Last September, popular Dallas radio hosts Ben Rogers and Jeff “Skin” Wade announced plans to open a brewery in the nearby suburb Celina. More than six months later, Rollertown Beerworks is set to open, but under very different circumstances than anyone could have predicted.
After more than a decade as a full-time sports radio duo in Dallas, Ben & Skin landed at rock station 97.1 The Eagle earlier this year. But their interests go beyond sports, as depicted by their move to rock radio and their new business venture.
This weekend won’t see a crowd of people squeezing into the radio hosts’ brewery, hoping to taste the new beer. Even with the need for social distancing to slow the spread of COVID-19, Rollertown Beerworks started accepting pre-orders on Monday and will officially be open for pickup Friday, April 17. Ben and Skin quickly combated the inability to open their doors to the general public by canning beer, something they didn’t originally plan to do.
“We weren’t going to even can beer,” Skin told Tim Cato of The Athletic. “That’s how we were going to roll out (with taproom purchases only), but that’s just not possible to do right now. We didn’t (have) a canning line, per se, so we’re doing each can individually. It’s a process, baby – not trying to go all Jason Garret on you. But that’s where we’re at right now, and we’re excited.”
Pickup is available throughout the day Friday, but Ben and Skin told The Athletic they’re requesting everyone to hold off on trying the beer until 7pm. At that time, the radio hosts and brewery owners will post a Zoom link for a virtual toast and taste with all of their first customers.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
