Stonington Small Business Spotlight: Beer'd Brewing Co.

Every local business has a story worth sharing with the community. And that’s the belief behind this exciting series — to shine the spotlight on all our favorite local businesses, and to learn a little about the ones we may not know that well.

Business: The Beer’d Brewing Co. LLC
Owners: Aaren M. Simoncini; Precious S. Putnam
Website: Http://www.BeerdBrewing.com
Address: 22 Bayview Ave. Unit 15. Stonington, CT. 06378

How did you come up with the name?

When I first became interested in home brewing as a hobby I also had a baby version of my current beard. Being that I was so into home brewing and needed an official name for my unofficial brewery, my friends came up with The Beer’d Brewing Company!

Why start a business in this town?

I was raised in Stonington, and after graduating with a finance degree from The Rochester Institute of Technology, wanted to get back to coastal New England and ended up finding an accounting position here in Mystic. As the business was planned, ultimately it was decided that Stonington would be its home. Finding The Velvet Mill in the Stonington borough was a blessing as it had city water, city sewer and the zoning already in place for a manufacturing brewery.

What business are you in?

We hand craft extremely small batch Ales.

What’s the most difficult challenge you’ve faced as a business owner?

Specifically in the brewing industry, you have to report to several echelons of government. Making sure everyone is happy and that the required reporting is completed in a timely fashion is a very intricate dance that never ends.

What’s been your proudest achievement since opening?

The goal from day one was to be considered one of Connecticut’s best breweries, and last year Connecticut Magazine awarded The Beer’d Brewing Company “The Best Beer In The State” winner!

How does your business give back to the community?

We’re constantly involved with a number of local charities and fundraisers-- everything from donations to charitable organizations to sponsorship of local sports teams and even fundraisers for our own pet charities help to grow deep roots within the community.

Would you like to see your small business showcased in this series? Email wendy.mitchell@ patch.com.