Above: 2SP Brewery has survived in a crowded craft beer arena through determination and creativity — and good brew.
By Pam George
Photos by Joe del Tufo
Mike Stiglitz has been married for nearly four years, but he’s had a love affair that’s lasted much longer. The chef has been passionate about craft beer since 2003 when he met beer geek Ben Muse at Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant. One sip of Samuel Adams’ bracing Triple Bock and Stiglitz was hooked.
The romance — and the bromance between the coworkers — led to the founding of several beer-oriented restaurants, including Two Stones Pub, which started in Newark, Delaware, and quickly expanded.
But it wasn’t enough.
In 2015, Stiglitz, Muse and their team unveiled 2SP Brewing Company. Owning a hospitality group isn’t easy. Managing a brewery presents its own set of challenges. But 10 years after opening, 2SP has absorbed the scrappy, tenacious attitude of its home base, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, commonly known as Delco.
Nothing is off limits. Put Vincent Van Gogh on a beer can? Why not. Make a seltzer with Delta-9 THC? Sure, no problem. Collaborate with Wawa? Winter Reserve Coffee Stout was such a hit, the duo followed it up with Sunfest, a strawberry-lemonade shandy.
Most breweries would crow about these achievements. In typical Delco style, 2SP lets its product do the talking. “Everything those guys do in that building is top shelf,” Stiglitz says of his brewers. “I know because I pay the bills, right? They spare no expense. We use the same malt we’ve used since the beginning, which is not the cheapest by far.”
The cost pays off. In the past 10 years, 2SP has proven its mettle with medals and creative thinking.
“They continue to produce some of the finest craft beer in the region and have found a way to successfully navigate market and legislative challenges thrown their way,” says John Medkeff, author of Brewing in Delaware.
Hops Wishes and Malt-Laced Dreams
Flash back to 2015, when 2SP was born. Stiglitz and Muse had found success with Two Stones Pub, which opened in 2011. Initially, Stiglitz, who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, was the chef, and Muse was the general manager. Chris Meyer, who’d also worked at Iron Hill, came aboard as corporate chef. A North Wilmington location opened in 2012, and Kennett Square soon followed.
Stiglitz and Muse had talked about opening a brewery since they’d been part of The Pickled Pig Pub in the Rehoboth Beach area. But that location was too small. Stiglitz sold his shares and moved north to open Two Stones, which quickly became known for its food and curated craft beer list.
The brew selection is a hop-head’s dream. But the products weren’t Two Stones’ beers. “We thought, ‘This is silly. Why can’t we do this?’” Stiglitz recalls. “We’d always dreamed of it. We wanted to have something at the core of our company to build a culture around. It seemed like a natural fit.”
The plan hinged on one man: Bob Barrar. “Dubbed the “Medal Machine,” the award-winning brewer spent more than a decade with Iron Hill.
“We weren’t going to do it without Bob,” Stiglitz says. Equally important was the addition of Mike Contreras, who’d worked for Rogue and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. He became director of sales and marketing.
Welcome To Delco
Barrar is a Delco “lifer.” But that’s not the only reason 2SP is headquartered in Aston, Pennsylvania. The Keystone State allows breweries to self-distribute their beer. In contrast, Delaware requires producers to adhere to a three-tiered system: the producer goes through a distributor, which sells to retailers or restaurants.
Michael Stiglitz (l) with head brewer Bob Barrar.
Barrar found an affordable 10,000-square-foot space in Aston with room for a 20-barrel brewhouse and 200 barrels of cellaring space. His first beer was Delco Lager, an American Amber lager with a 4% ABV appealing to a blue-collar crowd weaned on Genesee Light and Yuengling.
“This was a gateway beer for a lot of his friends,” Contreras says. “We thought we could take it up a notch.”
In 2015, Muse told a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter that Barrar “wanted it to be the beer you take to an Eagles tailgate.” Most of the lager would be available in Delco, but if it “catches fire, that’s great,” Muse said. The beer, featuring a cartoon man with a “beer beard” on the can, remains a top seller.
Since opening, the brewery has added another 10,000 square feet, and Stiglitz is determined to hold tight. The more space you have, the more stuff you put in it, he explains. The barrel room, which holds beers aged wine, tequila and other spirits casks, is in the back; a 2,000-square-foot tasting room is in the front.
Brewing Up 2SP
The brewery’s name, 2SP, is an acronym for Two Stones Pub. Stiglitz didn’t want to use the pub name because he felt it implied a neighborly, local vibe. And despite 2SP’s numerous nods to Delco, the beer had regional and national potential. Plus, 2SP said a lot in a few letters, especially when it came to decorative tap handles. “We just wanted a big symbol,” he says.
Nevertheless, the restaurants gave 2SP an advantage; there were five Two Stones by 2016. Each location features 20 taps, with half dedicated to 2SP beers.
Barrar’s reputation helped get 2SP on the shelves of Delaware and Pennsylvania liquor stores, Contreras says. However, Delaware bars were hesitant to offer a product linked to Two Stones — the competition for customers.
“It’s faded, but it hasn’t completely gone away,” Contreras says.
The brewing industry, however, was supportive, especially Evolution Craft Brewing Co. The Salisbury, Maryland, brewery agreed to a collaboration before 2SP’s facilities were operating. The local industry offered tips and advice.
“We’ve returned the favor,” Contreras says.
Says Stiglitz: “You want to know how to open a brewery? I’ll tell you tomorrow. The first thing I’ll tell you is don’t do it right now. Beers are a little off kilter right now.”
Winds Of Change
To be sure, things have changed since Stiglitz first appreciated his sip of Samuel Adams Triple Bock, then considered one of the world’s strongest beers. The increase in breweries has led to a series of trends.
“All of a sudden, it was about every kind of stout you could think of — peanut butter, vanilla, marshmallow,” Stiglitz says. “Then it was about fruit beers. How much fruit can you put in a beer? New England IPAs took off like wildfire. You have giant hazy IPAs with 400 calories a can and amazing flavor.
Breweries who follow the styles are doing so to survive, he notes. In 2015, when 2SP opened, there were 4,847 breweries in the United States, according to the Brewers Association. In 2024, there were 9,922.
These breweries are facing a shift in consumer preferences. “The OG craft beer drinker is aging out,” Muse explains. “There’s no more, ‘Hey, let’s have a bunch of 8% beers.’ Now it’s like, ‘Hey, let’s take it easy because we have stuff to do tomorrow.’” At 4% ABV, Delco Lager is a case of what’s old is new again.
Breweries aren’t just competing against each other. Today, there are hard ciders and lemonades. During the COVID-19 pandemic, canned cocktails hit the shelves at a low ABV. Couple all that with legal marijuana and THC beverages.
Stiglitz says 2SP spares no expense in creating its products.
Enter Shady’s, a 2SP collaboration with Endo Café in Lancaster. The beverages contain Delta-9 THC, and flavors include Anytime Lemon-Lime, Spa Day Cucumber Mint and Cranberry Crush. A QR code on the can provides customers with information on the chemical makeup.
The team has also collaborated with Knob Creek Bourbon Whiskey and Elijah Craig to create proprietary spirits. A collaboration with a tequila company resulted in excess inventory.
When the añejo and rosa blanco arrived, Stiglitz called Muse, who was getting his son ready for school. “Did you spend $40,000 on tequila?” he asked Muse. The harried dad said no, and he’d call back.
Stiglitz replied: “Let me take the question mark off. I’m looking at the invoice.”
They didn’t realize how much tequila was in three casks. The brewery’s storage space came in handy.
Despite the math error, the product diversity demonstrates that 2SP is a beverage company, not just a brewery. Contreras agrees. While beer is 2SP’s priority, the company is responding to changing tastes, alternative options and consumer demands.
An Emphasis on Innovation
In the end, innovation is essential, Stiglitz says. “If you’re not first, you’re last.” The need for creativity extends to the packaging.
“There is a lot of pressure to have fun, inventive names,” says Contreras, whose sister, Mazie, is the brewery’s graphic artist.
When 2SP collaborated with the Audubon Center for Circadian IPA, the team requested permission to use John Audubon’s artwork. As it turns out, Audubon’s art is now in the public domain — no consent is required. (The public domain means the copyright to the art has expired.)
Contreras, whose mother volunteers with the non-profit Art Goes to School, got the idea for the Public Domain collection, which features art from local museums. Consider “The Postman” by Vincent Van Gogh, which is on Letters from Aston, an IPA. The original is at the Barnes Foundation’s Museum.
The After Hours Black & Tan includes Edouard Manet’s “Le Bon Bock,” which is on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Each beer names the artist, the painting’s name, and the local museum or nonprofit where the sipper can see it. The label also promotes Art Goes to School.
The series is clever, but it wouldn’t work without Barrar and the brewers, whom Stiglitz and Contreras call “all-stars.”
While 2SP and Two Stones Pub are separate entities, the synergy behooves them both.
“What’s unique about Two Stones?” Stiglitz says. “People love the food, but we also have our own beer. It’s different. You can go all over Delaware and get wings, a burger or an entrée. But you can’t just walk into a place where the staff can tell you what’s in the beer. We wanted to have something that we’re proud of.”
Most would agree they’ve succeeded.
