Bravo Brewing returns to its roots with new brewpub model

The taproom at Bravo Brewing Company. (Photos courtesy of Bravo Brewing Company)

The doors were closed at Bravo Brewing Company in Pascoag when a sprinkler line burst on Sunday, Dec. 15, sending a cascade of water unnoticed through the brewery.

By the time the fire department arrived, the building’s ceilings and walls were beyond repair, and the insulation was a soggy mess. The brewing equipment was spared, but the beer inside it wasn’t — the sudden closure and lack of thirsty customers meant much of it would need to be dumped over the coming months.

“The construction was extensive,” says brewery owner Chris Mishoe about the repair process. “It looked like the day we signed the lease for the place. It was bare concrete and studs for a little while.”

So it came as a pleasant surprise to Bravo’s regular customers — the next closest brewery is thirteen miles away in Woonsocket — when the business was able to reopen just ten weeks later on Feb. 28. For most small breweries, that recovery time would seem brief. In addition to the time spent repairing the building, a brewery needs to rebuild its stock before it can open to customers. In Bravo’s case, however, a change to its licensing last summer proved a timely solution for getting customers back in the door.

“We luckily applied for a brewpub license in the past year, so we’re selling a lot of imported beer at the moment,” Mishoe says. “Thank God we did that. That was so fortuitous.”

In Rhode Island, most breweries operate under a standard brewery manufacturer’s license, which allows them to sell a limited amount of beer brewed onsite, but does not allow the sale of beer or wine from other businesses. A brewpub license allows them to expand their offerings by applying for a local liquor license to sell other labels. Oftentimes, breweries that operate under brewpub licenses also have restaurant menus, such as Providence’s Trinity Brewhouse or Warwick’s Apponaug Brewing.

In Mishoe’s case, the switch from a brewery manufacturing to a brewpub license was not so much about food as it was about beer. As the sole brewer for the business, Mishoe often had trouble keeping up with demand. As Bravo’s popularity increased, the rise in sales meant he sometimes had fewer taps operating.

“For our five-year anniversary, we just about sold out of everything. Everyone was really excited, they thought it was a great thing, but I was stressed out,” he explains.

As a brewpub with a license to sell outside beer and wine, Mishoe is now able to bring in imported beers to supplement his offerings. It also solves the problem of having more than just beer available for customers. Since December, he’s carried wine from Chepachet’s Mulberry Vineyards for those who prefer a glass of red or white.

“It’s not a good business model to only be able to just serve one product when your audience is looking for more. That alone — we’ve already seen an increase in new customers, just by being able to offer a little bit more,” he says.

After the flood, it solved another problem as well. Though the taproom is open, Mishoe has not yet had time to replenish his kegs. Until then, he plans to offer a rotating selection of beer from other breweries, including several traditional styles. At the moment, that includes the Westmalle Dubbel from Westmalle Trappist in Belgium, along with a German doppelbock and hefeweizen and Old Speckled Hen English ale. These styles, he says, are closer to the ales the brewery originally offered, as opposed to the IPAs that eventually proved popular with customers.

“We leaned so heavy into European- and British-style ales and German lagers,” Mishoe says. “Back then it was a tough sell. It was when the IPA craze was taking off, and we did have to switch and pivot a little bit to keep the rent paid and the lights on.”

With these new international offerings, however, the brewery is back to its roots and customers are back in the door. Once brewing has picked up, Mishoe plans to balance the tap list with a mix of in-house and imported offerings. He also plans to bring back the house-made root beer, a customer favorite that sells almost as well as his bestselling beer.

Eventually, the business will expand its kitchen to offer more pub fare — wings, sandwiches, chili and nachos — but for now, Mishoe is focused on the “brew” in brewpub.

“Things are definitely looking up. I think we are expanding in all the right directions,” he says.

And the customers are glad to have them back. Friday’s reopening a couple weeks back was mobbed, with regulars all coming out to show their support.

“Two-and-a-half months of being closed was brutal,” Mishoe says. “We’re just happy to be back and seeing some familiar faces again.”

Chris Mishoe of Bravo Brewing Company.

RELATED ARTICLES

On Tap: The Latest Brewery and Distillery News In Rhode Island

One of the state’s oldest breweries is for sale. Here’s how it got started.

An Irish Pub-themed Brewery Is Coming to Bristol