Beverly's Channel Marker Rebrands As Coastal Mass Brewing

BEVERLY, MA — A familiar face of the emerging North Shore craft beer scene now has a new name.

The owners of the former Channel Marker Brewing said that — effective immediately — the brewery is changing its name to Coastal Mass Brewing. Owners said "only the name will change" and that they decided on the switch because they found there were other beers with similar names across the country.

Florida's Islamorada Beer Company brews a Channel Marker IPA, while Lake of the Woods Brewing Company out of Minnesota produces a Channel Marker Lager.

The brewery said that co-founders Justin Negrotti, Jake Crandell and Tim Corcoran decided on the name change "after a complete evaluation of their legal options."

"Tim, Jake and I shared the feeling that a name change best positioned us for continuing the growth we’ve seen over the past five years," said Negrotti, who also serves as the brewery's Chief Executive Officer. "This isn't a drastic change in our minds. We've always been a coastal-inspired brand that leans into Beverly's location on the water along with our love of beachfront access and ocean-tied recreational activities.

"Though our name is changing, the spirit, values and culture that guide our company are not. We consider our brand to be much more than a name. Nothing else is changing. Our visual appearance, location, people, and most importantly, our beer, will not change."

"Our goal was to change as little as possible so that our brand remains consistent in spite of the name change," Negrotti said. "We made the decision as a team to not drag the decision and process out — that approach didn’t seem like who we are.

"It didn't align with the spirit of craft beer. Instead, we decided to accept it and use it as an opportunity to further evolve our brand."

Owners said the name will be officially introduced during a Thanksgiving Eve special event for the annual release of the Triple IPA Captain's Feast.

Coastal Mass Brewing's taproom is located in the Porter Mill building in downtown Beverly. More information on the available beers and taproom can be found here.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza)