Where Are They Now? Update with Brewery Legitimus
Brewery Legitimus Co-Founders Chris and Christina Sayer spoke to Innovation Destination Hartford in January 2017, when they had recently opened their Greater Hartford brewery. (Read the interview: Startup Brewery Adds to New Hartford Community.)
Since then, the brewery has been working to build its clientele and support local businesses. Last year, Brewery Legitimus formed a collaboration with Barden Farm to offer a local Community Supported Agriculture Beer & Cheese (CSABC) share.
Community Support
“We’re trying to do as many partnerships with locally owned businesses as we can,” says Brewery Legitimus co-founder Christina Sayer.
“We were members of Barden Farm’s CSA prior to starting this partnership. We thought: Here are two family-owned businesses offering complementary things; wouldn’t other people like to have these things together? That’s how the CSABC was born,” she explains.
The CSABC will be available beginning July 11. Find out more about membership.
Brewery Legitimus is also working with Barden farm to plan a farm to table dinner to wrap up the end of the CSABC season. They brought in New Hartford-based Bridgestreet Libations & Temptations to keep the focus local to New Hartford. Tickets will be available to CSABC members first and then open to the public.
The brewery has collaborated with other local businesses, too, including hosting a beer and grilling dinner with Avon Prime Meats and yoga events with New Hartford-based Lam Yoga.
“These types of events lift up our town,” says Christina. “If we can highlight the businesses in our town while we’re highlighting our own, it works out well for everyone.”
The brewery is also supporting the Greater Hartford community with the launch a new beer release called “Tower for the People.” For every pint sold, $1 will benefit The Friends of Heublein Tower, which helps to maintain and restore the historic landmark in Simsbury.
Business Growth
Brewery Legitimus will soon launch a canning line, which will enable the brewery to sell their beer at local liquor stores and restaurants without draught lines.
“We were able to take advantage of a Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund Voucher Program (MVP) grant, which helped us purchase a portion of this canning line,” explains Christina. “We’re going to start small in our tap room, but we plan to cascade out to retail locations.”
A program of the Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund, the MVP program is a partnership of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT).
Brewery Legitimus is also working on a major expansion, adding another 4700 ft.² to their location. The mixed-used space will be available for larger and private events. It will also enable the brewery to do wild fermentations and barrel aging, which requires a lot more production space.
“We live in a great area with tons of nearby activities and supportive local businesses. We’re excited about our growth and proud to become a fixture in New Hartford that’s working to engage other small businesses in our community,” says Christina.
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