Dorchester Brewing

boston brewery

By in Meet Our Team Comments Off on Meet the Team: Drew Shalian, Sales Manager

Meet the Team: Drew Shalian, Sales Manager

You may have noticed we’ve been stepping up our wholesale game with more and more DBco cans and taps popping up around the state of Massachusetts in restuarants, bars, retail and liquor stores. Along with our new look we rolled out with brand spankin’ new labels, we are so happy to also share the face behind our sales game – Drew Shalian, our new Sales Manager here at Dorchester Brewing Company. Along with our distributor, Craft Collective, Drew is committed to making sure our freshly brewed craft beer is sent out into the world to enjoy!

Meet Drew!

I grew up in Boston and southern Florida and have lived in Dorchester for the past eight years. I’m committed to my community and I like to support local organizations and businesses which is what drew me to DBCo first as a loyal customer and now as my professional home. I look forward to weekend adventures with my family and you can usually find us at Castle Island, hiking in the Blue Hills, or relaxing at one of Dorchester’s parks or beaches. 


How did you get into the craft beer industry and sales?

I have always worked in the service industry and have appreciated craft beer for a long time. About 10 years ago I walked into my local liquor store and ended up helping a customer pick out different beers. The owner overheard and offered me a part-time position that evolved into a full-time role as the beer and spirits buyer. After a while I got to know all of my sales reps and learn about their jobs and knew a role in sales would be really exciting for me. I moved on to sales positions for a few local companies and eventually made the switch to a distributor. When I saw that my neighborhood brewery was looking to bring on a sales rep, I knew that I wanted to be a part of the team. 


A day in the life of Drew!

I start the day early and drop my son off at school here in Dorchester then usually grab a coffee from Reign Drink Lab or home.stead Cafe. When I visit accounts in and around Dorchester, I can make my way to the brewery for meetings and banter then I’m on my way out to visit new and old friends of DBCo! Sometimes I’ll grab a sandwich at The Daily or banh mi at Banh Mi Ba Lė for lunch. Other days I’ll head outside of the city to continue to expand the DBCo footprint or to meet with our distributor, Craft Collective. Every day is different, but the goal is always to strengthen relationships and get our beer into the hands of new fans. 


What do you like best about the industry?

The people and the camaraderie. I really like being able to connect with and learn from new people. 
Favorite part of the job-It has been great to share the story of our brewery and see people enjoy the hard work of our production team. 


Favorite beer style?

It’s impossible to pick just one but I gravitate toward Sours, Saisons, and Pilsners. 


Favorite DBCo beer?

This is like asking me to pick my favorite child!  I love Neponset Gold as my everyday beer, but lately I have been digging Sad Boi Szn, a Brown Ale that we‘ve been pouring at the tap room. 


Favorite M&M BBQ item?

Everything from M&M is amazing, but a favorite is the Honey Hot Chicken Sandwich with dumpster fries. My five year old loves the Dot platter with Mac & Cheese.

By in Meet Our Team Comments Off on Meet the Team: Kimi Nelson, Tap Room Manager

Meet the Team: Kimi Nelson, Tap Room Manager

The face behind the mask! As we continue to serve our customers in the Tap Room, we want to share our stories with you! Our team in the front of the Tap Room are amazing at helping you find the perfect beer (or other drink of choice) and providing the best hospitality to our visitors! We are so lucky to have a great group of employees and we’re excited to share another one with you today. Meet Kimi Nelson, who has been on our team for a while and recently promoted to Tap Room Manager!

Tell us a little bit about yourself!

I grew up in central MA where I first started working in hospitality. After the brutal 2014-15 winter season, I decided to move to California where I started working in my first brewery. I instantly fell in love with the craft beer industry and the people that surrounded it. If I wasn’t at work, I was out searching for the closest beer festival I could find. After 6 years in California, I decided it was time to come back home to Boston. Now when I’m not at work, you’ll either find me on long treks with my dog, at a concert, or visiting more local breweries. 

How did you get into bartending?

I started bartending in college when I lived in the Fenway area and I loved the atmosphere of serving Red Sox fans on game days. The rush of people from all over kept me moving and on my toes which always added a variety of spice to my day. That’s the best part about bartending – every day is different! As for craft beer, I found an incredible passion in the industry, where I first started in the Bay Area of California – there is definitely no shortage of breweries out there! It’s incredible to see the variety of products Brewers are able to make from the same main four ingredients!

What do you like best about the industry?

The people. Whether it be the folks I work alongside or the guests that walk through the front door, everybody has a different story and a different background. We work in an environment that gives us the opportunity to discover a lot about other people and that has always been the most intriguing part of my job. 

Favorite part of your job?

My coworkers, and the beer! Can’t go wrong with good conversation and delicious libations at your fingertips. 

Favorite beer style?

It’s hard to choose! I’d say my top three are Ambers, Saisons, and Sours.

Favorite DBco beer?

My current favorite is the Winter Brewberry and I’ve loved the previous variations we’ve done of it as well.

Favorite M&M BBQ item?

Can’t go wrong with a Newmarket Sandwich!

By in Uncategorized Comments Off on Exciting Announcement and Changes Heading into 2021

Exciting Announcement and Changes Heading into 2021

From our local small business, we are wishing you a wonderful holiday season! We couldn’t have possibly made it throughout the year, without you, our loyal customers, community, family, friends and staff. It’s been incredible to feel as supported and loved as we have over these past few months. As we continue to do our best in this challenging year, we have some exciting news to end the year.

The good news is that people are drinking beer (well obviously!) and even more so at home. These past few months have given us the opportunity to get our cans out into the market with a growing list of over 100 retail and restaurant locations throughout Massachusetts. Since we’ve opened our doors in 2016, starting with purely partner brewing and a small Tap Room, moving to a small lineup of cans and today watching our beer take off throughout the state (not to mention the restaurant, Hopservatory and Tap Room expansion that happened last year), it’s exciting to see how much Dorchester Brewing Company has grown.

To continue to grow our distribution and brand footprint throughout the state, we’ve entered into a partnership with a fellow small business distributor, Craft Collective, whom we’ve worked with over the past few years. As a local brand themselves, dedicated to local communities, we feel confident that it’s a natural fit to partner together. By teaming up with Craft Collective, we are supporting a local small business that really understands how to represent someone like us. We’re excited to see where this partnership takes us!

Another positive thing that’s come out of these past few months is that we’ve really been able to focus on our beer offering. We are announcing our lineup of DBco canned beers out in the market: 3 IPAs, a Golden Ale and a seasonal, rotating sour. We also renamed two of our beers to better showcase Dorchester and our love for neighborhood we call home. Our V1 Double IPA is now O.F.D. Double IPA and our Clapp’s Cream Ale is now Neponset Gold.

Why the change? Our cans are finding their way across the state. And we wanted to better represent Dorchester.  I mean. Honestly. Who doesn’t love the new names OFD and Neponset Gold.  😉 Same great recipes.  Same great taste. Drink up friends!

To that end, meet our new lineup and look for us in a retail store near you.

By in Meet Our Team Comments Off on Meet our Team: Brendan MacDermott, Packaging Line/Sales

Meet our Team: Brendan MacDermott, Packaging Line/Sales

Here at DBco, we love that our staff members are so passionate about what they do and love to see them grow as individuals and in their career. So when Brendan joined the Packaging Line and showed his chops at as a team player, he was an obvious choice to support our sales growth when we started to dip our toes into the wholesale beer game. In the last year and a half, we went from canning our first 4-packs and only selling them in-house to offering 8 different varieties of 4-packs, which are sold at over 60 locations throughout retail and restaurants in the Boston area. (Check out our map to see all of the locations!) Read on to learn more about Brendan, our Packaging Line team member who also supports sales.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’ve been in the Boston area my whole life, I grew up on the South Shore and I live in Quincy now, less than 5 miles from the brewery. Along with being active and lots of sports, I love any activity that includes drinking beer, like Cornhole at a backyard BBQ, golfing, or just spending a day at the beach. I also love to travel and visit other breweries, especially in New England.  

How did you get into craft beer industry and end up at DBco?

I actually have a background in wine. I graduated from Sonoma State University with a degree in Wine Business Management. But here in Boston there aren’t many opportunities to grow in the wine industry and I jumped at the chance to be a part of the growing craft beer scene. When I saw a job opening at DBco, I quickly grabbed up that opportunity and hopped on the packaging line. Since then, I’ve continued to package up the beer while also growing into a sales role as DBco started to ramp up their wholesale business.

What are your dual roles at DBco and what you do day-to-day.

I start early in the morning at the brewery on the packaging line.  I assist in preparing and sanitizing our packaging line and getting a batch of beer ready to be filled in either cans or kegs or both.  During a packaging “run” the line is very quick with plenty of moving pieces, so I help maintain quality control and efficiency. After our first packaging run, I begin my second part of the day as an account manager for the wholesale team. I’m part of our sales team that handles Dorchester, Quincy and the South Shore.  

What do you like best about the beer industry?

It’s craft as well as an art. I feel like I’m a collaborator and seller of these fantastic pieces of art. Whether it’s a keg of Cream Ale or a can of V1 Double IPA, you have something to see, hold, taste, and appreciate. But, yes, also part of quality control is tasting beer. I mean, part of my job requires me to taste beer before 8am! There aren’t many industries or jobs that mix art, science, and drinking beer in the morning.

Favorite part of your job?

I absolutely love being able to see the DBco brand on the shelves of retail stores, bars and restaurants. There’s so much that goes into that can of beer and I know it’s rewarding to everybody that works in the brewery from ownership, bartenders, brewers, to packaging line personnel to see their beer in the market being enjoyed by thousands of people.

Favorite beer style?

I enjoy so many styles of beer because I’m exposed to and have the opportunity to try so many styles Typically, my favorite beer style would correlate to what I was doing, eating, or the season. If I’m spending the day in the backyard playing Cornhole my choice would be an ice cold lager. I’d probably choose a heavy stout if I’m on the mountain taking a break from skiing!

Favorite DBco beer?

Cream Ale, it’s my Gatorade.

By in News Comments Off on Introducing the Dorchester Brewing Company Wine Series

Introducing the Dorchester Brewing Company Wine Series

We are very excited to announce a new wine series made in collaboration with La Cantina Winery in Franklin, MA.

To complement our local craft beer at Dorchester Brewing Company, we knew we wanted to add onto our beverage offerings as we expanded the Tap Room in order to serve our gluten free customers. We are so happy to announce that all of our wines are gluten free.

All the DBco wines are made through a collaboration with an artisanal, local winery in Franklin, Massachusetts dedicated to produce crushable, quality wines. La Cantina Winery has a family tradition of Italian winemaking beginning in the mid-1900’s in Italy. They moved to Massachusetts in 1963 where these traditions have been passed down, producing small batch wines. If you haven’t heard about them, definitely check them out and we’d certainly recommend visiting their Vineyards. www.lacantinawinery.com.

We will be serving the following wines by the glass:

Sauvignon Blanc: Light to medium body, peach, grapefruit, citrus, crisp. ABV 13.5%

Gamay Rose: Medium body, juicy, strawberry, rhubarb. ABV 12.5%

Primitivo: Light to medium body, cherry, blackberry, pepper. ABV 14%

Cabernet Sauvignon: Full body, cherry, mocha, cedar, spice, lush. ABV 14%

So, we invite you to stop by the brewery and check out our new offerings with our expansion ready to unveil with our 4-Season Rooftop Hopservatory and Deck, Restaurant, Game Room and so much more!

By in Meet Our Team Comments Off on Meet the Team: Nafi Fraiman, Cellarman

Meet the Team: Nafi Fraiman, Cellarman

When it comes to the brewing process, most people focus on the beginning process that starts in the brewhouse as well as the last piece that packages up the final product in those beautiful can labels. However, there’s quite a lot that goes into the process between those two pieces. Today, we’re introducing you to Nafi Fraiman, a Cellarman on our team who works with our fermentation vessels to keep a close eye on the brewing process as the magic all happens. Born and raised in Boston while also growing up in Israel, you can find Nafi playing music or snowboarding on the weekends and during the week, he can be found hard at work supporting our team to get the freshest, high-quality beer directly to your glass! Read on to learn more about Nafi:

How did you get into craft beer and join the brewing industry?

My background is in engineering, but after a few years in the field I felt I needed to do something different.  During my search for a new career path I got into homebrewing and fell in love with the beer making process. I got to know a lot of people in the homebrewing community, and by extension, got familiarized with professional brewers. I started volunteering at breweries to try to get my foot in the door and eventually got hired for a full time position.

What do you like best about the industry compared to other fields?

Every day I work with a product that I really enjoy and can connect with through my sense of smell and taste. I get excited about all the new products that go through our facility and the innovative processes we implement day to day to solve problems. I love the craft brewing work culture, where people are expected to work hard and to have fun!

Tell us a little bit about what you do at DBco on a day to day basis.

Most of what I do includes handling the big 1800 gal fermentation vessels – preparing them to receive new batches of beer and adding hops, fruit or other ingredients as necessary. I also monitor the beer fermentation to ensure the process is going well, and when it’s done, I transfer the beer over to be packaged. Lastly, a huge part of the job is making sure anything that comes in contact with the beer is absolutely sanitary.

Favorite part of your job?

Overcoming problems with creative solutions, executing complex tasks…and then the reward of having that beer you worked so hard to make and sharing laughs with the people you made it with.

Favorite beer style

Anything that is balanced, especially if it is low ABV. My go-to styles are Pilsners, New England IPAs and kettle sours.

Favorite DBco beer

Currently it’s The Gateway Sour, a beer I designed for those who are not accustomed to tart beers but want to dabble with the style. Past beers I have really liked are Heavy Metal Grampa (A Dunkelweizen), Born to Be Mild and our annual Festbier.