At Kinsmen Brewing, Attention is Paid to Creativity and Craft

Jonas Griggs behind the bar in the taproom PHILIP THIBODEAU PHOTOS

Note: this is the third in a three-part series on Southington’s breweries. For the first two installments in the series, click here and here.

Situated in the former Clark Brothers Bolt Factory building at 409 Canal Street, Kinsmen Brewery has one of the larger customer spaces in the state, with a large banquet hall, a cavernous taproom, and two outdoor seating areas. A visitor might come for a beer and not even know that the facility was hosting a wedding and a birthday party at the same time. It also offers customers a range of pizza options to go with its beverages through a partnership with Sauced, the on-site pizzeria run by the creators of Domenic & Vinnie’s.

Yet at Kinsmen, size does not mean compromising on quality. The thirsty visitor soon discovers that each of the beers on tap has a distinctive taste and character, the product of careful craftsmanship. The man who is most responsible for that craft is head brewer Jonas Griggs. Griggs may be relatively new to Kinsmen, but he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the job. He sat down with the Outsider back in February to talk about Kinsmen’s approach to brewing and the challenges and rewards of the business.

How would you describe your role here at Kinsmen?

Greg [Caucci] and Bruce [Staebler] have been the owners of this place for the whole time. I’ve come on board over the past 15 months or so. I’m relatively new to the business, but I’m not new to brewing, and when their last head brewer was going off to his next adventure, I applied.

I deal with day to day operations of the brew house, and I help out at the tavern sometimes, though we have a general manager who handles that. My job is to make sure that the beer quality stays the highest that we can make it, that we’re using the best ingredients, that the inventory is always running, making sure everybody’s schedules are running right, and that we have a constant full tap with a ton of variety so we can give something to everybody.

What are your best sellers?

It’s funny to say, but we’re seeing a resurgence in lagers. I think lagers have always done pretty well, and at Kinsmen Cold Gold is usually the flagship, the one we have on tap most often. It’s an American light lager with rice and corn in it. Lagers are making a big comeback. They’re not fully where IPA’s are yet – the IPA trend is not going anywhere anytime soon. If you were to look at sales, New England IPA as a category would be a bigger seller than the lagers. But if you’re looking at single beers, Cold Gold is definitely up there.

We run a number of different flagship IPA’s, like Yup/Nope double IPA. Our single IPAs, whether 21.3 or Deckside, are also huge sellers for us, closer to 6.5 % [alcohol content]. Between the lagers and the New England IPA’s, they’re at the forefront of everything.

Tell us about your heavier beers, your stouts and your porters.

We love having as many varieties on as we can, and we do love dark beers back there at the brewhouse. We did recently have a variety called Trunchbull’s Punishment, which is a reference to the movie Matilda; it’s a German chocolate king stout, 10 percent. We also stored some of that in 1792 barrels that aged for about a year.

But as far as dark beers that are going, we have a gingerbread stout that’s about ten percent, we have a doppelbock which is 7.8 percent, and then we have a Czech style dark lager at 5.6 percent. So we have a few dark options ranging through all different kind of tastes.

We also have Super Beast which is a 10 percent, triple IPA. We’re not afraid of doing headbangers, and they tend to sell pretty well too.

We like to have at least some IPAs, at least some light options, some dark options, and a sour option. In summertime we push towards multiple sours, two at once time. During winter, people tend to stick to IPA’s, lagers, and stouts. The stouts drop off and sours take over as the weather warms up.

What are some of your personal favorites?

My personal favorite right now is the dark lager, Bring on the Darkness, a Czech dark lager. We also have a modern West Coast style pale ale which is crisp, clean, bright; it uses an old-school hop to give you a taste of West Coast bitterness, the resinous flavor, but then also a bit of juicy fruitness as well. It’s the little sister beer to our West Coast IPA, Sucks to Suck. That one is called Fairly Sucks.

Who names these beers? You? Your whole team?

Yeah, we have to sit back there and, for lack of better words to describe it, it’s whatever we think is going to make somebody smile when they order at the bar. That’s where we go with a lot of our naming. If you can make one out of ten people chuckle at a name, it’s worth it. Then they’re more apt to tell their friend, oh, I had a Fairly Sucks. Sometimes we go more serious, but for the most part we keep it lighthearted.

You also have some low alcohol options. I was surprised at that.

Right now we have a NA [Non-alcoholic] – 0.5 percent or less is considered NA – called Clearhead. It’s a non-alcoholic pale ale with hops and grapefruit in it. We try to keep non-alcoholic beer year round at this point because the customer base is there, and they feel more welcome when they show up. Some people don’t drink. I have friends who don’t drink, even being in this industry. Being able to have a place to come and hang out and feel welcome and order a beer at the bar – it’s great for that. To be honest, I mix those in all the time. I think it's one of the best NA’s I’ve ever had, and I have tried a lot of them. I think we really nailed it. They’re not easy to do, and I’ve had a lot of bad NA’s.

How do you intervene in the process to keep the alcohol out?

Basically, you are arresting fermentation with temperature and pressure. We don’t have the technology for a pasturizer in-house, so we do our best to kill the propagation of yeast. We do that both in the fermentation and in post-fermentation where are actively putting in additives to make sure that fermentation doesn’t keep going. You are trying to make sure the acidity is right and you don’t want any bad bacteria. The last batch tasted great the whole way through. This batch tastes great and hopefully we will do a witbier that will have black pepper and fresh orange peel.

A flight of Kinsmen beers on a hot summer day, with the Canal Trail in the background 

Let’s talk about the pricing. Have you had to raise prices in the past year or so?

Yeah. Across the board, I don’t think you can find a brewery that hasn’t raised prices on things. I remember the days of going into a brewery and getting a double IPA for six dollars. Those days are behind us, unfortunately. It’s a shame. I’ve thought about having a five dollar lager pint, just to have one option under six. But our beer sells pretty well at our prices and I think people understand the quality of what we are producing here. They’re not just paying for a beer, they’re paying for an experience when they come in here.

Raw materials, packaging, everything goes up. We get hit with a lot of those costs and we don’t always reflect it to the customer. We’re trying to maintain our customer base, but you have to make sure your product is profitable.

Do you distribute?

We currently only distribute one brand, and that’s Husky Hops, for the UConn Huskies. Otherwise everything gets sold right over the counter, which is a good problem to have. We prioritize draft lines over can lines, but we’ve got eight different can varieties to go. That’s pretty good for a brewery our size. We do 1,000 to 1,200 barrels per year.

What’s behind the choice of the name ‘Kinsmen’?

It’s basically a Gaelic/Celtic thing. It’s a theme the owners have run with. It’s about being rustic and homey and a second living room for people. To be a welcoming environment for all, in an old factory, to make it feel cozy.

We’re one of the few breweries in CT that has a fireplace that’s often going. It’s an atmosphere that can’t be replicated very easily. The naming, the design, the tap handles – a lot of it is made of reclaimed wood from the premises. Kinsmen embodies a welcoming atmosphere and being able to do everything from beer to cocktails to pizza. It’s an easy place to come into. It’s a nice spot.

You have a lot of community events going on.

Yeah, we just had a Club Pilates event. Tonight we’ve got a cover band playing, Blondie and Bowie, sold out. That will pull a good number of people in here. Fridays and Saturdays are good for us. We’ve maintained an environment that people like coming back to. We have a full experience, not just the beer.

Do you feel like the Canal Trail out back is an asset?

Huge. That’s why we’re dying for the weather to give us a break here. During the summer, I can clock out of work at the end of my shift and sit out back, and the number of random people that weren’t planning on stopping in that get off their bikes, grab a bite to eat, get on their bikes and keep going is amazing. At the last brewery I was at, the walk-in traffic was non-existent. You didn’t have people dropping in, it was all calculated drives and calculated visits. So it’s refreshing to see that and the trail lends a lot to that.

Do you feel like you have a good relationship to the town?

Yes. It’s slow to build those relationships, but I visit spots around here – get my breakfast around here, go with friends to Groggy Frog, go to Queen St. I’m friends with the guys at Witchdoctor too, so I’ll pop over there, trying to make connections wherever I can. I’ve got two young kids at home, so I don’t have a whole lot of time.

What’s the biggest challenge for you on a daily basis?

I think the biggest challenge for any brewer in this industry is innovation. Tryng to make something that’s putting you more on the map. Trying to do a certain style better than anyone else. We’re always trying to experiment with something new, to find out how to do something in a different way, add different ingredients, ferment in a certain way, change temperatures, even changing the [alcohol] percentages on our flagship beers a little bit.

I think innovation is our biggest challenge, and because you’re in a market that so saturated, it’s often hard to make yourself the shiny pebble in the pile. We do think pretty hard about that stuff and sometimes it’s hard to be innovative while keeping with your core brands. You can’t change your core brand too much. You may pump out a new batch that experiments with it in one way, but you won’t know the results of it for two or three weeks. Yeah, innovation is the hardest thing to do right now to make sure you stand out in the crowd.

Aside from the paycheck, what is the most rewarding thing about this job?

I have referenced this so many times in my life that my wife would probably kill me if she heard me say it. But my favorite Mark Twain quote is, if you do something you love for a living, you’ll never work a day in your life. I love what I do. I get to come to work and create something and see people enjoying it. I’ve worked at a number of different breweries in the state now, and I don’t think I’ve ever had such a direct view of the volume of people enjoying my beer. On a Friday night I work in the taproom, and you can look across the room and there’s hundreds of pints out there – glasses filled with a product that we’ve put our blood, sweat, and tears into.

And because of the way the taproom is shaped, it’s vast, like a cavern. There’s something very rewarding about seeing hundreds of people there drinking your beer and having a good time. The last place I worked at gave me the opportunity to hone my recipe-making skills, but the taproom never got that busy. Here you can see people enjoying the beers. I used to cook for a living and see people enjoy the food I was cooking. This is that, but I have more of an investment of my heart with it. Even recipes that existed before I was here, I’ve put my touch on that, to improve on that. I think that’s the most rewarding thing, being able to come in here and brew beer for a living.

I’ve got a lot of buddies who hate their jobs in front of computers. I have to sit in front of a computer now and then, but for the most part I’m on my feet, moving around, problem solving. It’s really hard to imagine doing anything else than this, which I’ve been doing for ten years now. I love coming to work.

Finally, let’s say you’re at home and you want something to drink. What’s in your fridge? What do you pull out?

Short pours of cans that are here from packing days (laughs). No, if I was going to reach for a beer, my favorite beer of all time is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It’s consistent, it’s got a great flavor, I know what I’m getting every time, it’s my favorite brewery ever. It’s an easy drinker, but it still harkens back to the days when I could drink double West Coast IPAs and be fine. Now I can’t drink too many IPAs; it hurts too much the next day. Something at 5.5 percent, that’s right in my wheelhouse and it’s got the flavor that I look for.

Its either that or a nice clean lager – if I can find one, especially one made locally, from someone who makes it well. A problem though is that we pour so much effort into lagers that I can’t always enjoy lagers unless they’re our own!

Matos One-Hits Southington as Cheshire Repeats as Class LL Champion

Matos sending one of her signature fast balls to the plate. AJ ANGELILLO PHOTOS

STORRS — Cheshire senior pitcher Jenica Matos one-hit Southington and struck out 15 in a complete-game shutout Saturday morning at the University of Connecticut.

For the second straight postseason, Cheshire’s ace stood between Southington and a state championship. Cheshire ended Southington’s season a year ago, when Matos one-hit the Blue Knights and struck out 13 in a 6-0 semifinal.

The Rams went into the championship game this year unbeaten at 26-0 and the St. John’s commit never let the Blue Knights believe the streak would end.

Matos entered the day having allowed two earned runs all season across 146 innings and she reached her 1,000th career strikeout in the conference final last month.

Southington senior pitcher Angela Insogna refused to let the game get away. She escaped an early jam in the first, pitching around two hitters and three stolen bases to keep the game scoreless, then settled in.

Insogna scattered three hits over six innings and held the most dangerous lineup in the state to two runs, hitting four batters but walking none. She kept the Blue Knights within reach deep into the game, even as her offense went silent.

Cheshire broke through in the second as Insogna hit sophomore designated player Blake Hall and freshman Chloe Marciano came into run.

Senior left fielder Addison Coffey would then line a single to center, which allowed Marciano to reach third and junior right fielder Avery Miramant dropped a bunt in front of the plate. Insogna fielded it but could not get the throw home cleanly and Marciano scored to put Cheshire ahead 1-0.

From there, Matos took complete control of the game. She struck out the side in the fourth and retired the first 14 Southington batters in order. The Blue Knights did not reach base until the fifth, when right fielder Savanna Eliasson lined a single up the middle for the only hit and the only baserunner Matos would allow.

She answered by striking out freshman first baseman Abby Lockwood to close the inning and the threat went nowhere.

Insogna, meanwhile, kept getting out of danger when, in the fourth with two outs, Coffey would be hit by a pitch, after Southington protested the previous pitch, after it was originally ruled that Coffey was hit when she wasn’t. Insogna shrugged it off, retiring Miramant on a fly out to left to strand the runner.

The Rams add on an insurance run in the sixth when Senior first baseman Lyla Blair opened with a hard liner to left and senior Celeste Elliot came in to run.

Senior shortstop Avery Radford moved Elliot to second with a sacrifice bunt and sophomore third baseman Olivia Rydzy followed with a double to left that brought Elliot home for a 2-0 lead.

Southington went down swinging in the seventh as senior center fielder Alexa Poutouves opened with an 11-pitch at-bat, fouling off four of her final five pitches before striking out.

After senior second baseman Olivia Gombotz filed to center, senior third baseman Aubrey Perugini battled through eight pitches in the final at-bat of her high school career.

Matos finished it the way she had handled the Blue Knights all morning, with a swing and a miss and the Cheshire team sprinted to the circle to mob her. Both teams lined up along the foul lines afterward for their medals, with Cheshire collecting the winner’s plaque.

The game closes a dominant era for Cheshire, which leaned on its senior class all spring behind Matos and UConn-bound senior second baseman Jordan McCue. They walk away as back-to-back state champions, handing the program its third title overall.

Matos took home the most valuable player honors for the championship. It was a remarkable achievement for the star pitcher, made all the more impressive by the fact that Matos has a rare genetic condition that makes her legally blind.

Southington finishes 22-5 and loses a deep senior core, including Insogna, Insogna, Poutouves, Perugini and University of Hartford commit Gombotz. The Blue Knights have sophomore shortstop Nerea Maule and catcher Addie Wanner with a young supporting cast that now knows just how the climb back to glory can be.

Matos with her MVP award.

Town Council Greenlights Grant Application for More Firefighters

FD Lt. Andrew Rennie makes the case for Assistant Fire Chief hire. PETER PROHASKA PHOTO

Southington Fire Department officials raised concerns about under-staffing in the wake of a recent blaze at Chuck and Eddie’s Used Auto Parts. On Monday night, June 8, Chief Scott Lee came before the Town Council to ask again for additional support for the Department.

The case was made in a power point presentation put together by Captain Daniel Comen, who Lee described as the department’s go-to man for his grant-writing skill. That skill will be put to the test again as grant applications were approved by the Council.

The primary grant in question is the federal SAFER (Staffing For Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) program, run through FEMA. Connecticut communities have mostly been excluded from the money in recent years. In 2023, for example, zero dollars went to Connecticut communities. Mansfield, West Haven and Middletown got grants for FY 2024. Southington received grants for hiring in 2015 and 2021.

Should FEMA award a SAFER grant to Southington, the plan is to hire 12 firefighters, bringing the department to what proponents say are minimum safety levels. Comen suggested that reducing the need for overtime pay would offer some cost savings, but the main thrust of his plea was that the safety of firefighters as well as the community was at stake.

Board of Fire Commissioners Chairman Tim Wilk described Department members as “discouraged and beleagured,” and suggested more staff would aid morale while meeting national safety standards and reducing response times, especially as the number of simultaneous calls grows. Lee said there were five or six such incidents on Monday alone.

A request made earlier this year for three additional firefighting hires was rejected by the Board of Finance and the Town Council in the course of its budget decision-making.

Comen said that, while there has been some improvement in response times, the department would like to halve those times, particularly in Southington’s south end. Relying on mutual aid to fill in gaps in coverage is not sustainable, he added, since every surrounding communities face similar staff shortfalls and their first duty is to their own towns.

Volunteers firefighters, the traditional backstop for many Connecticut communities like Southington, have dwindled in number in recent years. Lee said that volunteers who work full-time jobs and have families and other obligations aren’t always available as needed.

The question of whether to authorize the SAFER application led to a debate among Town Council members. Tony Morrison, a Republican, and Chris Palmieri, a Democrat, found common ground in concerns about how the Town, already facing difficult budget decisions, would be able to fund the roles once the grant runs out. Palmieri also asked whether it was appropriate to effectively overrule the Board of Finance’s decision, a move which generally requires six votes.

Several other Council members spoke of the need to fund public safety and supported the proposal. The Council eventually voted 7-2 to allow for the SAFER application, with Morrison and Councillor Jim Morelli voting against the motion.

One stipulation was added to the approval, that the hires would begin in July 2027, when state law regarding municipal employee retirement benefits changes. Town Manager Alex Ricciardone called the new law a “game-changer” for its potential to save the town money and strongly recommended holding off on new hires until it takes effect.

The Council could also, per the discussion, refuse the grant money if it believed it could not meet the financial requirements for the positions.

Other First Responder Actions

 

In a related discussion, the Council voted unanimously to approve an application for a Federal Department of Transportation grant for equipment that can help reduce emergency response times and provide better real-time information. The grant would be $440,000, with a 20% cost share for the Town, divided between Police and Fire.

Chief Lee also made his own case for hiring an Assistant Fire Chief. In his testimony he cited a range of administrative tasks he has no choice but to take on himself, some of which would ordinarily be the purview of a subordinate. He mentioned in passing that he has not had a day off since October due to the scope of his current duties.

Lee’s ask was supported by Andrew Rennie, a Lieutenant with Engine Company 1, who passionately described Lee’s care for his department members and the community he serves as he argued for funding the Assistant role.

The Council voted to table the issue on a 5-4 vote.

The Council also formally asked Ricciardone to seek ways to facilitate cooperation between the Police and Fire Departments, as well as the Information Technology office, in order to reduce costs and find efficiencies where possible.

Additional Developments

In other events, a public hearing on adding definitions to the sewer code opened and closed with no public comment. The new definitions are meant to remove hardships for residents who may have to hook up to the municipal sewer system in the event of a septic failure, and to encourage new buildings to use the system.

The possibility of a new industrial development at 682 Curtiss Street hit a road bump when it emerged that the landowner was unwilling to contribute toward the costs of a new road project. Preliminary engineering studies done by Town staff estimated a cost of $450,000. While the cost could potentially be offset by a STEAP grant, the Council opted to table the matter for now. Another possible developer is also interested, according to Councillor Mike DelSanto, who suggested that future tax revenue from development in the industrially-zoned area could cover the Town’s initial outlay.

Finally, a proclamation honoring Donald A. Dorman, the decorated Southington Airman who perished and disappeared during World War II, was read into the record by Council Chair Paul Chaplinsky. Events honoring Dorman’s life, service and sacrifice will be ongoing at locations around town on June 22 and 23.