Bottoms Up: Beverly-Brewed Beer Company Takes Off

BEVERLY, MA – Ben Garry and Matt Sullivan have known each other since the first grade at McKay School. They grew up close to Henry's Market in Beverly, where Garry stocked shelves as a kid. They've always gone all in with their interests, but their latest project – a brewery – has taken off.

The pair brew hop-forward ales through their nanobrewery, Old Planters Brewing Co, which is run out of their shared basement in their hometown. They've started renting space in another local brewery to be able to do larger batches.

Garry and Sullivan joke that the home brews they did roughly five years ago created more of a mess than good beer: "bad beer and sticky floors," but their friends enjoyed it. The two had caught the brewing bug.

They decided to start getting honest feedback from anyone that would give it to refine their brews into something they could present to restaurants and package stores. They learned that people tend to say they don't like hoppy beers because they equate it with bitterness, but that using hops doesn't limit brewers to bitter beer.

"Looking back, I thought it would be the best thing in the world if I could sell the beer I brewed at a restaurant," said Sullivan.

It took them about two years to get the brewery off the ground and become the first licensed brewer in Beverly. The first beer they served in a restaurant was in 2015.

"I feel like we're learning every day," said Garry. "It's been selling, and it doesn't stay in stores long."

Their success hit home for Garry when Henry's Market – his childhood employer – started carrying Old Planters. He said Henry's has always had a reputation of carrying quality products.

"To be equated with that and have that validation was amazing," he said.

Garry and Sullivan are joined by a mass of local brewers capitalizing on consumers' loyalty to their hometowns. Notch Brewery & Tap Room has garnered a near-cult following in Salem, and Gentile Brewing Company in Beverly isn't far behind. Ipswich Ale has been a consistently strong showing on menus across Massachusetts and beyond.

Despite the influx in breweries, the guys at Old Planters say other brewers have gone out of their way to be helpful.

"You're more community than competition," Sullivan said.

Sullivan and Garry are hoping to eventually have a taproom somewhere in Beverly (currently you can't go to the brewery and try their beers), but the location has to be right. Until then, they're focusing on making good beer, learning about the business, and being part of the community.

"I feel like we're still on the upward trend," said Sullivan. "We're not trying to be your Budweiser."

You can find Old Planters beer in Bogie's Beer and Wine, Henry's Market, Depot Liquors, Sonny's Mobil, A&B Burgers, Soma, Gulu-Gulu Cafe, and Naumkeag Ordinary, to name a few.

Image via Taylor Rapalyea/Patch Staff