Learning this peaked Johns interest, and finally, at the urging of Bill, he began brewing in 2013. Over the years John dreamed of opening a brewery. After many trips to European breweries, breweries across the US, and five years of nano-brewing, a real chance for the brewery to become a reality presented itself.

The owners of 623 Massachusetts, the Marsh family, wanted to lease the premises to the right type of family business with a good concept, so when John, Kathryn, and Bill came calling, the match couldn’t have been better. The Marsh family expressed that they had always thought the location to be a good one for a brewery, and so the Black Stag Brewery finally had a home.