Bog Iron Brewery Making a Splash in Norton

Frank White, Brian Shurtleff and Matt Menard said they always had a passion for brewing beer, and now they’re getting to fulfill their passion at Bog Iron Brewery in Norton.

They all have been brewing beer individually with small brewing kits for years.

“Anybody who’s ever been a homebrewer, they sit around and daydream about this,” Shurtleff said. “We took one small step and then another, and we just kept going from there.”

The trio agreed it has been hard, but in 2012 they opened the brewery.

“It was three times the budget and twice the time frame, but we finally opened,” Shurtleff said.

White said he first started home brewing with his cousin and a friend in 1982.

 “We figured we’d brew beer and sell it to our friends,” he said.

Shurtleff said he started because he was a “foodie,” and felt creating and selling beer was a natural progression.

“I got a kit close to 20 years ago and it came out pretty decent,” he said.

They said they all met at the South Shore Brew Club.

“That’s when we started talking about the brewery,” White said.

Shurtleff said beer brewing is essentially like brewing coffee.

“They’re basically the same process,” he said.

The trio makes four different beers, an India Pale Ale, a blonde ale, the Black Steam and the English Session Mild.

“The blonde is an easy drinking beer,” Shurtleff said. “The only difference is it’s 7.5 percent alcohol.”

The trio agreed their most popular beer at the moment is the English Session Mild, which is traditional English beer.

“The craft beer drinkers tend to like a lot of hops, or alcohol or some crazy off the wall ingredient,” Shurtleff said. “The English beer is a pretty basic standard ale. Not a ton of hops, alcohol or crazy ingredients.”

They sell two taps to Trinity and one at Kinsale in downtown Boston.

“It’s been amazing,” Shurtleff said. “Both Trinity and Kinsale have been amazing to work with and really supportive.”

Menard said after only being in business for three months, Trinity has put two of their craft beers on permanently, which is rare.

“For craft beers, they like to cycle the beers pretty quickly to get people to sample the new beer and get the crowd moving through,” he said. “It’s kind of unheard of.”

They said they will be going before the Norton Board of Selectmen soon to start selling the beers out of growlers and giving samples. For now, Trinity and Kinsale are the only places you can get a Bog Iron Beer.

For more information visit www.bogironbrewing.com.

Home Brewing Bill On The Table In Mississippi – WREG.com

(Mississippi) People in Mississippi are one step closer to being able to brew beer at home.

The House has sent a bill to Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant that would legalize home brewing, but there’s a limit.

People 21 and older would be allowed to brew up to 200 gallons of beer each year, as long as they live in a city or county where alcohol is legal.

The bill says home-brewed beer can’t be sold and can only be taken outside a home when the brewer is taking it to a tasting event or competition.

Good read: Newton scientist teaches beer brewing

“My interest is communicating something about microbiological sciences,” he said, sitting at his kitchen table between stages of lager making, the aroma of hops in the air. “So much of what we do in life these days is not hands on. It’s pretty much a black box, electronically speaking at least. I turn my iPhone on and I don’t know how it works really, but with beer making and hard cider making we can get our hands into it enough that we feel a connection with the process.”

For the last four years, Fogel has taught home-brewing classes at the city-owned Newton Community Farm, where he also tends a small orchard of dwarf apple trees and provides instruction on urban gardening.

The science of suds isn’t so different from his day job. Fogel and his wife, Margaret Findlay, own a lab in Watertown, Bioremediation Consulting Inc., where they breed anaerobic bacteria that eat noxious chemicals to keep them from polluting the environment. The yeasts in beer operate without oxygen just like his “bugs,” as he calls them.

“My role is . . . to explain the formation of sugars from the barley and then the ethanol from the sugars,” he said, preparing for his next round of beer-making classes. “And I sort of get a kick out of it.”

In this case, Fogel’s passion for microbiology happens to intersect with popular culture.

“There’s more people brewing than ever,” said Brian Powers, owner of Marlborough-based Strange Brew Beer Wine Making Supplies. “It’s like an experiment and you’re drinking the results.”

His customers are newbies as well as veteran brewers who are becoming more adventurous, trying out new ingredients such as acorns. Several factors have coincided to make this the “golden age of home brewing,” said Powers.

“People just like good beer,” he said. “I also think a few years back when the economy took a hit, a lot of people took up brewing at home because it’s cheaper. It’s a cost-effective way to drink quality beer. It’s the stay-cation idea.”

Stir into that the social aspect as well as the growing movement toward fresh and local in all things food related, and it’s no wonder making beer at home is a robust avocation, Powers said.

Gary Glass, director of the American Homebrewers Association, based in Boulder, Colo., said suppliers nationally saw revenue grow 24 percent in 2011 over the previous year, fueled by the growing popularity of the DIY mindset and the locavore movement.

“People are supporting their local breweries, but you’re not going to get any more local than brewing your own beer at home,” said Glass.

As Fogel starts a new batch of lager in his Newton kitchen, water heats in a giant pot on the stove. He pours barley through a funnel and into a mesh bag that will act like a tea bag. When the temperature is right, the barley bag goes into the pot and the kitchen smells alternately of pine cones, rye bread, and warm forest.

Once the barley bag has steeped, the brew is known as wort, which must be brought to a boil before malt extract, and then hops, are added. After the hops cook for almost an hour, the wort is cooled quickly in an ice bath before it goes into a fermenter, which is essentially a large pail. Yeast is stirred in and a lid and airlock are secured so the fermenting can begin.

After about two months of fermenting, and once the alcohol is at the right level, Fogel says, he will add sugar to provide natural carbonation, bottle his brew, and think about sharing it with friends and family.

“I think it’s good for him to use his scientific skills in a way that is more for fun than it is for business,” said Fogel’s son Michael.

The younger Fogel, an emergency room doctor, designed a label for his dad’s beer years ago. Squirrel Shot Ale, named after the urban gardener’s number one nemesis, is made with “two parts love, one part crazy, a dash of nut, and any of the backyard fruit that our furry little bandits didn’t steal,” according to the label.

Making beer fits nicely into an ethos that is tinged with “mad scientist” and infused with curiosity, said Michael Fogel, who fondly recalls being raised, along with his brother, by parents who both had research backgrounds (and doctorates).
Related

“We were the sort of kids that learned about how combustion works with our birthday candles,” he said. “It’s really a way of looking at the world. They use that same approach in everything they do, from gardening to their health.”

And the same unconventionality is on display in front of their home, where the front yard has been replaced with a vegetable garden that brings passing cars to a stop in the summer, Michael said.

Sam Fogel is optimistic that his experimental brew will yield a successful German-style, dark brown lager.

“It’s always more interesting than most bottled beers,” he said. “It’s always the sort of thing where you say, ‘Hmm, I did pretty good.’ ”

Lisa Kocian can be reached at lkocian@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @GlobeLisaKocian.end of story marker

The Big Brew Beer Festival is coming to Morristown – The Star-Ledger

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The Big Brew Beer Festival will take place at the Morristown Armory on February 16th.
The Big Brew Beer Festival

One thing about the winter season is the lack of beer festivals around the state. Luckily, The International Great Beer Expo will be making its way to Jersey for the third year on February 2nd, and two weeks later the Morristown Armory (430 Western Ave., Morristown, NJ) will play host to The Big Brew Beer Festival on February 16th, 4:30-8:30pm (VIP starts at 3:30pm)

In addition to some of the more well-known breweries like Lagunitas, Stone, Green Flash, Founders, Long Trail, Sixpoint, New Holland, Weyerbacher, Troegs, Yards, Left Hand, Oskar Bluues, Flying Dog, Dogfish Head, Bear Republic, Allagash, 21st Amendment, Ommegang, Magic Hat, Harpoon, Brooklyn, Guinness, Sierra Nevada, and Samuel Adams, some smaller and local breweries will be present, like Lake Placid, Fegley’s, Butternuts, Climax, Sly Fox, Evil Genius, Lancaster, McSorley’s, Summit, River Horse, Port, The Lost Abbey, Avery, Crispin, Captain Lawrence, Blue Point, Horny Goat, and Flying Flying Fish.

Tickets can be purchased online for $80 (VIP), $50 (General Admission) and $10 (Designated Driver). General Admission includes a 4 oz glass with unlimited samplings, and VIP tickets include an additional one hour early entry, one hour of hors d’oeuvres provided by Morris Tap and Grill, and a limited supply of special beers. Ticket prices at the door increase to $90, $60, and $15, respectively.

Readers of NJ.com can use the promo code “NJBEER” to receive $10 off a General Admission ticket, and the promo code “NJBEERVIP” to receive $15 off a VIP ticket.

In addition to a lot of great beer, The Nerds will providing some music and there will be a doubles beer pong tournament with a $500 cash prize. The Morris Area Society of Homebrewers (MASH) will also be on hand to answer questions about brewing and will provide a home brewing demonstration.

For more information, visit the Big Brew Beer Festival website. The event should make for a great day, so please enjoy responsibly (Designated Driver tickets are just $10) and have fun.

Chris Morris runs his own beer blog Black Dog Brewhouse where he discusses everything beer. His articles can also be found at www.NJ.com/beer. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisMorrisBeer or email him at Chris@BlackDogBrewhouse.com.

Beer brewing company on hold in Old Mandeville

For months, the impressive new building that will eventually house the Old Rail Brewing Company in the heart of Old Mandeville has remained locked up and void of activity – all dressed up but with no place to go. The two-story, 12,000-square-foot structure adjacent to the popular Tammany Trace recreation trail is fully landscaped and filled with tables, kitchen equipment and massive tanks that will one day brew beer to be consumed by patrons looking for a taste of the north shore city’s unique character.

All that’s missing are the federal and state licenses to produce and sell alcoholic beverages. Until they’re in hand, the only thing brewing for Old Rail operators and prospective customers is anxiety.

Vanessa Gomes, marketing manager for the brewing company, said the permit applications were completed long ago, but the process can take up to a year because of the popularity of brew pubs, which are sprouting up all over the country. She said industry insiders say thousands started up over the past year, clogging up the application system.

Old Rail Brewing Company Kim Chatelain, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune  

With the popularity of specialty craft beer rising quickly, owners are foaming at the mouth to get the Old Rail up and running. Gomes said the auspicious building on Girod Street adjacent to the Mandeville Trailhead has generated countless queries as to when the business will open. The answer remains elusive, but sometime this spring appears to be the best guess.

“It’s just the nature of the game, something that any start-up brewery has to go through,” Gomes said. “We’re very anxious to get going. We’ll all collectively exhale when we finally get the permits.”

Gomes said she and owner Nick Powers are doing everything they can to prepare for an opening this spring. Powers is also owner of the Barley Oak Old World Draught House on the Mandeville lakefront, about six blocks from the brewing company.

The Old Rail has hired a chef – Brett Monteleone, former executive chef at Brady’s Restaurant in Hammond – to design a menu for the new business and to redesign the food offerings at the Barley Oak. Once opened, the Old Rail will offer a substantial food menu and as many as seven beers brewed in the building. Beer brewed at the Old Rail will be for on-premises consumption only, Gomes said.

Interior of Old Rail Brewing Company Kim Chatelain, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune  

Gomes said the business hopes that within the next two months it will receive its federal brewing license, which is needed to acquire a state license. Once the federal license is granted, Old Rail can begin to produce test batches of beer while awaiting state permission to open the doors and begin selling it.

Americans’ beer consumption has remained relatively level over the past few years, according to the Brewers Association, but research has revealed a spike in sales of beer from local, independent brewers. Experts say the trend is part of an emerging American culture that supports a “buy local” approach to consumerism.

Craft brewers sold an estimated 11,468,152 barrels of beer in 2011, up from 10,133,571 in 2010. In 2011, 1,989 breweries operated for at least part of the year, the highest total since the 1880s.

Entry Open for Chicago’s Winter Brew Competition

Ready, set, brew!

Beer enthusiasts from all over Chicago are getting ready for Winter Brew, a competition that defines home brewing.

Brewers can enter their pride in 86 categories ranging from Blonde Ale to Belgian Dark. Each entry costs $10 and requires two 12-ounce capped bottles.

Square Kegs of Lincoln Square — a home brew club for North Siders that originated in the neighborhood — hosts the competition.

Organizers instate a 200-entry cap and have already received 27 submissions.

Entries started Dec. 14 and will run through Jan. 18 at 3 p.m. Beer can be shipped or dropped off at Ruff Haus Pets, 4652 North Rockwell Street.

Judging will be on Jan. 26 at 8:30 a.m. for an awards ceremony Feb. 9 at Dank Haus, 4740 North Western Ave. Tickets will go on sale in January and last year, the event sold out.

More information on entering beer can be found on the competition’s website.

Strange Brewing faces a trademark threat from a Massachusetts homebrew shop

Tim Myers has been pouring Strange Brew since 2010.Something strange is going on.

In September, as Denver’s Strange Brewing was gearing up for a small expansion as well as the Great American Beer Festival, owners John Fletcher and Tim Myers got a letter from a lawyer demanding that they change their name.

See also:
- De Steeg Brewing will open on North Tennyson Street after changing its name
- Strange Brewing opens biergarten, talks about expansion
- Lost Highway Brewing changes name; will raise a pint to Colfax Avenue this winter

“Your continued operation of a microbrewery establishment under the name ‘Strange Brewing Company’ is causing and is likely to continue to cause consumer confusion, deception, damage to my client’s good will, brand name and reputation, and constitutes a direct infringement of my client’s federal trademark rights,” the lawyer wrote. “We therefore demand that you immediately undertake steps to cease any further commercial use of the term ‘Strange Brewing Company’ in connection with your business establishment and that you adopt a term that is entirely dissimilar to this term in the continued operation of your business.”

The lawyer’s client: Strange Brew Beer Wine Making Supplies, a shop located across the country in Marlboro, Massachusetts.

Myers responded with a letter offering to team up with the homebrew shop by marketing its kits in the Colorado brewery and by licensing one of its recipes to the shop — something that would benefit both small businesses and avoid legal hassles.

But the shop’s owner, Brian Powers, turned him down. And on November 2, Powers’s lawyer officially rejected Myers’s offer, calling it “offensive,” and threatening to sue. (Find both letters from the lawyer, as well as Myers’s response, below.)

“This is a homebrew shop that sells Mr. Beer kits,” says Myers. “He trademarked Strange Brew for homebrew supplies and wine supplies and beer. But he has never sold a commercial batch of beer since he opened in 1997. So now I have to consult a trademark lawyer and argue that while he may have maintained his trademark on the homebrew side of it, he hasn’t brewed, at least legally, any commercial batch.”

Strange Brewing opened in 2010 after Fletcher and Myers were both laid off from their jobs. It pioneered a new wave of more than fifteen small breweries that have opened in town since then. Strange itself recently added brewing capacity and a back patio, and plans to expand into a space next door early next year.

Continue on to read both letters.

Location Info

Venue

Map

Strange Brewing Company

1330 Zuni St., Denver, CO

Category: General

Home-brewed dudes share love of making beer

Vivian Johnson

Jerrad Isch steeps aged barley to make a batch of honey pale ale during a gathering of the 29th Street Brewers Guild. The informal guild formed after five neighbors at 29th and Daniels Street learned they shared an interest in brewing.

Vivian Johnson

Jerrad Isch adds hops, harvested from his backyard, to a batch of beer during a beer brewing and tasting of the 29th Street Brewers Guild.

Vivian Johnson

Jerrad Isch samples some beer with his neighbors as they wait for two batches of beer to brew on propane grills in neighbor Gary Kokstis’ backyard.

It takes a village to raise a child, according to an African proverb.

Carter Park resident Jerrad Isch’s philosophy is that it takes a neighborhood to brew a batch of beer.

Isch’s beer-brewing equipment was gathering dust in the basement for about a decade. The discovery in spring 2011 that nearly all of his neighbors were brewers, however, revived his enthusiasm for the craft.

“I thought, why not brew together?” Isch said.

Isch resumed his brewing hobby and invited his brewing neighbors — Dylan McGee, Dutch Brooks and Craig Fitzherbert — to join him in the craft at a gathering at his house.

“I am kind of an instigator,” Isch said. “Dylan had been brewing beer (for eight years) on his own; I tend not to do it without 10 other people around.”

The gathering marked the first meeting of the 29th Street Brewers Guild, an informal gathering of Carter Park neighbors who brew beer together and swap tips, praise and critiques.

Isch knew for some time that McGee and neighbor Brooks sometimes brewed beer together the old-fashioned way, a method known as all-grain brewing, which doesn’t use extracts and takes nearly all day. But it wasn’t until spring 2011 that Isch found out another neighbor on the four corners at West 29th and Daniels streets was a brewer.

Isch was outside on 29th and noticed that the tailgate was left ajar on Fitzherbert’s parked SUV. Isch shut it, then called Fitzherbert to let him know. During the conversation, Fitzherbert revealed he also was a brewer.

Isch started to count. There were at least four brewers who lived in houses around the intersection.

“Jerrad decided to have a gathering,” Fitzherbert said. “We were kind of doing our own thing, bringing beer to each other. Then, we decided, ‘Let’s get together and brew together.’ It’s good community-building; it brings the neighborhood together.”

Since then, Isch’s brewing equipment is back in working condition. He’s planted hops in his backyard. He even won a third-place award in a brewing contest held by the Timbers Army, a fan club of the Portland soccer team.

Isch said the social aspect of the 29th Street Brewers Guild fueled his enthusiasm for brewing, Without it, that brewing equipment might still be in the basement.

“I love gathering people, connecting neighbors together,” Isch said.

That enthusiasm was contagious. A fifth neighbor at the four corners — Gary Kokstis — recently retired from a career at Nike and decided to take up brewing. He took a brewing class in August at Vancouver’s Bader Beer Wine Supply.

He said he’s also learned a lot from his neighbors. Many of the gatherings are spontaneous, and other neighbors who join in to taste the beer also get to know each other better, said neighbor Angie Russell.

“One of us will have a brew idea, and one of us will call and see if we want to get together,” McGee said.

At a guild gathering Sept. 17 in Kokstis’ backyard garden, Fitzherbert brought an idea for an Earl Grey IPA. Meanwhile, Isch decided to craft a traditional American pale ale with an infusion of peach blossom honey. Both Fitzherbert and Isch prefer extract brewing, which is quicker than all-grain. But they opt to bottle their beer, while McGee and Brooks store their beer in kegs.

“I’ve been impressed with Craig’s tea infusions,” Isch said.

Fitzherbert also has made a pale ale infused with Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice tea and a black IPA with Tahitian vanilla.

“It’s like cooking,” Fitzherbert said. “You just find something. If you want to try it, you try it. It’s usually drinkable.”

The brewers whipped up their concoctions on two propane grills in Kokstis’s backyard garden.

“We’re missing an important part; we’re not drinking beer,” Kokstit said, heading for some coolers.

He presented a bottle of one of Fitzherbert’s brews to the brewers and some of their friends and spouses. Fitzherbert called the beer Silenus after the Greek god of drunkenness; alcohol content: a wee bit. That’s a running joke among the guild.

“You can come up with something you like, which isn’t always the case with things you buy,” Kokstis said.

Once Kokstis brews his first batch of beer, the four corners will be a perfect square of beer brewers.

“He better make a lot; he owes you a lot of beer,” quipped Kokstis’ wife, Katlin Smith.

Paris Achen: 360-735-4551; http://twitter.com/Col_Trends; http://facebook.com/ColTrends; and paris.achen@columbian.com.

Home Brew Barn debuts

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HAMPTON — Kirby Marchi’s passion for wine making began when he was a student at the University of New Hampshire. Then he developed a passion for brewing beer, too, turning it into a hobby as well as a social medium.

His career path, however, was environmental engineering. Now, 35 years later and retired, his sons, Nicholas and Jason, have inspired him to return to his dreams.

AT A GLANCE

The Home Brew Barn

Address: 861 Lafayette Road, Hampton

Phone: 603-601-2548

Web: www.TheHomeBrewBarn.com

Today, Kirby Marchi is sharing his passion and his talent with his sons at their new business, The Home Brew Barn, located at 861 Lafayette Road in Hampton.

The store will hold its grand opening on Saturday, Aug. 4. A beer brewing demonstration will be held at 2 p.m., followed by a wine-making demonstration at 4 p.m.

Marchi is eager to bring the craft to the town where he and his family have lived for 25 years.

“I just want to see people make wine and brew beer,” Marchi said. “I’m lucky to be able to do that in Hampton.”

Ingredients and equipment for the new or not-so-new crafters will be sold. The products include brew pots, bottles, grapes, presses and stainless steel tanks. Students of wine making and beer brewing may be interested to know their own gardens may become a source of ingredients.

“There are so many things to add to improve flavor,” Marchi said.

Even the assortment of hops and vines can be found locally, and roots are popular in the spring, Marchi said.

A two-hour class for brewing beer or a class for making wine will be offered at the introductory price of $25. Marchi said a “summer blend” class will offer a combined two-hour class for both processes. He said he hopes Saturday’s grand opening will be a social event for groups of friends who wish to join together for the classes and the fun of home brewing.

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The Beer’d Brewing Company aims to be your local brewery

Q: Why are you opening the Beer’d Brewing Company?

A: My drive to open The Beer’d Brewing Company has always been the result of my inability to settle for the expected. Everyone in life expects you to take a certain path, and while you may deviate slightly from said path, it is never too far. The Beer’d Brewing Company is my way of drawing outside the lines. When you look at the “beer map” of CT, there is a giant void in the Eastern section. Really when it comes down to it, Willi Brew and Cottrell are the only ones here. I want to create a company that is a throwback to the time when people purchased their daily beer from a small brewer down the street in South Eastern Connecticut.

Q: What will set you apart from your peers, what will you bring to the state’s craft beer community?

A: Because my facility will be so small, it will make it very easy to produce a wide variety of ales. Where larger brewers in the state may produce flagships and seasonals only, I plan to constantly rotate what is available from The Beer’d Brewing Company. I feel that craft beer drinkers are serial samplers and I plan to provide them with the variety they crave.

Q: What experience and background do you have in brewing?

A: I began my craft beer experience in college when I took a class called “Beers of the World”. The class was designed to expose students to the entire range of beers from around the world. There was a home brewing demonstration at the end of the course and that’s where I first learned that it was feasible to brew beer at home. After school in Rochester, NY, I moved back to CT for a full time job, and it was decided that I needed a time consuming hobby. That’s where home brewing came into my life. I very quickly became enthralled in the hobby. I moved from brewing with extract to using grain very quickly. I was at the point where I was formulating all my own recipes and brewing as often as possible. It wasn’t enough for me so I approached Cottrell in Pawcatuck, CT. After taking an impromptu tour with Charles Surney, the head brewer, I asked if I could come and watch him brew. He said I couldn’t come watch, but instead I could come help.

The rest is history. I scheduled as much time as I could away from my day job and volunteered that time at the brewery. As of recent I have not been able to spend much time there due to the planning process that comes with opening my own facility. They were extremely welcoming to me, and I cannot thank them enough.

Q: What will you brew? Set recipes? Seasonals?

A: The first beer that is set on the regular rotation is our Belgian Wit. It’s very dry, in the 5%abv range, 4.1 SRM, and very refreshing. The yeast runs the show as far as flavor profile, and there are also hints of curaçao orange peel involved. Other recipes up our sleeve for immediate release include an Oatmeal Stout, Saison and an IPA. Like I previously said, our small size lends itself to experimentation so if there is one takeaway from this; it’s to expect variety from The Beer’d Brewing Company.

Q: Who are you brewing influences?

A: This is a great question because I have two very solid influences! Rogue is my number one influence. Everything from their marketing to their involvement in the farm to brew kettle movement fascinates me. They consistently put out world class beers, while being very creative. I really love their clean flavor profiles and John Maier is a rock star of the craft brewing world!

The second most influential brewery for me is Allagash. They have done fantastic things as far as main-streaming the Belgian style of beer in America. Also, the last time I visited their facility, I saw their barrel aging room and was very impressed with not only it, but also the fact that they have a functioning coolship out back for spontaneous fermentation. Again I think experimentation is paramount in the craft beer world, and while some breweries have been satisfied to produce a few beers, these two are constantly releasing epic beers.

Q: Where will your brewery be and why did you choose that location?

A: The Beer’d Brewing Company currently calls The American Velvet Mill in Stonington home. The 2100 square foot space located at 22 Bayview Ave was picked not only due to zoning and utilities, but also due to its rich history. The American Velvet Mill was exactly as it sounds, a mill that produced velvet. Its connection with the town was very important as it employed a large amount of locals. Over time it has changed hands and served different purposes.
Establishing The Beer’d Brewing Company there is a way to revisit its rich manufacturing history, and hopefully rekindle its strong community ties.

Q: Will you be open for tours and tastings? When?

A: We do have plans to open our tasting room for tours and samples weekly. When we open, Friday evenings, Saturday and Sunday afternoons are slated for tours, tastings and growler hours. We want to see consumers as much as possible, face to face, and this will be one way to do so on a regular basis. One of the biggest outlets for experimental and new beers will be via growler hours, so we encourage anyone interested to visit on a regular basis once we open.

Q: Will your beer be available in package stores and bars?

A: Initially the main retail channel for our beers will be via the tasting room growler fills, and bars/restaurants. Anyone looking to keep up with what’s available and where, is encouraged to check our Facebook, website, and Twitter on a regular basis. Eventually we also plan to bottle condition seasonals in larger format bottles, but that is a little way off for us.

Q: What are your overall impressions on the current state of craft beer in Connecticut and what is your vision for its future? How will your brewery help get the community there?

A: I feel that the craft beer industry has come a very long way in the last few years. Support is now blatantly apparent among consumers and they seem to be thirsty for more. It doesn’t just seem to be support for craft in general though, I also think it’s amazing how much support has cropped up for domestic craft breweries in CT. I plan to join the scene, and help to fill the void that is Eastern CT. Cottrell and Willi Brew have done a fantastic job and I will be honored to serve Eastern CT with them. Also, I can’t wait to become an active member of the new CT Craft Brewers Guild. I feel that it is very important to organize as a guild to work together on things like equality with CT wine producers, event promotion and beer tourism in general.

Q: Will you embrace the CT Brewery Trail concept and make the Beer’d Brewing Co. a destination for tourists and beer travelers?

A: The CT Brewery Trail is the best thing since malted barley to happen for CT based brewers. I haven’t even opened yet and I fully embrace the concept. It is important for all domestic brewers to work as one when it comes to promoting beer tourism. I would love to see our CT based craft beer community reach a status similar to VT or Oregon. I think we are listed at 33 in the US for breweries per capita, and I don’t see that as anything but room to grow for the breweries in this state.