Today we’d like to introduce you to Devin Kelly.
Isle Brewers Guild was created by Jeremy Duffy and Devin, two Rhode Island natives that shared a passion for beer and wanted to build something in their home state. Originally envisioned in Providence the team suffered a major set back in March of 2015 when the 80,000 sq ft building they were set to buy burned to the ground in spectacular fashion.
Relatively undeterred the decision was made to continue to look for options in and around the area. From there all roads led to Pawtucket where a collaboration with state and city leaders allowed for the acquisition of a 131,000 sq ft industrial mill building.
Once the leading producer of nuts and bolts in the country the campus is now home to the largest brewery in RI and one of the fastest growing breweries in US history. At the heart of the story is a new concept that focuses on brewing partnerships with great local and regional breweries.
IBG provides brewing expertise and equipment to allow some of the great breweries and head brewers to scale their recipes. In the 1 year that IBG has been in operation, we have collaborated with 9 breweries to help them produce more than 20,000 barrels of beer. (that’s 6.6 million 12oz beers)
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As mentioned the fire was probably the most notable set back, but there have been others. During the start-up phase the hardest aspect, as it often is, was securing the financing that would allow us to complete the vision.
We knocked on a lot of doors. In the end, we have a long list of great partners that includes city, state, private and federal backing. From there the challenge was coordinating and implementing the build-out of a fully automated brewing and packaging line.
As with any technology, it was a constant challenge to try and line up thousands of variables. We also have had to deal with rapid growth and all of the challenges that it creates. It certainly is thrilling, but it is also inherently chaotic.
In less than 2 years we will go from 2 to 30 employees and it is hard to create a culture in which everybody can thrive when everything is new, but it doesn’t lack for excitement.
Isle Brewers Guild, LLC – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Isle Brewers Guild works with established mid to large-size craft breweries looking to expand their capacity, sales, and distribution. Isle Brewers Guild is a Partner Brewery, where brewers brew their beer under the care and supervision of their own brewmaster, in a state-of-the-art facility offering a wide range of brewing and packaging services.
Our goal is to provide for our partner brewers an efficient brewing solution with better control and customer service. We are one of the only breweries in the country that is 100% dedicated to brewing our partner beers. We have a 100 barrel brewhouse in addition to a 10 barrel pilot facility that allows for experimentation and collaboration at a variety of levels.
We also have a Tap Room (The Guild) that has served more than 30,000 people in the last year. In this way, we try and provide a 360-degree beer experience that allows the consumer to be part of our partnership.
We are currently expanding into a new Tap Room location (5,000 sq ft) that will offer an expanded consumer experience. We currently have a wide range of food trucks and musicians that work with us on a weekly basis. We also host weekly events that range from birthday parties to festivals
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
1. Watching the first beer come off the line after 4 years of planning and set up
Contact Info:
- Address: Room 461 Main St Pawtucket, RI 02860
- Website: http://www.theguildri.com/
- Instagram: @guildri
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theguildri
- Twitter: @TheGuildRI
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