Harford County friends plan to reinvigorate Aberdeen with downtown brewery [Video]

ABERDEEN, Md. — Hops, yeast, grain and time. It doesn’t take many ingredients to make beer.

As a group of Harford County friends will tell you, it takes much more to make a lasting community. That’s what George Handlin, Joe Fino and Frank Young want to bring to Aberdeen with Watchtower Brewing Co.

“The idea behind it is, with the lighthouse,” explained Handlin, the operation’s head brewer, “guiding people to good beer and good community.”

Handlin and Fino, both home brewers themselves, met at a networking event at the Bel Air Chamber of Commerce a little less than ten years ago.

The group signed the lease for a Howard Street property in September, and have been building on what was once a dry cleaner, essentially, from the ground-up. The group is renting the property from the city, and have high hopes for its eventual opening.

“The community’s been wanting something …