I spoke to Edgar Luna from the Planning Division yesterday, and verified that the residential use would never fly in Worcester, and that no sort of special use variance would be likely to be granted.  He was very helpful in supplying the documentation to that effect, and offered to check any other possible addresses for manufacturing use in the future.  Although no one has been able to assist me with making the residential route a possibility, I have gotten a decent amount of timely feedback from the appropriate people in city government, and I appreciate the interest that has been shown so far.  I am continuing to look at some possible commercial/industrial spots.

Speaking of interest… a number of people have asked me how they can help us get up and running.  The truth is, I’m eager, but not quite in a rush.  The primary factors at this time are simply siting and money; I need to know my location and my budget before beginning the arduous federal and state licensing processes.  In this “pilot phase,” not too much funding is required, at least compared to a proper-sized brewery, but a little bit can go a long way.  So, as requested, I’ve put up some information about how you can help us.

Unfortunately, Worcester has plenty of code that prevents virtually anyone from manufacturing virtually anything on residential property that is intended for sale.  I spoke to someone at the Code department and was advised that it simply couldn’t be done.  I was given an example of a home-based business that was recently shut down for producing something consideribly less exciting than an alcoholic beverage.

While this doesn’t outright kill the project, it definitely makes it more difficult for me to proceed; it would have been nice to get some additional utility out of the house and land I own in Worcester (particularly since it’s dropped in value since I bought it).  I’m now looking into suitable spaces in commercially-zoned areas, but industrial/manufacturing space tends to come in vastly larger parcels than I’d require.  If anyone knows of a decent locale, please feel free to drop me a line at keith (at) aleworks (dot) org.

Yesterday, on Wednesday, June 18, I mailed a letter to the License Commission of the City of Worcester, as well as its Zoning Board, with additional copies sent to my district’s City Councilor, Paul Clancy, as well as all of the Councilors at-large. The contents therein summarized my intentions to found a “pilot” brewery here in Worcester, MA; a small-batch “nano-brewery” (as the cool kids are calling it these days), fully licensed to brew, package, and sell handmade craft beer to the worthy publicans of the city. What makes this endeavor nearly as hopeless as it is ambitious is the fact that I seek to do this on residential property; no such operations exist in the Commonwealth at this time, though I’m not sure if this is because my request is unprecedented or simply not legal. The licensing process can be both time-consuming and expensive, so I’m hoping to get some reliable feedback before jumping in.

It is, perhaps surprisingly, legal on a Federal level. It appears that the zone of the brewery is irrelevant to the ATF bureau as long as you operate in a non-dwelling area, and I intend to brew in a detached, re-purposed garage. Neither are there any state restrictions regarding location that I can find, so it seems that Worcester’s licensing and zoning commissions will decide the fate of this little project. If you just felt a slight chill, mingled with a sense of dread, then you’re probably a resident of Worcester that has followed the various and sundry exploits of these particular institutions. Can they be progressive enough to allow a little entrepreneurial, artisanal brewing on my own property? Or will I be simply be dismissed as a crazy moonshiner?

This could well be one of the shortest-lived blogs ever, but henceforth I’ll be documenting the progress (or lack thereof) of this little project, inclusive of all of the gory details of the licensing process and the interactions with federal, state, and local government. I like to think that we might see one of my tap handles (as lovingly handcrafted as my beer, pictured at left) over at the Armsby Abbey or the Dive Bar someday. I hope that craft beer enthusiasts in and around Worcester will take an interest in my project, and there definitely may come a time when your support determines whether Blackstone Aleworks lives or dies. I’ve always been a little sad that the (oft-boasted) second largest city in New England hasn’t had a packaging brewery since the Worcester Brewing Company closed in 1964. Hopefully that will change soon…

I’ll continue to post here as things develop further. In the interim, I invite you to peruse the mission statement of Blackstone Aleworks.

Thanks,

Keith