How New England Brewing came to be!
It's been a long, wild ride since we opened up shop!
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2001
Although the name “New England Brewing” has existed on the walls of many breweries in the Northeast over the years, our particular tale begins right here in Connecticut - with this guy! Rob Leonard.
At the time, Rob was the Head Brewer at New England Brewing Co. down in South Norwalk, CT. When the place unfortunately closed in 2001, he took a long, hard look at the evolving craft beer industry and decided to purchase the company name.
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2002
In the Fall of 2002, Rob then signed a lease for a new brewing space on Selden Street in Woodbridge, CT - good old 7 Selden, to be exact. The plan? Brew enough to make a living while also adding to the local community. And with a couple of previously established recipes grandfathered in from the South Norwalk location, things were looking up.
2003
On June 4th, 2003, NEBCO had its first official “birthday party” under Rob’s ownership. A grand “tap party” was held at the original Delaney’s location in New Haven - the first bar to ever purchase a NEBCO keg! Pints were raised in celebration… by the seven or eight people who happened to stop by. Then it was back to work.
Around this time, it was also decided that NEBCO beer would be packaged in cans - and that’s where a lot of the heavy lifting came in. In a few words: Two. Can. Filler.
As demand for NEBCO beer grew, Rob filled just two cans at a time (seriously!) and sealed them manually. Needless to say, it was a slow and laborious process. A single pallet done in eight-ish hours was considered a good day, and then he’d get up and do it all over again (usually with a crew of really, really dedicated volunteers - special shoutout to you, Dale and George Miller). All the while, word about a new NEBCO in the New Haven area continued to spread.
2006
As the kettle kept on boiling, the beer world kept on changing. While Rob was focused on brewing up beers like Atlantic Amber and Elm City Lager, things began trending more toward bitter, hoppy IPAs.
In 2006, our answer to this was the very first release of Sea Hag IPA - and saying it was a hit would be a big understatement. It quickly became 75 percent of the brewery’s output less than a year after launching, and since then, demand has only grown.
Shortly after, Imperial Stout Trooper also became available for the first time. These new beers coincided with the passing of the Growler Law in CT, which allowed breweries to sell their beer in jugs.
Almost overnight, we had people knocking on our door ready to have their growlers filled. So we set up shop - and a few draft lines and tap handles later, the earliest version of our taproom was ready to go.
2010
We had a funeral... for a beer! With things continuing to trend more toward IPAs, we made the decision to retire Atlantic Amber. There was a funeral, a priest, a (cask)et... it was a whole thing. Tears were certainly shed, but even bigger things were on the way.
In 2010, we introduced two new beers that really put us on the map: 668, our Belgian Strong Ale, and Gandhi-Bot, a hopped-up Double IPA that was promptly renamed to G-Bot for, ya know, reasons.
Don't worry. We can rebuild him. We have the technology!
2013
By 2013, the walls of our Selden Street location had become too confining - and the space had reached its limit. With the addition of larger fermenters and an automated canning line (phew!), it was time to pack up shop and move. So we did… and went right across the street, actually.
It took some time, but at 175 Amity Road, we gutted and renovated a new taproom, expanded the brewhouse space, and brought on new members to the NEBCO team. More demand called for more hands on deck - and more beer a-flowin’.
2016
At a certain point, we thought: the demand for NEBCO beer has to settle down soon, right?! Nope. With lines out the door (and even around the block) for beers like Fuzzy and other releases, it was time to further expand production. So in 2016, we added to our brew team, brought additional fermenters into the new space, and swapped out our 15bbl system for a 30. Our taproom also expanded to offer full service - adios, tiny taster samples!
In 2016, we also packaged Fuzzy in cans for the first time, creating even more demand for our all-Citra staple.
2020
Ummm… yeah. We think it goes without saying that 2020 was a challenging year for the craft beer industry and many others.
A huge part of what makes us, us is the NEBCO team - and to safely preserve it during those times, Rob made the decision to split everyone up into two groups. Limited contact, alternating shifts each week, but in the end, everyone made it through with their jobs intact. Go, teamwork! And of course, we couldn’t have done it without your continued loyalty and demand for our beers.
2021 - 2024
In the years that followed and as things gradually returned to normal, we quickly realized that yet again, our production space was reaching critical mass. By 2021, we were brewing around 20,000 barrels per year - a big leap from our 500 annual amount back in 2003.
Thus began the search for our next - and hopefully forever - home.
If you’re reading this, then you probably know all about the West Haven kerfuffle. Multiple kerfuffles, actually, but all water under the bridge now. The search diligently went on, and eventually things fell into place…
2025
In the Summer of 2025, we finally found our new home at 5 Indian Neck Ave in Branford, CT - right on the water! While the rest of this chapter is still unwritten, we can't wait to have you along for the ride as we evolve into this space, expand our beer offerings, and bring together the local community over a few pints and a great time.
See you soon!
