New brewery in Derby to join rapidly expanding industry

From left; Owners John Walsh, of Orange, and brothers Bill and Mark daSilva, of Shelton, are working to open their Bad Sons Beer Company brewery and tasting room at 249 Roosevelt Drive in Derby, Conn. on Wednesday, January 18, 2017. less From left; Owners John Walsh, of Orange, and brothers Bill and Mark daSilva, of Shelton, are working to open their Bad Sons Beer Company brewery and tasting room at 249 Roosevelt Drive in Derby, Conn. on ... more Photo: Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 86 Caption Close New brewery in Derby to join rapidly expanding industry 1 / 86 Back to Gallery

The options for craft beer lovers in southwestern Connecticut keep growing.

This summer, Bill and Mark DaSilva, founders of the former Southport Brewing Co., are hoping to open a new brewery in a former factory building on Roosevelt Drive in Derby.

“We’ve been in the business for 20 years,” said Bill DaSilva. “This is just a natural progression for us. We’re going from a brew pub to a manufacturing facility. We’ve been looking for years for the right space and the right location.”

DaSilva said the brothers, who also founded the SBC Restaurant & Brewery in Milford, found the right location in the former Manger Die Casting Co. building because it’s in the middle of a busy beer trail that includes several Oxford breweries and Two Roads Brewing Co. in Stratford.

“We feel that a lot of people drive to the breweries for an experience,” DaSilva said. “And they’ll drive to a couple. A lot of these people make a day of it.”

The Derby brewery will be named Bad Sons Beer Co., with the words Bad Sons an acronym referring to the Naugatuck Valley towns of Beacon Falls, Ansonia, Derby, Shelton, Oxford, Naugatuck and Seymour. DaSilva, who grew up in Shelton, said the name also refers to the way his dad used to jokingly refer to him and Mark DaSilva after their older brother became a pastor.

Bad Sons is hardly alone. In addition to an expansion at Two Roads, Nod Hill Brewery in Ridgefield recently moved forward with plans to open a facility at 137 Ethan Allen Highway.

Bill DaSilva said he thinks the state’s growing brewery industry is a good thing, and noted that Connecticut appears to be expanding at a slower pace than other states, like California.

Across the country, the number of breweries is growing to numbers not seen since the late 1800s. In 2015, there were 4,269 nationwide, just over 100 more than in 1873, when a decline in breweries began, according to data from the Brewers Association. The U.S. population has increased about eight-fold since the 1870s.

In 2015, the organization found there were 35 craft breweries in Connecticut producing more than 105,000 barrels a year. With 1.3 breweries per 100,000 adults of drinking age, the state ranked 35th in the nation in the number of breweries per capita.

Bryon Turner, founder of the CT Beer Trail, said the number now stands at nearly 60 locations throughout the state when brew pubs are included.

Turner said that “quality and consistency will always be critical elements of success,” adding the industry benefits from competition.

“For the consumer, there’s no such thing as too many options,” Turner said. “The other end of the equation is the view point from brewery owners. Most believe a rising tide raises all ships; more positive recognition for local beer helps get the word out on all Connecticut breweries and helps to develop a knowledgeable and passionate consumer base of craft beer enthusiasts.”

Tony Pellino, a brewer at OEC Brewing in Oxford, said that for a small state Connecticut has a fair number of breweries. “The supply is growing much more rapidly than the demand,” he said. Oxford is also home to the Black Hog Brewing Co.

But he said he doesn’t think two breweries in one town is too many “as long as each brewery is trying to make its own distinct mark on beer.”

“We’re two very different breweries that can offer two unique experiences,” he added.

Pellino acknowledged that the state will likely reach a “tipping point” in the future, but that would be would depend on a number of factors, including the quality of the product.

Umberto Morale is owner of The Hops Co., a beer garden in Derby that serves roughly 40 beers on draft. He said beer drinkers are becoming more sophisticated as they taste and learn about different types of brews available; at the same time, the quality of craft beers in Connecticut is improving.

Morale said he also thinks the industry has room to grow, but agreed with Pellino that there will come a point where more may not necessarily be better.

“There’s going to be, eventually, a moment where only the ones with the better model and the better product will survive,” he said.

For now, though, Morale said a new brewery in Derby can only help the city. “It definitely makes Derby a place where a craft lover could travel to,” he said.

ktorres@hearstmediact.com; 203-330-6227