Ever think about starting a brewery with some of your college buddies? 4 Colby College alumni did just that when they started the Coastal Extreme Brewing Company in Middletown, Rhode Island back in 1999. Coastal Extreme brews an Amber Ale, a blueberry ale and 4 seasonal beers, a “Cyclone” series of limited release big beers and an annual beer that can be aged. I was down in the Newport area for work on Wednesday and thought I would stop in and check their place out.
Let me just preface this whole story by saying that Newport Storm is a very appropriate name for the entire trip. It was like a freakin' hurricane down there on Wednesday!
It took some searching but I found the brewery nestled in a warehouse setting off a quiet road about 10 minutes north of Newport. After first selecting the wrong door (there are two identical doors at Coastal Extreme) I found myself inside the small confines of the visitor friendly part of the brewery (the first door I opened showed me the inner workings of the actual brewery).
Will Rafferty was the only of the 4 co-founders so I talked to him for a few minutes about their place. Coastal Extreme beers are available in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut and it was nice to hear that they do a major chunk (80%) of their business in Rhode Island and enjoy being a small (they have a 10-barrel brewhouse) regional brewery. I personally think more breweries should be okay with being small and local and not try to become the next Sierra Nevada.
Inside the brewery is a bar area with a bunch of taps (and some award medals). They had the Rhode Island Blueberry Ale, the Amber Ale, the Winter Ale and the Irish Red on tap. I got excited and asked for a sample of the Winter Ale but was left thirsty by Rhode Island laws that forbid sampling at the brewery during business hours or some such bureaucratic nonsense. What is that all about!!!
Will had the same feelings on the matter and is hoping things will change with some nice beer-friendly Rhode Island legislation very soon. I was relieved to find that they sell growlers of their brewery-fresh beer for $10. I asked Will to sell me on the porter, since I couldn’t sample it, but I’m sure he knew I was going to buy a growler regardless of what he said! By the way... if you go there, bring cash (no cards accepted). I had to go and get some since I didn’t have any on me.
It was a pretty short visit but informative and Will invited me back on a Friday at 5:45 since they are open to the public for a brewery tour and legal sampling at that time. Thanks Will for taking some time out of what looked like a busy day for you inside that little office of yours! Congrats on living a dream that many of us share and best of luck to you and your friends and remember that your love of beer started in Maine!
To find out more about how Coastal Extreme was started click HERE!
To find out more about their beers click HERE!
spent grain on a stormy day at Coastal Extreme Brewing Company
(check out the brewery sponsored Porsche in the background)
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