Worcester Business Journal

22 Worcester Business Journal | January 8, 2018 | wbjournal.com F O C U S B E S T P L A C E S F O R D R I N K S Wormtown Brewery partners keep their love for beer BEST LOCAL BREWERY Wormtown Brewery Worcester, www.wormtownbrewery.com Top executives: David Fields, managing partner; Ben Roesch, brewmaster & founder Founded: 2010 Employees: 27 full-time, 9 part-time Notable runner-up: Tree House Brewing Co. T he place was packed and navi- gating the mess of beer drink- ers at the bar in the Wormtown Brewery taproom was nearly impossible without bump- ing into someone's beer. It was easily one of the brewery's busiest days ever, thanks to a collabo- ration with Dunkin Donuts, which saw BY ZACHARY COMEAU Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer the first-ever beer commercially brewed with Dunkin Donuts coffee beans. The beer, DDark Brew, was a hit in December and sold out days ahead of schedule. It was an interesting example of how the brewery is still able to enjoy success while staying true to its roots, Wormtown Managing Partner David Fields said. Ever since the brewery's founding in 2010, the team, including Ben Roesch and formerly Tom Oliveri, have made every effort to stay true to the brew- ery's slogan: "A piece of Mass. in every glass." Yet, the brewery received backlash on social media, accusing Wormtown of selling out by using the national Dunkin Donuts brand to sell beer, Fields said, but that's far from the case. Dunkin Donuts was founded and is headquartered in Massachusetts, and the brewery's building owner is a Dunkin Donuts franchisee. The cor- porate coffee giant's head chef is also a Worcester native. "It was a half-second conversation," Fields said about internal discussion about the brewery selling out. Even in the midst of a expansion to nearly double the brewery's capacity to about 60,000 barrels a year, Fields and the team haven't forgotten what got them there in the first place: beer. Most decisions the company makes are made over a beer or two, Fields said. One such decision came during a meeting with a barreling line com- pany. After more than a few, both sides were willing to meet in the mid- dle, Fields said. "That was with nobody being legal- ly capable of actually signing a docu- ment that would be considered legally binding in court," Fields said. "We've never made a good decision without a beer in our hands." Jason Kleinerman, managing part- ner at Rail Trail Flatbread Co. in Hudson, said Wormtown was instru- mental in setting up the restaurant's bar. Wormtown beer is constantly on tap at the restaurant, which has 20 craft beers on tap at any given time. There's usually at least two Wormtown beers on that list. "They were really generous with their time and expertise," said Kleinerman. "If there's one brewery that was instrumental to the craft beer program at Rail Trail, it's Wormtown." BEST LOCALLY OWNED PLACE TO MEET FOR COFFEE BirchTree Bread Company* Worcester, www.birchtreebreadcompany.com Top executives: Owners Robert Fecteau & Avra Hoffman Founded: 2014 Employees: 30 Hoffman and Fecteau know their concept – naturally leavened bread, espresso, sand- wiches and pizza sourced from local wholesome ingredients – is not original, so they created a community space atmo- sphere, with live music and continuously changing artwork. Notable runners-up: InHouse Coffee, The Queen's Cups, Brew on the Grid BEST WORCESTER AFTER-WORK BAR Armsby Abbey* Worcester, www.armsbyabbey.com Top executive: Sarah DeVardo, assistant general manager Founded: 2008 Employees: 45 Armsby is one of the pioneers of both the Worcester craft beer scene and its farm- to-table cuisine movement. Its success boils down to its hiring practices, where Wormtown Brewery Armsby Abbey W

• Cover