For our Explore issue, we’re raising a glass to the local spots that give us something new to discover close to home.
It began as a joke. When a family friend nearing retirement mentioned he wanted to start a brewery, Jeff Donlon quipped, “Well, if you start one, I’ll help you run it.”
But as he started looking into the prospect of opening a brewery, he started taking it more seriously.
Donlon, who grew up in Hampton and attended Voorhees High School, brewed his first batch of homebrew in 1997. His knowledge of beers grew when his career took him to Europe for four years. “It allowed me to appreciate what was out there,” he says. He resumed brewing in 2009 and his passion continued to grow.
Although he had a successful career—he earned an industrial engineering degree from Virginia Tech—Donlon did not find the work fulfilling. He started writing a business plan and enlisted the expertise of two friends: “Matt Harrison is a professional brewer, and Fred Mattrey is a chemist. He helped make sure we were making good beer,” Donlon says. Together, they became the founding partners of Sunken Silo Brew Works.
When scouting locations, Donlon discovered the vacant space next to Metropolitan Seafood on Rte. 22 West in Lebanon and approached owner Mark Drabich with his business plan. “He wanted something to compliment his business and had rejected other ideas, but saw possibilities with the brewery,” Donlon says.
When it came to naming the business, Donlon says they “wanted a name that actually meant something.” They decided on “Sunken Silo” as an homage to Round Valley Reservoir, about four miles away. In 1960, to bolster the water supply, the New Jersey Water Authority purchased dozens of properties in Clinton—including farms that had been operating for generations—constructed two dams and flooded the valley. “The story is they left four or five farms down there.”
Since its opening in 2019, Sunken Silo Brew Works has become a community hub, hosting live music and trivia nights. And this past New Years’ Day, it hosted the after-party for the first annual Lebanon Borough New Year’s 5K Run and Walk.
“With 16 taps, we keep the menu broad and tick a lot of boxes to please as many people as possible. For example, if you’re a Bud drinker, we have an answer for you,” he says. “That said, the ethos of the industry is to try new things, so we have IPAs, seasonal brews and a couple of experimental brews.” Sunken Silo also offers gluten-free brews. “These are in cans. We do not put them on tap to keep it completely separate.”
Beyond the beer itself, part of the brewery’s appeal is the atmosphere it creates. Families, longtime locals and visitors from surrounding towns regularly gather there not just for drinks, but for connection. The relaxed environment, rotating events and welcoming staff have helped make the brewery feel less like a business and more like a neighborhood gathering place where people can slow down and spend time together.
One of the things that Donlon loves about returning to the area is reconnecting with people and places he loved as a child. “My wife and I settled in this area because we liked how we grew up,” he says. “It’s funny: You come back, and it’s different, but the same. You see names that you recognize when you were young and now our kids are all growing up together. Suddenly, we are the adults in the room, running businesses, coaching our kids and running community events.”
We can raise a toast to that.
For more info visit Sunken Silo Brew Works.
A Toast to Local History
The name “Sunken Silo” pays tribute to the history beneath nearby Round Valley Reservoir. In the 1960s, farms and homes in the valley were flooded to create the reservoir, and local legend says remnants of several farms still remain underwater today. That connection to local history reflects the brewery’s larger mission: creating a gathering place rooted in community, storytelling and shared experiences. Today, Sunken Silo Brew Works continues that tradition by bringing people together over craft beer, live music, trivia nights and community events in the heart of Hunterdon County.