USA, CT: Cliffside Brewing to open in Wallingford in mid to late July

A craft beer enthusiast expects to open a new brewery in the center of Wallingford next month, Meriden Record-Journal reported on June 1.

David Durant, a resident who brews beer at his home on Cliffside Drive, will open his own brewery — Cliffside Brewing — at 16B Center St. this summer. The business will open in mid to late July, Durant said.

After receiving approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission in January, Durant hoped to open the brewery in late spring, but said unexpected obstacles pushed the opening back.

Durant received a lot of interest in the new business from local beer lovers leading up to the opening.

“People come up to me all the time and want to know when it’s going to open,” he said. “It’s insane, I never expected word would go around as fast as it has. Everyone is excited for a brewery to come to Wallingford.”

Durant’s brewery will produce and sell a “wide range of beers,” including ales, wheat beers and fruit beers, he said. Customers will be able to taste the brewery’s beer or buy it by the growler.

Durant founded Cliffside Brewing in his home on Cliffside Drive about four years ago. He started by using apples from an apple tree in his yard to make hard apple cider and eventually asked himself, “‘What else can I make with alcohol?’

The brewery will include a tasting room area in the front of the store and an area for keg storage and brewing in the back. Durant said he picked the location in the center of town because of the visibility and the large amount of foot traffic.

The brewery will open in a vacant storefront near the intersection of Center Street and Route 5 formerly occupied by a pawn shop.

“I think it’s a nice opportunity for this type of business to join a vibrant town center,” Economic Development Specialist Tim Ryan said in January.

The brewery needed to receive approval from the town’s Planning Office earlier this year because brewing is considered a manufacturing use under town zoning regulations and manufacturing is not a permitted property use in the downtown zone.

Town Planner Kacie Costello said at the time that the business will emphasize beer sales, meaning it functions more as a commercial retail store.

“There’s more of an emphasis on the pub than the brewing,” Costello said. She compared the brewery to a cupcake shop, where retail is the central use, but baking the cupcakes is also done on premises.

06 June, 2017