Welcome to On Tap, your monthly roundup of news and brews from Rhode Island’s craft beer and distilling scene. Sign up to receive On Tap in your inbox every month here. As always, follow along with our social media at @rimonthly and @RImonthly more food and drink news, and email any beer and spirits tips to lclem@rimonthly.com. Cheers!

FULL POUR

Smithfield’s First Brewery Opens Its Doors

Nate Aiello (left) and Anthony Girard opened Smithfield’s first brewery, Uncommon Pair Brewing. (Photo by Lauren Clem)

In case you haven’t heard the news, there’s a new brewery in Rhode Island.

Uncommon Pair Brewing, Smithfield’s first brewery, celebrated its grand opening off Route 44 this past Saturday, March 7. The nanobrewery is the work of Nate Aiello and Anthony Girard, two former Ponaganset High School classmates who, alongside their wives, have been working to open the business for the past year.

The taproom is on the smaller side, just forty seats plus a couch area and a standing bar. Aiello and Girard say that’s by design. At a time when craft breweries are struggling to find their footing across Rhode Island, their goal is to keep things small and cultivate a community feel. Uncommon Pair operates as a nanobrewery, producing less than 15,000 barrels per year.

“We like being small because we have more control over what we’re making,” Aiello says. “This is something we’re passionate about.”

The opening was a hotly anticipated event, owing in part to the owners’ savvy marketing of the coming business online. A mug club limited to fifty members sold out within two hours back in February, and craft beer drinkers from across the state have eagerly followed along during the brewery’s buildout over the past six months. Its location, on the lower level of a commercial plaza near Smithfield Crossing, is in a bit of a desert for breweries. The closest nearby options for Smithfield residents are about twenty minutes away in Burrillville (Bravo), Woonsocket (Lops) or Cumberland (Phantom Farms), or by driving into Providence.

“There was a whole dead spot in the middle,” says Girard, who grew up in Glocester and now lives in Connecticut. Aiello lives in Burrillville.

The owners don’t anticipate an IPA-heavy lineup — “People have done IPAs, we don’t want to be an IPA house,” Girard says — but instead plan to offer a rotating selection of eight taps in a variety of styles. Their opening menu included a Dirt Road hoppy farmhouse amber, the Subtle Flex marshmallow porter, Girls Trip blueberry and lemon hef ale, Common Ground American pale ale and an Off Season spruce-infused ale made with locally harvested spruce. The Girls Trip will be lighter-drinking option that will rotate flavors seasonally. They also plan to make hard seltzers and a hard tea and have three nonalcoholic brews along with soda available in the taproom.

“When you come in here, we’re not going to have the same things you saw last month,” Girard says.

As far as food options, Aiello notes there are five restaurants in the building above them (including a Vietnamese restaurant, a Japanese restaurant, a pizza place and a D’angelo’s), and outside food is welcome. For entertainment, the owners plan to host acoustic musicians and show sports games on the taproom’s TVs. When there’s not a game on, you can expect to see one of their favorite shows, “90210” or “Cheers.”

“Can’t stress enough how communal we really want to be,” Aiello says.

No dogs are allowed in the taproom, but the owners plan to sell Lucy’s Dog Biscuits made with the brewery’s spent grains. The remainder of their spent grains go to Harmony Meadows Farm in Glocester. Both owners have day jobs — Aiello as a travel agent, Girard in finance for an insurance company — and plan to focus on onsite sales rather than distribution. The name stems from their personalities, which they say are completely opposite, despite a shared love of crafting unique brews.

“We’re an uncommon pair, and we’re going to make uncommon beers,” Girard says.

Uncommon Pair Brewing is open on Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 9 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. It’s located at 375 Putnam Pike, below the D’Angelo’s (turn off on Levi Lane). uncommonpairbrewing.com

The taproom at Uncommon Pair Brewing. (Photo by Lauren Clem)

SMALL SIPS

• After initially announcing a planned closure last month, Crafted Hope Brewing Company owner Kyle Toste now says the brewery is seeking a new investor and may not be closing after all. Stay tuned for updates from East Greenwich’s only brewery.

• The Rhode Island Brewers Guild has announced a new, physical brewery passport to replace the brewery passport app. Passports will be available in Rhode Island taprooms starting Wednesday, April 1, and passport holders are eligible for prizes. Visit fifteen breweries to receive an RIBG pint glass, twenty-five for a long-sleeved RIBG T-shirt, and every RI brewery for a tin tacker and a chance to win four tickets to the Newport Beer Festival in 2027.

• Don’t forget to vote for your favorite brewery or brewpub in our 2026 Best of Rhode Island readers’ poll. Voting is open until March 31.

EVENTS AND HAPPENINGS

• Join Lops Brewing as they celebrate Woonsocket Craft Beer and Community Week through Sunday, March 15, featuring special beer releases and pop-ups from local nonprofits and food trucks every night. On Sunday, meet at the brewery at 10 a.m. for a community cleanup (pickers, gloves and trash bags provided), then head back to the brewery for a free beer (for 21+ participants) and a beer tasting panel with Blackstone Valley Brewing Supplies.

• Pivotal Brewing Company in Newport (which closed last fall) will be open on Saturday, March 14, for the Newport St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Stop into 140 Broadway between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. for fresh pours and eats from Little Fish RI. The parade starts at 11 a.m.

• Head to White Dog Distilling on Saturday, March 14, for a BYO Irish coffee bar paired with live music from Twisted Tease. Pick your spirit and flavored cream and add coffee and décor for the ideal cocktail. If beer is more your thing, head next door to Crooked Current Brewery to taste the Angry Leprechaun, an Irish red ale infused with habanero peppers.

• Working Man Distillers will host a St. Patrick’s Day party on Saturday, March 14, featuring live music from Brian James, charcuterie bites and buy your first drink, get one free drink specials. Doors open at 3 p.m., music starts at 6 p.m.

• Head to Narragansett Beer on Saturday, March 14, for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration featuring a corned beef dinner special, dancers from Tir Na Nog Irish Dance, music by the Moonlight Ramblers from 2 to 6 p.m., and a show by Ballz of Pain (yes, that’s a House of Pain cover band) from 8 to 10 p.m.).

• Ravenous Brewing will host a St. Patrick’s Day celebration on Sunday, March 15, with $5 Irish red pours, Irish dancing at 5:30 and a pop-up Irish-themed bead bar from Boho Bead Bar.

• Phantom Farms Brewing will host an outdoor celebration on Sunday, March 15, from noon to 6 p.m. featuring music by U2 tribute band Joshua Tree. Early bird tickets are $28.52. Table reservations are available for a fee, or BYO lawn chair.

• Aspiring sourdough baker? Join Loaves with Lyss for a sourdough baking class at Tower Hill Brewing Co. on Monday, March 16, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $71.21 and include sourdough tasting, live sourdough starter care with instructions and tools to bring home.

• Tilted Barn Brewery will host Caring for the Costellos on Tuesday, March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day), from 3 to 8 p.m. The event will support the family of Pat Costello, who passed away recently after a battle with cancer. This community event features live music from Sean Martin, food from Farm to Sandwich and Fyr Grill, raffles and a bake sale, with all proceeds from onsite pours, raffles and the bake sale directly supporting the Costello family.

• Back in Bristol, Pivotal Brewing Company will host an empanada cooking class with Chef Vanessa from Qhali Kitchen on Thursday, March 19, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $75 per person and include your first beer and everything you need to make empanadas.

• Juicy Market will host a Women’s History Month pop-up at Proclamation Ale Co. on Friday, March 20, from 5 to 8 p.m. featuring all female artists and makers. Stop by this proudly female-owned brewery for a night of sipping and shopping.

• Crook Point Brewing Company and The Grind Craft Coffee will host a wedding fair on Sunday, March 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Discover retail and fashion vendors, sweet treats, lifestyle products and other services from local makers to support your big day.

• Tickets are on sale for the 2026 Ragged Island Music Festival at Ragged Island Brewing Co. June 13 through 14 from noon to 8:30 p.m. Check out artists including Shwayze, IRIEspect, the Slackers, Over the Bridge, Nena Belen, ACB, Black Uhuru and Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root. Tickets are $71.24 each and available online.

LABEL OF THE MONTH

(Photo courtesy of Pivotal Brewing Company)

Mount Hope Lager by Pivotal Brewing Company

RELATED ARTICLES

The Art of Brewing: A Local Brewer Makes Her Mark on This Cumberland Brewery

As THC Drinks Take Off, RI Hospitality’s New Training Program Is Drawing National Attention

These Providence Neighbors Created Their Own Home-based Pub Crawl