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04/08/2017 12:00 AMJustin Gargano credits a night of drinking and pie-in-the-sky conversation as the launching pad for one of the state's first licensed breweries.
"One night we'd had too much to drink and said 'Maybe we should open a brewery,'," Gargano says.
Gargano and Mike Fawcett, founders of Branford's Thimble Island Brewing Company, had some brewing experience – they'd spent years home-brewing their own craft beers and sharing their hobby together on weekends – but they didn't have any production experience. They found the equipment they needed, rented a space, and began brewing, starting with Thimble Island American Ale.
"There weren't a lot of breweries in the state at the time," says Gargano. Thimble Island was the fifth licensed brewery in Connecticut when it opened its doors in 2010.
"It was a learning curve," Gargano admits, "but one of the good things was there were other brewers in the state who helped us out. We worked with them, and we learned how to do more on a larger scale."
Thimble Island American Ale made its debut at KC's Pub in Guilford where a friend was working. As the beer became more popular, its distribution grew into five accounts by the end of the month.
"People started showing up asking for growlers and if we had a tasting room so we set up a bar on the weekends," said Gargano.
Gargano, who worked in IT when Thimble Island was born, left his job to work full-time for the brewery four years ago. Now, Thimble Island Brewing Company is housed on more than 30,000 square feet and is the largest self-distributing micro-brewery in Connecticut with more than 1,400 accounts.
Gargano stresses that a key to their success has been the "brotherhood" in the brewing world. He is now the president of the Connecticut Brewers' Guild, which has nearly 50 members and meets every month.
"Connecticut is still just getting into adolescence [with micro-breweries] so that community is still developing more," said Gargano. "This is definitely a different experience than the corporate world. Getting a tangible product that you can feel and touch and other people can enjoy is huge."
Since pouring its first glass of Thimble Island American Ale in 2010, Thimble Islands Brewing Company has served to help push open the door for many at-home brewers to open their own breweries and microbreweries. Today, the number of licensed breweries in the state has more than doubled.
A relative newcomer, Branford's DuVig Brewing Company got its start from humble home-brewing beginnings with the helpful nudge of a blizzard.
"We were trapped, and the ideas went wild," says Kim Vigliotti.
When the Vigliotti family moved into their Guilford neighborhood they quickly bonded with their across-the-street neighbors, the Dugas family, over a shared love of home-brewing. The families began sharing recipes and eventually began to brew beer together.
It was during 2013's blizzard that the couples found themselves snowed in. The Vigliotti home was without power so they spent a lot of time across the street with the Dugas enjoying home-brewed beers. The conversation gradually began to turn towards another mutual interest: the dream of opening a brewery.
"Dan and I had always talked about opening our own brewery and so had Darcy and Scott [Dugas] but neither was willing to take the risk of doing it on our own," Kim says.
After the blizzard, each of the four began working toward opening DuVig Brewing Company. Kim handles the public relations and marketing, Dan Vigliotto focuses on the financials and distribution; Darcy Dugas works on licensing and compliance; and Scott Dugas heads up the brewing.
The brewery opened in Branford in 2014 and the tasting room is open on the weekends. Vigliotti noted their focus is on session ales, which are generally lower in alcohol content and "more easy-drinking."
All of the owners still work full-time and each family has three young children. While working, raising a family, and running DuVig is a lot of work, the owners are happy with where they are.
"It's a great feeling to see what we've accomplished and made our dream a reality," said Kim Vigliotti. "We've learned a lot, and we're continuing to grow."
The newest kid on the block, 30-Mile Brewing Company in Old Saybrook, has been surprised by how fast their home brewing adventure turned into a popular brewery and tasting room.
"We didn't think it'd take off so quickly," says Luke Maynard, co-founder of 30-Mile Brewing Company.
Maynard met his brewing partner Dave Prather at a meeting of the Maniacal Association of Shoreline Homebrewers at Stomp 'n Crush in Clinton. The two began brewing together every weekend, and after two years began talking about opening their own brewery.
As it was 29.6 miles from Prather's house in Northford to Maynard's in Old Saybrook, 30-Mile Brewing Company was born. It took them a year in the Old Saybrook space to prepare for opening its doors on Memorial Day 2016.
"We dove in, put the money up, put in the time and effort, and now we're finally open so it's exciting to be able to share our beer," Maynard says.
The Founders' Club at 30-Mile already has more than 30 members. The brewery features six taps, five with regularly featured brews and a sixth for an experimental, which changes.
"People like to come in and try something different and we pride ourselves on having a really great variety," said Maynard. "Microbreweries like this can produce beer that's top shelf. It's also fun because they have a place to come where everyone knows their name."
While 30-Mile is growing in popularity, the tasting room is still only open on the weekends and both Prather and Maynard are still working full-time jobs. With the brewing process, both are often at the brewery every day, in addition to their day jobs.
"We are here every day doing day-to-day stuff, but I don't mind because I love brewing beer and I love sharing it with people," Maynard says. "Coming in and brewing one of my favorite beers is pretty great. I love every day that I'm here."
A Different Approach
While many local breweries started out as simple home brewing endeavors, Stony Creek Brewery in Branford, got its start from the other end of the process – delivery and sales.
Ed Crowley Jr. grew up watching his dad working in the beer distribution and sales industry and eventually joined him 15 years ago. It was only recently, however, that the father and son team decided to shift their focus, ultimately opening the doors to Stony Creek Brewery in March 2015.
"We thought there was a need for a brewery on the shoreline and found this beautiful piece of land, bought it, put a shovel in the ground, and 10 months later, we had a 30,000 square foot brewery," says Crowley. "We wanted to build more than just a brewery. It's a destination where people can come enjoy our beers on the beautiful Branford River."
With their background in sales and distribution, the Crowleys hired a team to support their beer-brewing quest, including brewmaster Andy Schwartz, a "very huge asset with 20 years of high-pedigree brewing," Crowley says. The team began brewing early in 2015, distributing first to package stores and restaurants. Their beers can now be found throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
The brewery, with 13 beers on tap, features 20,000 square feet dedicated to the brewing process and 10,000 square feet for guests in the taproom and upstairs celebration room. There is also ample space on the deck and by the water.
"We care so much about quality and consistency that we hired a microbiologist who tests every beer every day to make sure all of our products are consistent," said Crowley. "They taste the same every time we brew it."
Stony Creek Brewery is open six days a week and not only features its beers, but other entertainment as well, including cornhole and bocce. There is music on Sundays and food trucks on the weekends. Guests can also bring their own food.
"We can't thank the community enough for coming out to support us and have a good time in Stony Creek," said Crowley. "We wanted to make a fun atmosphere that's very casual and goes with the shoreline where people can hang out for the day and see friends and family they haven't seen for a while. It's great to see people come together over a beer."