CHESHIRE — Residents have an unquenchable thirst for craft beer and that hasn’t been lost on a number of entrepreneurs.
As a result, the town may get three small local brewers, with at least two of them aiming to be in place by the end of the year.
Cheshire Craft Brewing is expected to open at 125 Commerce Court, Unit 7, in a few weeks, starting with a few events in that will be open to followers of the business’ website and social media accounts, its trio of founders said Thursday.
Frank Barretta of Southington and Scott DeMeo of Cheshire had been brewing their own beer at home for more than a decade. Barretta is an associate principal at Amity Regional High School in Woodbridge, where DeMeo works as a math teacher.
For a time, the two men produced beer under the moniker Ragged Mountain Brewing in honor of a mountain ridge that overlooks Southington. Their beers were good enough to win a number of craft brewing competitions across the state, according to Barretta.
Looking to expand, they sought out a real estate agent to show them possible locations in Southington. That is where Jami Ferguson entered the picture, as the agent showing the pair potential properties.
Ultimately, the two men didn’t find what they were looking for and Ragged Mountain Brewing is no longer in existence. But they kept in touch with Ferguson, who decided that a craft brewery was just what the town needed.
“I’m on the town’s Economic Development Commission and we had a study done that found that one of the things Cheshire lacked was place to hang out with friends,” Ferguson said. “If people wanted to do that, they had to leave town and go to Southington or Hamden.”
The partners originally had hoped to open Cheshire Craft Brewing late last year. But public health restrictions imposed by the state to prevent the spread of COVID-19 slowed the process.
Jerry Sitko, the town’s economic development coordinator, said the partners “have really made some strong progress” toward getting their brewing facility and taproom ready to open.
“I think what is happening is these people and the others recognized that there was a market that wasn’t being served here,” Sitko said.
The other two craft brewers that are hoping to call Cheshire home are Counter Weight Brewing, which is relocating from Hamden to Cheshire; and Malpractice Brewing Co., which is being founded by a pair of health care professionals.
Owner Matt Westfall wasn’t available for comment on the timeline for developing Counter Weight’s new home. It’s currently located at 23 Raccio Park Road in Hamden and will close once a new facility is built in Cheshire,
Counter Weight is planning on developing a 20,000-square-foot brewing facility and taproom on South Diana Court near the Route 10/Interstate 691 interchange, according to Sitko.
Meanwhile, Kyle Bonura, a physician assistant from Cheshire, is leading the effort to open Malpractice Brewing.
Bonura and his partner Juan Montoya, who was a Yale New Haven Hospital cardiologist before relocating to New York state, are negotiating to open their 2,000-square-foot brewery and tap room in the former Bovano property, where a company of the same name used to sell enameled wall art. If Bonura can work out a lease with the owner of the property, he hopes to open the brewery by Thanksgiving.
Bonura and the three Cheshire craft brewing partners don’t view the idea of multiple brewers in town as a bad thing.
“When people try out craft breweries, they like to go to a couple places in a day,” Ferguson said. “Having the other two craft brewers in town creates a little triangle that keeps people in town for the day.”
Bonura said he has been doing home-scale brewing for about 10 years, after his grandfather got him interested in the hobby. Bonura then was befriended by the head brewer at Bar in New Haven, who helped him hone his beer-making skills.
“That’s one of the awesome things about the craft community, the willingness to help others out,” he said.
“I don’t see having three craft brewers in town as something that creates a conflict,” Bonura said. “We have a nice beer trail emerging here, and a little competition breeds improvement.”
luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
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