E-Malt.com News article: USA, FL: Mathieson Brewing gearing up to take former Doc’s Hop Shop facility in Pensacola

While downtown Pensacola brewery Doc’s Hop Shop closed its doors in September at 500 E. Heinberg St., a new family-owned and operated brewery is already gearing up to take its place, the Pensacola News Journal reported on November 16.

The Mathieson family is working to transform the space into a warm-toned, family-friendly atmosphere filled with an interactive Dartsee dart room, social games, rotating food trucks and the star of the show, the custom house-made brews.

The brewery will be owned and operated by Ray Mathieson and his wife, Ashley Mathieson, their son, Chandler Mathieson, who will serve as their brewer, and Sarah Fehre, who will handle their marketing.

Since they signed on the dotted line for the brewery in October, they have been hard at work reimaging the space. While they hope to serve some guest brews by Thanksgiving, they don't expect their renovation to be complete until next spring.

“When you come in this the tap room, this will be where you can come in and watch a game on TV, or whatever we got going on that room," Ray explained as he showed off the brewery. "In there will be more of a speakeasy feel, leather couches, warm, and we're going to put some dart machines in there. … It's not like anything that's around here. It's automated TV screens. So it's really cool, modernized version. So that'll be in that room where you can rent it by the hour or book the room in general.”

They will also be bringing in more activities into the brewery, such as shuffleboard, pinball, cornhole, as well as offering scheduled live entertainment and trivia nights to ensure there is always plenty to do during your visit. They also plan to offer scooter, beach cruiser and e-bike rentals in partnership with their other business, Perdido Key Bike Rentals, to help aid with adventures around Pensacola, such as possibly taking the bikes for a ride over the General Daniel “Chappie” James, Jr. Bridge and ending on a cold beer.

“We don't want to be like a bar where just a bunch of guys hang out. That's not our plan,” Ray said. “Our plan is to make it to where families want to come here, and it's family-friendly.”

Chandler, who has been perfecting the art and science of brewing over the past several years, will craft six or seven special house brews for Mathieson Brewing.

“Most of them are going to be new. There is some old recipes, I'll take a look at them. But for the most part, I want to make my own stuff,” Chandler said. “I want to do, probably a milk stout, probably a Japanese rice lager. It's one of my favorites. The list is still coming. … It'll be about three or four cores that are just regular (flavors.) But I do enjoy experimenting, and I think customers will like experimenting with different ones as well.”

They will also offer beer flights, allowing customers to sample smaller sizes of four different beers.

“I'm very proud of him. I don't mean to cry, I'm very proud of him,” Angela said. “I think as a family, we've all been very supportive. ... I see big parts of his dad in him, big parts his grandma … Chandler's always been a hard worker, always, and you don't always get that at this age, but he's driven. I think that with the support of us and with that drive that he's gonna do big things. We're gonna do them together.”

The brewery is a wide-open space filled with potential, which they envision filled with music and entertainment, paint nights, yoga pop-ups, rotating food trucks, cornhole and more.

While they expect the beer to be top of the line, they also want to create an atmosphere that keeps customers coming back.

“We really want this to be family-friendly. So we want it to be inviting. We want people to be able to bring their families here,” Angela said.

They’re actively looking for ways to let their community be in on the creation of the shop, recruiting Graffiti Bridge artists to design their murals. Customers’ personalized steins will be tucked inside their wooden shelves for them to enjoy while at the brewery for discounts and special batch beers.

“We kind of opened it up (to local artists) and said….’Would you like to put your mark in here?' So that's something that, again, we're looking at doing, maybe have a good selfie station,” Angela said.

They also plan on engaging the downtown community around them through service projects.

“Being involved in our community as well, I think that that's kind of a big thing for us,” Angela said. “I know we're very involved with a lot of things that we do (in Perdido Key), and we want to continue to bring that out here. We are looking to maybe do a service where we cook and invite people in. There's a lot of people that walk up and down these roads every day that might need a meal … we're going to take care of each other.”

Bars and restaurants have been in the family’s background for a while, which inspired Chandler to first open his food truck, and then advocate to reimagine the brewery. Ever since, his family jumped on board, cleaning and painting in addition to their full-time day jobs.

While this will be the family’s first brewery, the hospitality industry is “in their blood.”

“It started with me growing up in the bar business,” Ray said. “My mom owned a bar, my dad was the mayor of our town. I remember growing up, just going to the bar and hanging out. She had a Nashville singers come up there …I grew up in Michigan, Port Huron, and just kind of started there, and then I got into it, took over the bar in Port Huron, I had nightclubs in Georgia, and then I spent most of my career, though, as an executive with a casual dining company.”

Chandler, who also owns Sig’s Breakfast & Burgers food truck in Perdido Key, is following his family’s path.

“I've really always just wanted something of my own, a bar or something, just because my family's always been in it and kind of followed those footsteps,” Chandler said.

While they don’t plan to be fully ready until around the spring, they plan to open around Thanksgiving for some guest brews while they continue with construction, but they’re excited to see customers get in their doors.

“To have the community come and let us know what they think of the place and give us suggestions, I think, yeah, it's gonna be so special,” Fehre said.



18 November, 2025