Worcester’s Wormtown Brewery on the Move

Friday, January 17, 2014

Susan Wagner, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

BE Hoppy I.P.A. on tap!

Worcester’s most eclectic thoroughfare is getting a new resident as Wormtown Brewery gets ready to move to Shrewsbury Street. According to master brewer and partner Ben Roesch, Wormtown has signed a lease and will be moving sometime in the summer. The new space is much larger and will open the Brewery to tours, tastings and other fun events.

The only brewery for 30 miles, Wormtown Brewery is acclaimed for flavor forward dry American Ale, always with one Massachusetts grown ingredient in each beer. With a homegrown flavor and location, it made sense to adopt the name Wormtown made famous by Worcester’s punk culture and its original 1970’s music scene.

For fans of craft beer, Wormtown Brewery has created something special. The Brewery continues to sell out products as fast as they are made. While the beer made at the Brewery is sold to customers directly, 95% goes in keg and draft format to area restaurants and is also sold to area retailers. Chances are good that fans can find their favorite Wormtown brew on draft at their local restaurant. Roesch recommends trying his favorite beer, Be Hoppy I.P.A., one of their first beers. As Roesch explains, “It is an original. The grapefruit and citrus quality of the hops is unique and cleanses the palate.”

A Worcester native who began brewing beer in college, Roesch founded the business with partner Tom Oliveri in March of 2010. Oliveri is the owner of two restaurants well known to locals, Peppercorns in Worcester and Prezo in Milford. Roesch is a master brewer trained at Cambridge Brewing Company, Wachusett Brewing Company and the former head brewer and distiller at Nashoba Valley Spirits.

In another exciting change this year, a third partner joined the brewery on New Year’s Day. Oliveri is stepping out as managing partner to get involved with marketing and David Fields is taking over as managing partner. The owner of Consolidated Beverages in Auburn, Fields will bring his 30 years of extensive experience in sales and distribution to take Wormtown Brewery to the next level.

In the immortal words of LB Worm, credited with coining the term Wormtown, “The name has stuck and has been adopted by countless Worcester citizens because it symbolizes and embraces the free spirited do-it-yourself ethic that is simply Worcester. Wormtown Brewery has that same spirit - they are creating something unique to add to the mix in our city. Will it change Worcester the way music did back in the late '70s? Who knows. But one thing is for sure, there is nothing that goes better with good music than good beer.”

Susan Wagner is the president of Susan Wagner PR. In this challenging economy, she has begun a new division to offer affordable start-up packages to new and emerging small businesses and non-profit organizations that include professional writing services, websites, collateral, marketing, social media, grassroots outreach and PR campaigns.

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