DRINK
Music To His Ears
Ronnie Price at the bar of Smyrna's Blue Earl Brewing. Photo by Butch Comegys.
Leaving his engineering career to pursue craft brewing was a natural progression for Blue Earl Brewing founder Ronnie Price
M
aking music has always been at the core of Ronnie Price’s life, and he’s combined that love of music with another outlet for his creative nature — brewing beer. Price is the owner and operator of Blue Earl Brewing in Smyrna and, like so many professional brewers, Price started out as a home brewer whose focus was to make good beer to share with friends. But those friends kept commenting on how good it was and encouraged him to mass produce it, and when Price won several awards (locally and nationally), it planted the seed that eventually grew into Blue Earl Brewing. Price, 55, went to William Penn High in New Castle and then the University of Delaware, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering. That led to a job in the manufacturing industry and a six-figure salary, so life was good — but not complete. Again, like so many professional brewers, Price wasn’t satisfied with sitting behind a desk in a 9-to-5 setting. He wanted to be his own boss. And that was the motivation that led him to make the hard-but-easy decision to leave his well-paying job and start his own brewery and tap room. So, he decided to start a new life in a new town, even though that meant new risks. ►
By Kevin Noonan
MAY 2021
| OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM
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