Rob Leonard returns craft-brewing to the City of ElmsWhen Rob Leonard graduated from Southern Connecticut State University with a degree in communications in 1991, he set out to look for what he called a "real job." In the meantime, he started working part-time painting houses and then began bottling beer at the New Haven Brewing Co. (We know you're chanting "Schlemiel, schlemazel - Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!") Cleaning kegs and packing cases for delivery, he knew he indeed had beer running through his veins. And he thought it was just from his SCSU days! Over the next three years, he became assistant brewer, then head brewer.
Meanwhile, down in South Norwalk, New England Brewing was born.
After a few years of running a consulting service for microbreweries, Leonard joined New England Brewing, learned the business and when the prior owners were ready to sell, he acquired the company name. The South Norwalk location was simply too big for the business, so Leonard packed up and moved back the New Haven area and set up shop at 7 Selden Street in Woodbridge. He considered the old New Haven Brewing site, but the property had too many environmental and structural issues. In the fall of 2002, he got all the federal, state and municipal approvals necessary and on June 4, 2003, the first keg of New England Brew was tapped.
Leonard was faced with his first challenge early on: the exorbitant cost for bottling beer.
Faced with a capital outlay of between $250,000 and $500,000 to set up his own bottling operation, he'd walk away with a profit in the range of $2 per case. For a short time, he had the beer bottled off site, but that just didn't sit right with him.
"We gave the perception that we were actually brewing and bottling the beer here, and that just didn't work for me," Leonard says.
So he cans his beer right at his brewery just over the New Haven line and doesn't at all feel that he's doing the "next best thing" to bottling.
"Cans are actually better" than bottles, he asserts. "They're lined and they block light, no air at all gets in, you can take them with you anywhere," he says. "The only time beer is not touching metal is when they're in a bottle. It's in metal for the entire brewing process. A can is like a small keg."
Today New England Brewing brews two year-round beers: Elm City Lager, a German-style pilsner, and Sea Hag IPA (India Pale Ale). Special releases include a new double IPA, Gandhi-Bot (small runs in April and July); 668-The Neighbor of the Beast Belgian Golden Ale hits the shelves the first week of June and Alpha Weizen (a summer seasonal) will be up in late June. This fall, we'll see the return of Wet Willy Scotch Ale and in December the Imperial Stout Trooper (think Star Wars Storm Trooper) will be back. It'll have a different label from the last batch, since a fellow who goes by the name of Lucas didn't appreciate the similarities to his famous fictitious character.
"More and more craft brewers are going to cans," Leonard says. "We were one of the very first, and now there are over 100 of us using cans."
In May, Harpoon Brewery of Boston announced it would begin canning its IPA and Summer Beer.
New England Brewing brands are available on draught at about a dozen New Haven restaurants and bars and at spots across the New Haven area.
"Craft brewers are growing," Leonard says. "We're growing and it's the type of thing where once you start going up the ladder, it's hard to come back."
He doesn't want to come back. He wants to keep growing his business one rung at a time.
"I plan to stay in New Haven and grow into the market," he says.
"The consumer for craft beer is much younger and more sophisticated than we used to be," he says. With that in mind, he relies on his website and Facebook to reach his audience.
In early 2010, appropriately "at the age of 21, Atlantic Amber died peacefully in its sleep surrounded by family and friends. Amber was the flagship beer of the Norwalk New England Brewing and faithfully served the craft brew market for 21 years. Amber's most memorable time came in 1993 where he was awarded the Great American Beer Festival gold medal for the Altbier Category. In later years Atlantic Amber was reincarnated in Woodbridge CT and was proud to be one of the first craft beers packaged in a can," Leonard wrote on his blog (newenglandbrewing.com/blog), continuing, "Atlantic Amber is survived by Elm City Lager, Sea Hag IPA, Imperial Stout Trooper and the rest of the NEB family. Instead of flowers, please support your local craft brewery."
A funeral is planned for early June.
The first keg of Leonard's own New England Brewing beer was enjoyed at Delaney's Tap Room and Restaurant, just a can's throw from the brewery, in 2003.
Today Delaney's carries Elm City Lager, Sea Hag IPA and Gandhi-Bot double IPA on draught and three of their specialty bottled beers in the cooler.
"We've known Rob Leonard for years and he even plays in a band at Delaney's one Wednesday a month," says Amanda Johnson, General Manager at Delaney's. "Craft beer is quickly becoming more mainstream."
"It's actually easier to pair beer with food than wine, and beers cover such a broad range of flavor that there truly is something for everyone," Johnson adds. "New England's beers sell themselves because they are brewed locally, well made, consistent and they are made by good people who care about their craft."
Looks like Rob Leonard has indeed found a "real job."
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
