The Owners
Colin Knirk — Co-Owner, Head Brewer
I started brewing in the winter of 2011 when my best friend from college Andy moved into the apartment next door. He had been brewing for a year or so and invited me to join him for a brew. He was partial-mash brewing; a technique using about half the grains needed for sugars that is steeped for flavor and some sugar, the rest of the sugar for alcohol conversion comes from malt extract. 5 hours later we were cooling down the wort to be fermented! I brewed several more times with Andy over those next few months, I was hooked! When summer came he went to Alaska and he sold me his setup as he had no place to store it.
After one more brew on my own I stepped up to brewing all-grain beer (beer produced from malted grains). Soon I outgrew brewing in my small apartment kitchen and started brewing on propane burners outside. My first brew larger than 5 gallons was for my wedding in 2013, a 10-gallon batch of Blood Orange Hefeweizen. As I continued to homebrew, I started brewing more frequently and making larger batches for parties and get-togethers; many of these gatherings had upwards of 16 different taps (I had some help from my friends). In 2016 I set up a permanent 1 barrel (31 gallons) brewhouse in my garage! Here I have continued to innovate and create brews I like to drink and share with others. This is now our pilot system.
I did not start my professional career in the beverage industry. With a degree in environmental conservation I started my career as a Zoo Keeper/ Aquarist. After a few years in this career I decided that living and working around big cities (where the good zoos and aquariums are) was not the lifestyle I wanted for myself. I knew at this time I would have to change my career. I had been homebrewing for quite some time now and really love making beer so there it was my calling to be a brewer!
I started my career path as a brewer at a small homebrew shop (Strange Brew), after a brief few months I took up a position with Iron Heart Canning learning about production in breweries across New England. Fast Forward a couple years and I started professional brewing with Throwback Brewery in North Hampton NH, a small brewery where I learned brewing, cellaring, barrel aging beers, quality control and much more. I had the opportunity to make some recipes and play around with barrel and blending beers. More recently I worked at NOBL beverages where I have learned a great deal about the production non alcoholic craft beverages ranging from coffees and teas to sodas and alternative beverages.
With a wide range of experiences and a passion to innovate and create beverages stemming from my love of food and beverages from all over the world, I look forward to sharing all of our creations with you!
Chris Loring — CEO, Co-Owner, Taproom Manager
I brewed my first beer from a kit I got for Christmas in 2013. I had all the gusto with little knowhow. Needless to say, my first “beer” turned out to be less than I desired. I brought my end product to show to my now brother-in-law, Colin, who had been brewing for a few years. He promised to show me a few things he picked up.
Fast forward to July of 2014. Due to college and distance, Colin wasn’t able to fulfill that promise until 6 months later, where he brought his whole brewhouse to my house. I invited a few friends over and we started brewing my first all grain batch: a double IPA. It was probably the hottest day of the year, with temperatures well over 90 degrees. Everything that could possibly go wrong, did, from overflowing pots, opened valves, and trouble cooling the wort. After 10 hours of brewing and cleaning, I stood up, soaked to the bone and tired as hell. But I loved it. Every minute of it.
Over the years, I helped Colin with his beers, learning how to brew from scratch. As he upgraded his brewhouse, I picked up parts of his old equipment and started brewing on my own. I love the creative freedom that comes with designing recipes. After I started brewing, I started looking at the produce section of my grocery store a little differently. What would happen if I throw a ton of cherries into this next recipe? What about plums? Broccoli? (no, not really)
Eventually, we both started kegging our product, allowing us to bring beer to parties and get-togethers. Lemme tell you — there’s no better feeling than being able to show up to a party and sparking life into it! We got tons of feedback from our family members. I know my family, in particular, can be pretty critical when asked for their honesty! All feedback was carefully considered, and it allowed us to shape our final products that we share for you today.
The idea of starting our own brewery came from Uncle Bob, our wives’ uncle. He tried a few of our beers one Christmas night and said to us: “When you guys are ready to start your business, let me know.” It was an innocuous request, one that we hadn’t given any real consideration to for years. But, as time has it, Colin found himself in the brewing industry, and I was getting really burnt out of the IT industry. Amanda, my wife, gave me the push I needed to start my journey into the industry.
My first job was at Harpoon. It was a fantastic place to learn the ins and outs of taproom management. These guys have been around since ‘86, so they have it down to a science. This is when Colin and I started doing our research and writing a business plan. We presented Uncle Bob with our plan, who was excited to get us started with our journey!
After working at Harpoon for almost two years, I got a job at a more local place in Marlborough called Strangebrew. It helped that Colin once worked there, so I was a bit chummy already with the owner, Brian. Strangebrew was one of the unfortunate breweries that closed during the COVID lockdowns, and I soon found myself unemployed after about a year. Colin and I were actively looking for a space to brew, and we decided to take a step back and watch the market, learning from the success and failures of the local breweries. We used this information to completely rewrite our business plan. A year and a half later, I picked up a job at Carlson Orchards in Harvard, Ma, where I did what I do best: tend bar.
I say it a lot to people, but I truly think I found my calling behind the bar. I love meeting new people and I love talking about beer, so it’s kind of a no brainer for me!