DeWolf Brewing did not begin with a polished plan to open a brewery. It began with curiosity, a homebrewing setup, and a desire to be part of a community built around beer.
Founder Justin DeWolf grew up in nearby Phelps before his work took him to Barcelona, Spain. He lived there for five years, started a local homebrewing club, and watched the city’s small craft beer scene begin to grow.
Barcelona shaped more than the beer Justin liked to drink. It showed him how a neighborhood bar could become part of daily life. A place where people pulled up a chair, shared food, stayed awhile, and returned often.
That feeling eventually became the starting point for DeWolf Brewing.
Justin returned to the Finger Lakes around 2015, but a brewery did not immediately follow.
First, he tried growing hops. The farm only lasted a few years. It was labor-intensive, difficult to scale, and ultimately not sustainable. It was also a valuable lesson in how much work, patience, and practical thinking it takes to turn an interest in beer into a real business.
Years of conversations followed. During the pandemic, Justin and his longtime business partner, Jeremy Hevery, began turning those conversations into an actual brewery plan.
They wanted to make carefully brewed beer, serve food influenced by Justin’s years in Spain, and create a comfortable place where the people of Victor could gather.
Then they found the building.
The building at 60 Maple Avenue dates back to 1890. Located beside the railroad tracks and visible from Main Street, it had long been a familiar part of the Village of Victor.
Over the years, it served the area’s agricultural community as a feed store and farm-supply business. Old grain-processing equipment was still inside when the property was purchased.
Starting over with a new building probably would have been easier. It may even have been less expensive. But this building already belonged to the story of Victor, and we wanted to preserve that connection.
The renovation took more than four years. The structure had to be reinforced. Old plumbing had to be replaced. Modern fire protection, a commercial kitchen, and an entire brewery had to be carefully fitted into a building constructed for a very different purpose.
Whenever we could do part of the work ourselves, we did. When the job required experience we did not have, we found people who did.
DeWolf Brewing finally opened its doors in December 2025.
We built our brewery around beers with clarity, balance, and purpose.
Head Brewer Zack Haggerty leads our 10-barrel brewhouse and lager program. Our horizontal lagering tanks allow beers to condition slowly at cold temperatures, developing the clean flavor and crisp finish that make a well-made lager so enjoyable.
That process takes time. We think it is worth it.
Our tap list is not limited to lagers. We brew hop-forward IPAs, approachable ales, traditional styles, and occasional beers that give us room to experiment. Whatever the style, the goal is the same: make a beer that tastes like what it is supposed to be and leaves you ready for another.
The Spanish influence in our kitchen comes from experience, not a theme.
Our menu draws from the food Justin came to know while living in Barcelona: meals shared around a table, bold but familiar flavors, and food made to be enjoyed alongside a good drink.
You will find shareable plates, Spanish-inspired sauces, local ingredients, and dishes that work just as well for a full dinner as they do for a quick bite with a beer. Special dinners, paella nights, beer pairings, and other events give us opportunities to explore those influences more deeply.
The menu is meant to feel interesting without being intimidating. You do not need to know anything about Spanish food or craft beer to enjoy yourself here.
The large central bar was intentional. So were the communal tables, the different seating areas, and the open beer garden room.
We wanted DeWolf Brewing to feel comfortable whether you are meeting a friend for one drink, bringing the family for dinner, celebrating a birthday, attending a fundraiser, or settling in for the evening.
A brewery can make excellent beer and still be about more than what is in the glass. It can be a place where neighbors run into one another, strangers start talking, and people feel connected to the community around them.
That is the kind of place we are working to create in Victor.
It took a long time to get here. There were delays, difficult decisions, changed plans, and plenty of moments when the work ahead felt larger than the work behind us.
We are proud of what we built, but we are still learning. We listen to our guests, keep working on the details, and try to make the beer, food, and experience a little better every day.
DeWolf Brewing is a piece of Barcelona brought home to the Finger Lakes, inside a building that has belonged to Victor for more than a century.
We hope you will pull up a chair and become part of what comes next.
