2014 Historic Odessa Brewfest

What's brewing in Historic Odessa this weekend?

A news and talk radio station in Wilmington, Delaware
Mellany Armstrong
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They're brewing up history in Odessa this weekend. Historian, beer lover and colonial reenactor Rich Wagner will be at the first Historic Odessa Brewfest to demonstrate beer-making from start to finish. Wagner worked with a cooper to build his own equipment.

"I reenact the brewing process from William Penn's time, the 1680s...they can certainly see how a brewery would have looked in somebody's back yard back then," Wagner said.

Wagner says beer today is very different than the ones they drank in colonial times.

"From the type of barley that's planted to the type of hops that have been developed, and just having a pure yeast culture in modern times changes the equation quite a bit," he said.

The festival runs from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday on the lawn of the Wilson-Warner House. Proceeds go toward preservation of Historic Odessa buildings and educational programs.

I reenact the brewing process from William Penn's time, the 1680s...they can certainly see how a brewery would have looked in somebody's back yard back then.

Rich Wagner