USA, CT: Cottrell Brewing Company to close its doors for good

Charlie Buffum, owner and founder of the Cottrell Brewing Company, still remembers the day he produced his first keg of beer, The Westerly Sun reported on January 26.

A proud young brewer who was new to the game, Buffum and a staff member took the keg down the street from the Harris Graphics/Pawcatuck Business Park building on Mechanic Street to the nearby C.C. O’Brien’s Sports Café, the first of what would become countless deliveries to the local restaurant and pub.

That first keg was literally hand-delivered, with Buffum rolling the keg down the street, a far cry from the standard truck deliveries to the restaurant and many other locations today.

In the coming weeks, the Cottrell Brewing Co. will close its doors for good, bringing operations at the Mechanic Street brewery to an end after 25 years. It isn’t exactly riding off into the sunset, but Buffum said Wednesday he has no regrets and has enjoyed every moment.

“I had the opportunity to make something that people liked, something for the community,” Buffum said. “Second to that, I’ve enjoyed working with all my different employees and customers over the years. I’ve met a lot of good people over the past 25 years.”

From rolling that first keg to watching the company’s Mystic Bridge IPA rise to be its best-selling brew, overtaking the original Old Yankee Ale, Cottrell has grown to be a name synonymous with Pawcatuck over the past quarter century.

Buffum, 61, founded the company in 1996 in a back corner of the former factory building at 100 Mechanic St., the very same location where his great grandfather first began his business, C.B. Cottrell & Sons, in 1855. His grandfather’s company would grow into one of the largest printing-press manufacturers in the U.S., and the family’s legacy played a role in Cottrell receiving its brand name.

From its first beer, the company grew quickly and went on to produce a number of brews that have grown popular in the region, including Stonington Glory and Perry’s Revenge Ale — those seeking to buy a few final six-packs can find these as the last remaining for sale at the brewery — as well as other favorites like Incredibly Pretentious Ale, Off-Duty and a variety of seasonal offerings and nanobrews.

It’s a sudden ending for the company, but Buffum said given the circumstances, he felt like he didn’t have any choice.

Phoenix Investors LLC acquired the property in a 2018 land sale, promising to renovate and redevelop the mill site. Buffum said the company notified him in October that it would not be renewing his lease and needed the Cottrell Brewing Company to vacate the property. Cottrell’s lease had officially come to an end over the summer.

A message left with Phoenix Investors was not returned Wednesday.

Buffum said he attempted to negotiate, but was unsuccessful in making any progress, and it soon became clear they would need to consider other options. He first announced the closure in a social media post in late November, although it was unclear at that time what exactly would happen next.

“To continue, we were going to need to move to a new location,” Buffum said. “It is expensive and without a turnkey opportunity available, we were looking at a minimum of 6 to 12 months before we would be up and running again. To keep producing again would require a partnership anyway, and at my age I just didn’t feel like it made sense.”

Although the company itself is closing, both the brand name and brewing equipment will find new homes in the coming months. Cottrell’s name and product recipes have been sold to Powder Hollow Brewery, an Enfield-based brewer who recently expanded to open three taprooms in Connecticut.

And even though the Cottrell facility is meeting an end, Buffum's brewing equipment will aid in the birth of a new brewery, as all of the company’s physical assets were sold to local businessman Jason Quinlan, owner of Hi-Tech Profiles Inc., of Ashaway. Quinlan recently took over operations from his father, Raymond Quinlan, after his father’s retirement.

Quinlan said on January 26 he will soon launch a new brewery along Gray Lane in Ashaway, with his organization already working to renovate the facility and bring in equipment. The new company does not yet have a name, he said, but he said he and his team are excited to get underway in the coming months.

“On our management side, we have already hired a brewmaster and have staff with excellent experience ... one has been in the business for 22 years,” Quinlan said. “We are still hoping to bring additional creative minds on to serve as brewmasters so that we can come up with some truly new and unique options.”

As the company continues to grow, Quinlan said he hopes to expand to wine and ciders and eventually would like to grow to be a full distillery. For now, he is taking it step by step and trying to get the brewery itself up and running.

There’s no hard date for when Cottrell will close for good, but it won’t be long now, Buffum said. There are limited supplies remaining, and once those are gone, he said that will be the end of that.

There are a number of potential opportunities ahead for Buffum, but for now he said he plans to serve as an ambassador to make sure the transition is smooth before exploring all the options before him.

“It’s an adjustment. This has been my life, my home away from home, for the past 25 years,” he said. “I’ve got ideas (for what comes next). There’s a lot I have left to do in life.”

28 January, 2022