Jason, Bill and Charlie with photos of their beers in the background.

The History of
Bayheads® Brewing Company

2016

Bayheads® was founded in 2016 by three lifelong friends, Bill, Charlie and Jason. They were determined to start a brewery in their hometown of Chesapeake City. Without any experience in commercial brewing, it seemed like a daunting task. However, they stayed focused and they shared a common goal of one day delivering quality brews to their hometown.

All three guys grew up enjoying boating and drinking great beer. Their hometown of Chesapeake City is situated on one of the largest working canals in the country, which connects both the Delware and Chesapeake Bay. Their experiences on the head of the Chesapeake Bay and it's tributaries greatly influenced their lives. The connection between boating, enjoying great craft beer, and their community ultimately is what led to the name Bayheads®.

2017

In 2017, they signed a lease on what would be their first location at 2525 Augustine Herman Highway. This is where Bayheads® Brewing Company began to take form. The roughly 1500 sq/ft facility was built out on a shoestring budget. They purchased a 6BBL brew system with three 6BBL fermenters and a 6BBL brite tank. One half of the building was split for brewing, while the other half was set up as a taproom for patrons to enjoy the tasty brews.

Brew system and fermenters

2018

In 2018, Bayheads® Brewing Company offically opened their doors. We started with a six tap kegerator and a small U-shaped bar. The grand opening was Saint Paddy’s weekend, which accompanied the town wide pub crawl. Our grand opening was a huge success! Locals were very excited and supportive of their new local brewery.

picture of the old bayheads taproom from behind the bar packed full of guests wearing green for saint paddys day.

2019

During our early years, Bayheads® Brewing Company grew rapidly. We had a strong local following. We established a mug club to help grow that support even further. We developed new beer recipes and started wholesaling to local restaurants.

Picture of the old bayheads taproom with patrons sitting around the bar.

2020

When the Covid pandemic hit, it was total chaos! Thank goodness for our mug club members, as they kept us in business! Bayheads® Brewing Company adapted by purchasing a can seamer and survived by selling to-go beer. That same year, we made a huge business decision and purchased a historic building in downtown Chesapeake City. This would be the future home of Bayheads® Brewing Company.

picture of building at 401 2nd street before renovations.

2021

Bayheads® Brewing Company offically closed our doors at our original location at 2525 Augustine Herman Hwy on December 23, 2021. The plan was to temporarily shut down while we continued renovations on our newly acquired building in historic downtown Chesapeake City. This took a little longer than expected, but it was well worth the wait!

picture of building at 401 2nd street under renovations.

2023

After a year and a half of renovations, Bayheads® Brewing Company finally reopened at their new 401 2nd Street location on August 20, 2023. At this time, Co-Founder Charlie Copeland took over as the sole owner of Bayheads® Brewing Company. Bayheads® Brewing Company still brews the same quality beer, but now we also have a full liquor license that allows us to sell bourbon, wine and other spirits. We are a total craft bar experience!

picture of building at 401 2nd street under renovations with corner door removed.

Future

When you visit you may notice we still have areas under renovation. We are working on a small kitchen space on one end of our brewery that will eventually provide a unique menu to patrons. Our upstairs is residential space that will soon feature an AirBnB.

Bar with stools and draft tap system.