Smithfield’s First Brewery Opens Its Doors

Uncommon Pair Brewing is making a name for itself with frequently rotated pours and a community feel taproom.

March 12, 2026

Lauren Clem,

Two men in baseball caps and Uncommon Pair Brewing hoodies sit at a bar.

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