Photo | Courtesy of Christian McMahan
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August 31, 2021
Q&A: Former Wachusett & Wormtown leaders to open Worcester's 6th brewery
Photo | Courtesy of Christian McMahan
Christian McMahan, co-founder of Double Down Brewing Co. in Worcester, which is slated to open in September
Christian McMahan, the former president of Wachusett Brewing Co. of Westminster, which is the third-largest brewery in Central Massachusetts, per the WBJ Research Department, is teaming up with Tom Oliveri, co-founder of Wormtown Brewery in Worcester, the region's fourth-largest brewery, to launch the sixth brewery headquartered in Worcester. The pair plan to combine their experience in the local brewing industry with Oliveri’s resources in the city’s restaurant industry to launch a new brewing endeavor to feature a new beer garden, dining menu, and onsite sales. McMahan spoke with WBJ about this new endeavor, which he’s expecting to open in September.
So, what is this big new venture of yours?
Double Down Brewing Co. is launching in September. Myself and Tom Oliveri have been friends for over 20 years. When I was at Wachusett Brewing Co., we were closely connected -- my creativity agency actually did a lot of work for Wormtown. We’ve always had a very close relationship and have always talked about doing a project together one day, but he exited the Wormtown business in 2017, the same year I joined Wachusett. But we found ourselves, at the end of last year, an opportunity -- the space that was the original Wormtown Brewery on Park Avenue was available -- and connected to his restaurant, Peppercorns Grille & Bar & Civic Kitchen.
The brewery world is quick moving, and it was a fully operating brewhouse already. Everything was there. It just needed a fresh coat of paint and some updates.
What does your business model look like?
The idea is direct to customers only. No distribution, no grocery stores or restaurants. We might do some pop ups or other things down the road, though. Tom and I have a very close alignment on the types of beers we like and want to brew.
Really, this is a passion project about brewing beers we really love, and it’s kind of a fun approach when you’re not worried about achieving a certain price point on the shelf. We’re going to make the beer we want to make. We found a man named Brian Wells, who most famously worked at Left Hand Brewing Co. in Colorado. We’ve tasked him with bringing our ideas to life.
What kind of beer will you be making?
We lean toward interesting, and that’s going to cut across everything from New England IPAs and big imperial stouts and saisons, and definitely seasonalities. We’re really big believers in brewing styles that match the season they’re consumed in.
Will you serve food?
We’re fortunate to have one of the best food menus in the taproom biz because it’s connected to Peppercorns, so we’ll have access to their full kitchen and they’ll be providing their full menu.
In advance, we built what we’ll call an urban oasis, an outdoor bee garden, and we’ll have a retail space. We are actually converting the Peppercorns bar into the taproom space for Double Down. So, seating space will not be an issue.
What do you plan to bring to the Worcester beer scene?
We are psyched to be another part of the Worcester beer scene. The fact that we can come in and be that place to help make Worcester such a great town, like they talk about, when you talk about the great beer towns in New England. If we can play a role of putting Worcester into that same conversation, how cool is that? We’re close to people in each of the breweries and we’re excited.
For me, when you get the opportunity to work closely with a friend, there’s a lot of passion around it. Tom and I are pretty excited just about that. It makes it not work, it makes it fun. That’s what we’re focusing on.
This interview was conducted and edited for length and clarity by WBJ Senior Staff Writer Monica Benevides.
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