New brewery in Milford

[KBCraig]

Woohooo! 

http://unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Brewery+to+open+in+Milford&articleId=a54f0f3f-85bd-457b-ad68-8d91f2074fd2

Brewery to open in Milford

By SARAH SHEMKUS
Sunday News Correspondent
Saturday, Mar. 4, 2006

Milford ? Phil Jewett loves the smell of brewing beer. The aroma, he said, is comparable to that found in a bakery ? the rich scent of grains suffusing the air.

It is, then, appropriate that Jewett has ended his 15-year career in the computer industry to plunge into the beer business.

?It?s become a passion now,? said Jewett. ?I don?t even think of it as work.?

With help from head brewer and industry veteran Mike Labbe, Jewett is in the process of converting a 10,000-square foot space in Milford from a largely empty commercial space into the Pennichuck Brewing Company.

The pair expect to begin brewing their first batch in mid-April and anticipate the first bottles of beer rolling out the door by the middle of May.

Jewett was ?conned? into the enterprise by those closest to him, he said. He had been brewing his own beer at home for a couple of years, and his family and friends kept encouraging him to turn his hobby into a business.

Though at first he dismissed the idea, he gradually began considering it more seriously. A trip to the Brewers Association conference sealed the deal.

?As soon as I got to the conference, there was no doubt in my mind that that was what I wanted to do,? said Jewett, noting that the beer industry is far more friendly and less cutthroat than the computer world.

However, while Jewett had business experience ? he closed his company Scan Warehouse, Inc. to pursue this opportunity ? and personal assets to fund the start-up, he lacked industry knowledge.

Recognizing that being a competent home brewer does not necessarily translate into business success, Jewett began looking for a brewer with commercial experience to join the venture. Labbe, who had been working for the Concord Brewery in Lowell, answered the ad.

Together, Jewett and Labbe have been formulating plans for Pennichuck?s first two beers. Engine No. 5, explained Labbe, is ?a British-inspired red ale? with ?some nice caramel sweetness,? and the yet-unnamed Vienna-style lager will be ?drier and more thirst-quenching.?

Engine No. 5 is part of a planned Firehouse Ale series. A portion of the profits from beers in this line will be donated to emergency services providers throughout New Hampshire.

Initially, Pennichuck Brewing Company will distribute its products in both retail stores and restaurants throughout southern New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and possibly other parts of New England.

?We have certainly been out there pounding the pavement locally,? said Labbe. ?So far we?ve gotten a lot of enthusiasm.?

Significant construction still needs to be done on the space before brewing can begin, but a row of gleaming steel tanks lines one wall and coarse white bags of barley are piled to one side of the room hinting at the beer to come.

Jewett and Labbe resist comparing their anticipated brews to beers that are already on the market.

?Our product will be our own,? said Jewett. ?We will make our beer and hope people enjoy it for what it is.?

[Pat K]

OH Yeah, Liberty and Beer.