Tower Hill Brewing is looking to open its doors to the South Kingstown community in the next few months.
Located in the South County Commons in Wakefield, the brewery is a decades-long passion of four neighbors and friends who love beer. Tower Hill Brewing joins a growing list of Rhode Island breweries, many of which are in South County, including Tilted Barn (Exeter), Shaidzon (West Kingston) and more.
Three members of the THB team are University of Rhode Island alumni; Bob Meyer (‘89), Brian Hubert (‘95) and Bob Golden (‘90.) The fourth partner, Ivan Nazario, graduated from San Jose State University in 1991. Nazario first started thinking about opening a brewery together in 2004, according to Meyer.
“Ivan, one of the partners, has been a homebrewer forever,” Meyer said. “He said, ‘I think there’s a great spot for a brewery here in town that we should do this, we should all get together and do this.’ And we didn’t do anything.”
That spot later became the home of Whalers Brewing Company, a highly awarded Wakefield brewery that consistently appears on “Best Of” lists.
Meyer explained that Nazario brought up the idea of opening a brewery together again about two years ago, and the team took the opportunity to make their dream a reality.
While production hasn’t started yet, ideas are bubbling, according to Hubert. Nazario’s homebrew recipes are being tested and modified by their brewery consultant Jeff Goodno, to be scaled up for commercial use and sale.
The space, located at 25 Village Square Drive, is still under construction. The 5,000 square foot building will be split in two separate areas, the brewhouse and the taproom, according to Hubert and Meyer. The brewhouse, where the beer is produced, features fermenters and Brite tanks along with a 30-foot cold room for storage. The taproom side will have seating for over 100 guests as well as an outdoor space to be open during nicer weather. Meyer and Hubert explained that they plan to build a stage in the space as well for small music performances.
Tower Hill is not planning on offering food, but is looking to partner with restaurants in the area; specifically those in South County Commons, according to Meyer.
“Part of our lease is, they don’t want us to have food trucks, they don’t want us to do food in here,” Meyer said. “But knowing that there’s two great Italian restaurants, there’s Thai, there’s Indian. There’s a small cafe here. There are poké bowls. There’s all kinds of stuff.”
Hubert explained that the THB team plans to promote their neighbors by showing QR codes to their respective online menus.
“You can just scan it right from here and order,” Hubert said.
In terms of variety of offerings, Tower Hill Brewing plans to start with a few different styles of beer, including India pale ales, amber ales, stouts, pale ales and hard seltzers, according to Meyer. He explained that one of his personal favorites brewed by Nazario is his take on an amber ale. The beer menu will grow organically, according to both Meyer and Hubert.
“We’re gonna start with some hazy IPAs,” Meyer said. “If customers love his amber, that could be the flagship.”
Meyer and Hubert explained their openness and willingness to collaborate and connect with the South Kingstown community and beyond, in an effort to establish themselves.
“Well, this location establishes us,” Meyer said. “This could not be any better of a location, I think to start out. You’ve got so much activity.”
Meyer and Hubert hope that Tower Hill Brewing grows to become a staple in Southern Rhode Island, and a part of a larger brewery community.
“Breweries work together,” Meyer said.
Meyers’ point was echoed by Hubert.
“It’s a guild,” he said.
Tower Hill Brewing is slated to open by the end of October, pending construction delays, according to Meyer. For any more information follow @towerhillbrewing401 on Instagram.