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By in Meet Our Team Comments Off on Meet the Team: Matt Munsey

Meet the Team: Matt Munsey

As part our Meet the Team series to introduce you to the many faces behind our business, today, we’ve got the inside scoop from Matt Munsey, our Lead Bartender who made his way to the big city of Boston from a small rural town in NH. Since first developing an interest in craft beer when he tried a Belgian style beer, Munsey’s brother got him into home brewing and he developed a love of the brewing process and hasn’t stopped since then!

There is more to learn about Munsey besides just serving up you the best in craft beer with a smile and loads of knowledge about the brewing process and the flavor profiles! Here are a few of his “favorites”:

Favorite Beer Style:
My favorite beer style is schwarzbier, its hard to be a dark beer that is also light and crisp with a pleasant roasted quality.
Favorite DBco Beer:
Favorite beer at DBco is the Embarrassment Of Riches.
Favorite Non-DBco Beer:
Favorite non DBco beer right now is probably Night Shifts Santilly, I’ve been drinking lots of it.
Favorite Thing About Working Behind a Bar:
Favorite thing about working behind a bar is the variety of interactions you get to have with people in a night. Some people are just after a drink, some want a full history lesson on beer, others are just really looking for a conversation about their day.
Favorite Thing About the Craft Brewing Industry:
Within the craft brewing industry, my favorite thing is seeing the ingenuity that so many brewers have put into producing a beverage typically considered “common” not so long ago.
Favorite Spots to Drink:
I like drinking in my back yard a lot. If I’m going out for drinks I like Highland Kitchen, Row 34, or Lower Depths.
Favorite Things To Do:
In my free time I like to do a number of things. I enjoy getting out of the city and exploring nature either on foot or by bike. Another past time is finding new places to eat and drink delicious things ( current favorite being anywhere that makes savory meat pie). In the autumn I love to race cyclocross on the weekends.
By in Meet Our Team Comments Off on Behind the Brewing Scenes with Jim O’Neil

Behind the Brewing Scenes with Jim O’Neil

As part of our “Meet the Team” blog series, we thought it would be fun to take a peak behind the scenes at our Boston brewery to show everyone how the magic really happens. You know we’ve got a talented team of brewers and some amazing staff up front in the Tap Room, but how does it all come together logistically? One aspect of how that happens is through Jim O’Neil, our Operations Manager, so we’ll take some time today showing you how Jim brings it all together!

Jim went to Boston University (Go Terriers!) for undergrad and then spent twelve years working in the travel and hospitality industry. His career in beer started off as a volunteer at Blue Hills Brewery doing a lot of cleaning and helping to bottle. After paying his dues, he was hired full time as the Office Manager and then was promoted to Director of Operations with Blue Hills. He helped manage the brewery for over 5 years, responsible for everything including inventory, payroll, sales team, AP/AR, events, social media and more.

Here at Dorchester Brewing Company in Boston, Jim basically keeps everyone on track. As he said, ” In a nutshell, I work with CEO Matt and the Brew Team to make sure that they have everything they need.” Jim helps to make sure that the brewing and packaging dates are kept on schedule for our partner beers as well as ensuring that the brewery has all of the correct raw materials are on site. He also works with distributors on pick ups for the finished products.

Jim’s job at Dorchester Brewing Company is certainly a little bit different then an Operations Manager at another brewery for sure. As he says, “What makes Dorchester Brewing Company different from other breweries is that we work with such an interesting group of partner brewers. Some are local, while some are international. They each have a different perspective, and everyone’s beers are so unique. It’s very cool to work with brewers from all over the country and world.”

So, how exactly does he do it all? Jim says, “It’s a pretty manual process.” and he has to stay organized and keep on top of it all – every single day. Similar to all things in life, Jim’s advice for others in a similar position  would be to do what works for you. “In terms of organization, I’d say come up with a plan that works. If you are not effective, data will get lost and things just won’t add up. Also, you need to be diligent. Data entry is a daily task. Our partners might want an update as to where things stand NOW, and if I haven’t updated the sheets in days, the info in our system will be out of date. We try to keep things in “real time” here.”

“My favorite part of the job is when a particular job is done and we have a cooler full of pallets of yummy beer cans. I like to think that I helped make all this beer that is going out to the market for thirsty beer lovers to enjoy. I wish consumers could see how much work our team puts in to make this great product. It’s a labor of love.”

So, what does Jim drink when he’s not pouring over excel? He prefers a nice porter or stout any time during the year, especially our bourbon barrel aged version of Stove By A Whale, a Baltic Porter!

 

 

 

 

 

By in Brew Blog Comments Off on It’s a Collaboration: Guest Post from City Brew Tours

It’s a Collaboration: Guest Post from City Brew Tours

As part of our mission to highlight our contract brewing partners, today we’re featuring a guest blog showcasing a recent collaboration brew with City Brew Tours and Down the Road Beer Company, written by Malcolm Purinton, City Brew Tour Boston Guide and Beer Historian.

What a fun morning! We, the guides and crew of City Brew Tours Boston, joined Donovan Bailey of Down the Road Beer Company and everyone at Dorchester Brewing today to put together our first collaboration beer ever! Down the Road is one of Dorchester’s partner breweries and is brewing several of its great brews on site. In addition, Dorchester Brewing is one of our newest City Brew Tour partners and it was a pleasure to be able to have us all in one place collaborating!

Today was a rather dark and rainy day here in Boston, which made it a perfect time to be inside brewing on Dorchester’s 5-barrel pilot system! Cody, Dorchester Brewing’s assistant brewer, led the way and showed us step-by-step how they do things at DBC. He started by pouring specialty grains into the mill using the recipe that Donovan created with the Boston Brew Tour guides. Even though it was 8am, we enjoyed some delightful breakfast beer including DBco’s tart Resolution Berliner and Jamaican rum-barrel-aged Bikini Bottom. We hope ours comes out even half as good!

What were we brewing do you ask? Well, a perfect beer for a frigid Boston winter: a hot chocolate flavored porter that we’re calling Wicked Wintah! We came up with the recipe and ingredients through collaboration with DBco and Down the Road by combining the flavors of Down the Road’s London-style porter with a touch of vanilla, a bit of lactose, and some cocoa nibs. It will be a delicious and cozy way to enjoy whatever this wintah turns out to be like. Here’s hoping for more snow and less rain!

While the misty winter rain fell outside, Cody got our wort up to a nice boil and Matt, Dorchester Brewing Co-founder/CEO, led us on a personal tour of the brewery – including the huge freezer in the back! During the tour Matt told us all about the history behind DBco and how they work closely with their many brewing partners. Seeing how shiny and new everything was made us all very excited to show off DBco’s operation to our future tour guests!

With today’s brewing complete and the Wicked Wintah beginning its primary fermentation, we cannot wait to taste it! The team and I are so grateful for the opportunity to brew with the folks at DTR and DBco!

In just a few weeks, we’re going to share this Wicked Wintah porter at a release party hosted by DBco. With some sweet original artwork by Down the Road’s remarkable label artist, this brew will be packaged and available in crowlers and on draught in select locations come late January. The release party is scheduled for Friday, January 27th at Dorchester Brewing Company from 5pm-11pm. Is there a theme you ask? Yes, we felt a Wicked Wintah 80’s ski party would be RAD! If your wardrobe lacks 80s’ winter gear, just dress ’80s!

We’ll be giving away City Brew Tours swag as well as a special getaway package that includes Ski Tickets with City Brew Tours tickets.

The folks at the M&M Rib Truck will be there all night! We’ll have snacks to enjoy on-hand as well as a special treat provided by City Brew Tours for the first 20 guests who purchase a pint of Wicked Wintah!

Come after work, come for a night out, whatever you prefer! Either way, we can’t wait to see you there!

 

By in Brew Blog Comments Off on Holiday Events and Hours

Holiday Events and Hours

Holiday season is upon us! Besides planning some awesome events, we wanted to share our updated business hours during the holidays, so that you can plan accordingly!
Holiday Hours
  • Christmas Eve: 12/24/16- 11:30am-6pm
  • Christmas Day: 12/25/16- CLOSED
  • New Year’s Eve: 12/31/16- 11:30am-12:30AM *Extended business hoursfor New Years Eve Bash!
  • New Year’s Day: 01/01/17- CLOSED
Upcoming Holiday Events

Don’t forget to stock up for your next holiday party – When you buy 4 Crowlers (32oz cans), you get a FREE DBco T-shirt through Christmas! We also have gift cards available for purchase in any amount in the Tap Room.

By in Brew Blog Comments Off on Down the Road Beer Company Announces the Newest Addition to its Session Beer Lineup: Patchwork Kilt Scottish Ale

Down the Road Beer Company Announces the Newest Addition to its Session Beer Lineup: Patchwork Kilt Scottish Ale

We’re thrilled to share the news about Down the Road Beer Company’s newest addition to the company’s session beer lineup brewed at Dorchester Brewing Company!

Here’s a copy of their latest press release announcing the beer details and info on the upcoming launch party at DBco:

Down The Road Beer Company is pleased to announce the Patchwork Kilt Scottish Ale, the newest addition to the company’s session beer lineup. This malt-forward beer is hauntingly complex with deep, rustic notes of dried fruit and fresh honey. Patchwork Kilt clocks in at 4.5% ABV, the perfect balance for taking the edge off without losing your wits. This Ale pours a dark copper with a creamy head. The nose is thick and almost bready with a faint hint of currants. On the palate, Kilt is smooth, almost silky, with a delicate, honeyed sweetness that gives way to roasty malt and a homely smokiness.

Each beer from Down The Road draws on a character from folklore often with an emphasis on the region from which the brew originates. The Patchwork Kilt is an homage to the Headless Drummer of Edinburgh Castle, a protective spirit that strikes fear into the hearts of intruders, villains and blaggards who would threaten the ancient stronghold of the Scots.

The Patchwork Kilt was brewed under contract at Dorchester Brewing Company in Dorchester, MA. This is the first beer Down The Road has brewed at Dorchester Brewing Company, Boston’s first and only dedicated partnership brewing facility. In response to strong customer demand for its Fresh, Local and Inspired beer, Down The Road will be opening its own Taproom and Brewery in Everett, MA in early 2017 and is also expanding its contract brewing relationships. The company hopes to brew additional styles at Dorchester Brewing Company later this year while maintaining its existing brewing relationships. Down The Road will be the first Brewing Partner for Dorchester Brewing which opened in July 2016.

To celebrate this partnership and the release of Down the Road’s Patchwork Kilt Scottish Ale, the companies are hosting a release party at Dorchester Brewing Company at 1250 Massachusetts Avenue in Dorchester on Friday, November 4th from 6-11pm. The event will include complimentary traditional Scottish fare from The Haven in Boston, as well as Down the Road Beer merchandise specials. Partners from Down the Road will be on hand to serve up the Kilt. For more information about the event, visit: //www.dorchesterbrewing.com/events/event/downtheroad/

 

By in Brew Blog, Meet Our Team Comments Off on All About Quality Control (And Fred!)

All About Quality Control (And Fred!)

As part of our “Meet the Team” series, we’ve been introducing you to members on our team that make it all happen! Today, we’re excited to get to the down and dirty of actually making the beer…good beer at that. In fact, the best. We’re extremely proud of the steps we put in place to ensure the highest quality beer production for all of our beers including our house beers as well as our brewing partners. To that end…have ya met Fred?

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Fred Hamp, DBco’s Lab & Quality Assurance Manager became involved with DBco from his old friend Todd, our Head Brewer, from their days at Harpoon. Fred had been a stay at home dad for a few years and the timing was right for him to re-emerge into the craft beer scene at Boston’s newest startup. Fred has been with us since our building was a bit of a construction zone and he helped us design our QA program from the ground up (literally from the dirt floor!).

Fred’s love affair with brewing started long ago, fresh out of college. He hounded every brewpub and brewery in the Buffalo area until finally Tim Herzog of Flying Bison Brewery took pity on a him and let him clean kegs and access his brewing library. While there, Fred became committed to brewing professionally and saved his pennies to pay for the Master Brewers Program at University California Davis. After graduating, he took a job with Harpoon and did pretty much every job in the business until finding his passion for Quality Assurance and Control. After working with Todd at Harpoon, the rest was history!

When we tasked Fred with developing our lab and QA program, we told him to go big or go home.  As Fred mentioned, “The lab and QA program at DBco is state of the art for a brewery even 5 times our size. We place the quality of our brews on a pretty high pedestal.” When pulling it all together, he purchased the best equipment out there to ensure a high quality end product including: A Haffmans combined CO2/02 meter with piercing station for cans/bottles, a laminar flow hood that is PCR ready for micro work, a pharmaceutical grade spectrophotomer, a microscope for quantification of yeast, an autoclave, incubator, and more! We’ve got quite the science lab in the middle of the brewery.

When he’s not elbows up in beer, Fred loves to immerse himself in the craft beer culture. When we asked him his favorite beer, he said, “
I think choice is incredibly important. As an example, who wants to listen to the same album over and over again?  Sometimes you want speed metal, other times EDM, funk or classic rock. When I drink beer, I usually let the season/ time of year influence me. My favorite DBco beer right now is the soon to be released Baltic Porter.  It is incredibly balanced and complex… a real treat.”
And, as a last word from Fred, he believes”Beer is culture.  People come together over beer and this allows an environment for ideas and beliefs to swirl together.  The diversity of the community in Dorchester makes this dynamic even more exciting.”