USA, CT: Lock City Brewing Co. sets grand opening date on July 22

Lock City Brewing Co. is the latest brewery to join Fairfield County's small collection of craft breweries. The grand opening on July 22 will feature four beers on tap, food and a chance to check out the 2,000 square-foot brewing facility and taproom, The Advocate reported.

Owners Michael Bushnell, 41 and Patrick Caciolo, 42 have been busy brewing for about three weeks now in preparation for the big event. They are focusing mostly on IPAs at the moment.

Bushnell who is originally from upstate New York, moved to Stamford about six years ago and started brewing beer about four years ago. He and his business partner Casciolo decided to get "into the game" after visiting breweries in Vermont and Maine. "We had the intention of making good quality beer to match up with what we've been drinking," Bushnell said.

Two years ago, they entered their beer in an event at Craft 260 in Fairfield. The positive response pushed them to begin the process of opening their own business. In November, Bushnell quit his job as a financial comptroller to focus on Lock City Brewing Co. full time.

"We knew there was one brewery there [in Stamford], and it would be tough to find zoning but we live in the area so we wanted something close by. Stamford is great area...the market is not even close to being saturated," Bushnell said of his decision to open in Stamford.

But location isn't a huge concern for him.

"It doesn't matter where you are; if you make a good product people are going to find you."

Staying local and giving back to the community is very important to Lock City. In fact, the company's tagline is "Community builds beer. Beer builds community." Proceeds from food sales at the grand opening will benefit Kids in Crisis.

Bushnell also said he does not want to get into the distribution game and will only sell beer to a very select few local restaurants. His main focus is making sure there is always fresh beer available in the taproom, which sits right inside the brewery.

Come September, though, beer fans will get the chance to sample Connecticut's newest brews from Lock City at various beer festivals in the state. Bushnell said they plan to attend a festival every Saturday in September including Brass City Brew Fest in Waterbury and Small State Great Beer in Hartford.

Bushnell is excited to join the burgeoning craft beer industry.

"It's getting huge. It shows you that breweries are thriving they're still growing, and people want beer," he said. "It's a good thing. This industry is amazing...Everyone is always trying to help each other out. It's a great industry, very fun."

20 July, 2017