Issue link: http://southshoremagazine.uberflip.com/i/543152
42 If you are a craft beer lover, as I and many of my friends are, you have to be very pleased with the selection and variety that we have available to us through our favorite package stores, specialty stores and, of course, on tap at your favorite tavern, restaurant or brew pub. Just from New England alone we are blessed with many fantastic award-winning breweries and beers. It seems as though every month or so you hear of a new brewery/brew pub that has sprouted up to make their mark on the craft brew scene. Here on the South Shore, it has been a while for any new entries into the market. We have been fortunate to have Mayflower Brewing in Plymouth and Blue Hills in Canton, continuing to forge forward with their many fine beers. I recently was visiting with my friend and client Tom Powers over at the Union Brew House in Weymouth, and he asked if I had heard about Old Colony Brewing in Whitman or Tenth District in Abington. I had heard a bit about Old Colony from a fellow radio host: Kevin Tocci of Monday Night Talk on WATD, and he had tried it at McGuiggan's Pub in Whitman. Unfortunately, the day of my visit none of the Old Colony Beers were in tap rotation at Union Brew House. I did get to sample a couple of others though. If you are a craft beer fan Tom has a mighty stout (pardon the pun) selection of craft beers on tap, in bottles and in cans and is a very willing opportunist to have his customers try what is new! I went to visit the folks at Old Colony a few weeks back. Old Colony is currently located in a small store front at 571 Temple Street in Whitman. I met with one of the three owners, Dennis Nash. Dennis has been a home-brewer for 6 years and then shortly after got his neighbor Chris Currier involved and a bit later Tim Driscoll. While involved in the brewing process at Nash's home he and his now business partners discussed how cool it would be to create a brewery right in the middle of the South Shore. So they set out to see what it would take to make their desire a reality. It took about a year of planning and nearly an additional 9 months to get Federal and State permitting for a farm-brewing/ nanobrewery license. Old Colony Brewing opened on June 28, 2014 and with nearly a year under their belt, they have created a very dedicated following of customers. Old Colony Brews on a 1.5 bbl system (a bbl is 31 gallons). The 3 partners brew 2-3 times per week. They currently have 3 year round beers: Orange Pale Ale-American Pale Ale-5.7 % ABV. Old Colony has been brewing this for 5 years and they use some bitter orange Two New South Shore Nanobreweries are Ready to Make a Name for Themselves, and of Course, Some Great Locally-crafted Beers. by Stanley Blackmur