USA, MA: Seven Saws Brewing getting ready to launch in Holden

Passerbys of 1148 Main Street in Holden may have noticed windows that once used to offer a look inside of the store Vintage Retriever have been covered with brown paper in recent months. Behind the lunch bag brown, owners of Seven Saws Brewing LLC were chugging away at work on their newly leased space. Now, the paper is gone and those who walk by can see that Holden residents and homebrew masters Thomas Anderson, Troy Milliken, and brothers Paul and Dr. Thomas Mulroy are building a tap room to distribute their craft brews, The Landmark reported on May 16.

Town officials approved an alcoholic beverage retail license for the business at a public hearing on May 7, and the brew crew said they hope to open their doors come Memorial Day weekend.

Currently, they distribute their beers through the tap lines of Specialty Sandwich Co. which won’t change, said Milliken who noted that the new retail location is going to be a space for quick tastings and take homes. “We are a tap room, not a bar,” Milliken said. “If someone wants a full beer they can head to Specialty.”

On-site customers will be able to try out beer flights, which will include four 5 oz. glasses or they can take beer to go in 32 oz. growlers. The location is BYOF (bring your own food).

Brewing will still take place further down Main St. in the basement of a building the owners call “The Lab.” While they eventually hope to expand their brewing system, for now, they are a one-barrel brewing operation. They can produce about 32 gallons of beer in one go which take anywhere from 5 to 7 hours, according to Anderson.

Outside of their day jobs and family lives, owners have been working around the clock to keep up with brewing and building efforts.

The group has put countless hours towards the renovation of the business space over the last two months which they described as a “labor of love.” From a backyard idea that was dreamed up about a year ago while drinking their homemade beers at a fire pit among friends to the leap of faith that brought them to the creation of their own tap room — Anderson said the hardest part was just deciding to try. “Now we are just doing it,” he said.

With little left to be done other than cosmetic updates, transformation of the space is near completion. The current floor plan offers seating for 30 and has a floating bar that can be used by eight to 10 people.

When it comes to design, the four friends wanted to create an atmosphere that reflects the name “Seven Saws” which is a tribute to Holden and the seven sawmills that are part of the town’s history.

As either luck or coincidence would have it, when shopping for the perfect decor, owners stumbled upon two sets of “7” antique saws which they plan to hang on the walls. Another element of style will include prints of the town’s old sawmills as well as maps of Holden, said Milliken.

On tap, anywhere from 5-8 beers will be on draft at a time. Offerings will include a variety of juicy New England style IPAs as well as a grapefruit saison and a German-style pilsner come summertime. Additionally, creations from the groups rotating IPA series “hoppythetical” will be available.

While business hours will likely depend on how many barrels per-week the brewers can produce ­— which they currently estimate will be around three per week — they plan to be open on Thursday – Saturday. Hours are TBD.

Owners assured town officials and business abutters that came to the hearing on May 7 that the location will not be open late.

While the select board voted unanimously in favor of issuing a license to the brew-pub retail location owners, before the vote abutters that live on Bascom Parkway (facing the back of the business) spoke to their concerns including noise, trash, and traffic.

Beverly Mansfield, abutter and treasurer of Miles Funeral Home, spoke at the hearing and said while she and her husband Rick are supportive of the business and do allow neighbors to use the funeral home parking lot when there are not large services taking place, she was of the opinion that parking would be an issue for the new business, she told the board. Additionally, she asked for consideration when it comes to noise levels and lighting.

Business owners said they would be notifying their patrons of the best places to park as there are only seven or so available spots behind the building. As most of their offerings will be consumed on site in glasses, owners do not anticipate a large volume of trash. They also assured abutters that music would be kept at a conversational level and if concerns do arise, they said they are willing to work with neighbors.

“We want to be the best neighbors possible,” said Anderson. “We don’t want this to be a thorn in the side of anybody in town we want this to be a good community place.”

Town Manager Peter Lukes and the board expressed their support.

“These gentlemen have met with the police chief, the fire chief, and the building inspector extensively and have addressed the concerns of every department so far throughout town,” said Town Manager Peter Lukes.

Selectboard members echoed Lukes’ statements noting that the owners have been very responsible in creating their business plan within the community.

While the possibility of outside seating and food was mentioned down the road, owners made it clear the space is not large enough to support a brewpub atmosphere beyond the retail aspect.

For now, their hope is that the new location will help to create a more walkable downtown. “We are invested in Holden,” said Milliken. “We have families in Holden and kids in all three elementary schools. We want to see Main Street develop and grow and we want to be a part of that.”

17 May, 2018