.
Co-owner and Jesse’s wife Ashley said that some of the York community wasn’t fully supportive of opening a brewery, but people eventually came around to the idea.
“There was a lot of convincing the city council and other members of the community that ‘hey, I think we need this, York is going to love this’ ” she said. “It’s going to be great for the community. It’s a family-friendly atmosphere. It’s a different vibe of brewery versus a bar or a restaurant.”
About Working Theory Beer Co.
Working Theory Beer Co. will offer a full beer menu with seven of its own beers on tap to start with.
The brewery will also offer nine different types of wines, non-alcoholic beverages like root beer, cream soda and colas, and some light snacks.
There will be a food truck at the grand opening, and Ashley VanVoorhis said they hope to work with local food trucks and restaurants to supply food for their patrons.
Working Theory Beer Co. is at 16 E Liberty St. in downtown York and will be open Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturdays from noon to 10 p.m.
