Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1182004
NORTHSHOREMAG.COM 24 NOVEMBER 2019 PHOTOGRAPHS BY DOUG LEVY fellow Beverly brewers at Channel Marker ; if that's not townie enough, they did the buildout in an old auto body shop, reclaiming a disused piece of property all for the sake of making great beer. Breweries do have a way of revitalizing cities and economies, after all. Is there a better way to pay tribute to one's hometown than with craft beverages? "[We] were mainly a production place that people couldn't come to," says Sullivan, recalling the brewery's younger, pre-taproom days. "We didn't have a public facility. So we basically did recipe development, and did some contract brewing out of other facilities, and then spent a lot of time trying to find the right place." E AT + D R I N K Ben Garry and Matt Sullivan started Old Planters Brewing Co. Every small New England town has townies, and every townie town has a townie bar—a place where brusque stares greet patrons who can't trace their townie lineage back at least two generations. Beverly has something better than that: its own townie brewery. Old Planters Brewing Co. started up in 2014 when longtime chums Ben Garry and Matt Sullivan decided to set up a licensed brewery in their basement and start making their own beer their own way. That's peak townie. In June of this year, however, they took their love for their hometown a step further and opened their first taproom right on Rantoul Street, down the block from their Old Planters Brewing Co. opens its first taproom in Beverly. BY ANDREW CRUMP TAPPING INTO THE COMMUNITY E AT + D R I N K Once Sullivan and Garry achieved that milestone, they called on Mike Smith, a friend of theirs who just happens to have a construction background, to assist with the remodeling process. "[He] helped us come take this big jump," says Garry. He and Sullivan had shared the dream of operating out of their own space, and with Smith's expertise, they made that dream a reality. "This was always the end goal." And the space itself ? Cool and modern, sporting a well-furnished bar and plenty of tables, high-top and otherwise, to congregate around and enjoy drinks, friends, and food. (The brewery doesn't serve food, mind you, but there are plenty of superb takeaway spots peppering Rantoul Street.) There's even a projector screen for watching the game of the day or playing a round of Mario Kart, giving the taproom a living room vibe— perfect for Old Planters' aesthetic as a homey neighborhood brewery, as well as being an homage to the owners' Beverly roots. "We've all been friends since we were little kids, and we're all from Beverly, and we haven't really left," Garry explains with a laugh. "That's a common bond, and people from Beverly are proud to be from Beverly. We wanted to share that community spirit." It turns out that sharing community E AT + D R I N K