This is the Keg filling operation at Ipswich, the brewery Notch brews out of. We ran out of beer the other day. Terrible timing, we were facing some of the nicest days of the year and it was really busy at the restaurant the past few days. We have more beer coming in today, getting to the last of our BSA Harvest from Notch.
One of the major goals we have for the beer program at Clover is to provide an outlet where brewers can start to test ideas and try new beers. We’re moving toward relationships that have us committing to a certain number of kegs from our favorite brewers. This allows them to have more certainty about sales, especially when it comes to something new. In this case Chris made this beer with his share of MA-grown Malt from Valley Malt. It’s one of those things we’re doing that is in the very early stages but has the potential of dramatic impact.
I imagine someday that we’ll have dozens of restaurants in New England creating an enormous channel for Breweries to sell their beers. Our customers will enjoy the experimentation, we’ll funnel feedback to the brewers, and they can try new things with confidence it’s going to sell.