Forest City brewery owner looks forward to sharing a pint Brewery owner touts hand-crafted IPAs, welcoming atmosphere

A brewer at work: Owner and Brewer Chris Coughlin serves up a draft beer of Nitro Stout to a customer at his bar located in his brewery’s headquarters. A brewer at work: Owner and Brewer Chris Coughlin serves up a draft beer of Nitro Stout to a customer at his bar located in his brewery’s headquarters. Photo: Contributed Photo Photo: Contributed Photo Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Forest City brewery owner looks forward to sharing a pint 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

MIDDLETOWN >> Though Chris Coughlin wasn’t around a century ago when his business building was home to a bicycle factory, he does recall reading about the area. Main Street and the Wesleyan campus were leafy then and heavily wooded. That was before floods took their toll.

“I thought the name for my brewery, Forest City, would reflect an earlier time and a juxtaposition of old and new,” Coughlin said.

Forest City Brewing had a soft opening in April, but celebrated its official opening June 23. Owner and brewer Chris Coughlin was accompanied by his parents, Donald and Anne-Marie, and his brother, Dan. They were joined by Larry McHugh, president of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce; Chamber Small Business Development Counselor Paul Dodge and Mayor Daniel Drew’s Chief of Staff Joe Samolis.

“My three family members along with Paul [Dodge] and Joe [Samolis] have been very helpful in getting the business to this point,” Coughlin said.

While a student at Northeastern University in Boston, Coughlin developed an interest in brewing. After graduation, he took classes at breweries and, over the years, learned the craft of brewing.

The family-operated, small-batch brewery is centrally located in the historic Remington-Rand building at 180 Johnson St. Forest City handcrafts a variety of beer, from classic ales to new-school IPAs (English India Pale Ales and American India Pale Ales).

Coughlin, 31, a Middlefield native and Xavier graduate, hopes beer lovers will stop by the tap room for a flight, taster, pint or growler. (A beer “flight” is a set of glasses with different beers in each glass. A “growler” is a glass, ceramic or stainless-steel jug used when customers want their draft beer to go).

Coughlin says American-English India Pale Ale and Ginger Saison have already become customer favorites. The latter is a traditional Belgian beer with strong ginger roots.

“We also offer snacks like potato chips and Goldfish, yet feel free to bring your own,” he says. “We look forward to sharing a pint.”

“We’re very excited to welcome Forest City Brewing to the business community,” said McHugh. “It’s a business originally built out of Chris Coughlin’s basement and through entrepreneurship now is a part of the Remington Rand building in Middletown. Chris has created a great variety of different brews of craft beer, which we welcome people to experience for themselves.”

Drew was also enthusiastic about the new brewery.

“It looks like a great place, a very professional operation,” he said. “Chris has done a great job. I haven’t tried their beer yet, but I hear it’s fantastic. We’re pleased to have this new business in Middletown.”

The brewery is a positive outcome of the city’s small business incubator program, which encourages businesses like Coughlin’s to open and flourish. Three years ago, the city’s Common Council voted on the tenancy of Forest City Brewery in the middle building of the city-owned Remington Rand complex. The three-building compound is situated between the recycling center, a rail line and the Mattabassett River. After the facility fell into disrepair, the city acquired it through tax foreclosure.

Another business in the complex is the brewery Stubborn Beauty. Coughlin welcomes the competition.

“Every craft brewer is unique,” he says. “We believe the beers and ales we offer complement theirs.”

Opened more than 100 years ago as a bicycle manufacturer, the Remington Rand complex has housed an automobile manufacturer and later, during the Cold War, a manufacturer of missile parts.

For now, Forest City Brewing is open from 4 to 8 p.m. on Fridays and from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Over the summer, Coughlin hopes to extend the open days and hours.