USA, OH: Nocterra Brewing Company coming to Powell soon

Powell will soon have not one, but two breweries to call its own. Ill Mannered Brewing, which recently celebrated its third anniversary, just graduated to a larger taproom in the strip mall on Grace Drive. Now, just to its west, Nocterra Brewing Company is taking shape at 41 Depot St.

Nocterra made its first public appearance mid-September at Powell’s Oktoberfest celebration, setting up a tent to sell T-shirts and glassware and to give out stickers.

In the meantime, the 5,000-square-foot brewery and taproom is taking shape in a former furniture store. Nocterra has supplemented the existing structure to add brewing space and cold storage. A patio is also being added, and a separate room is being built out for sour beer fermentation. A recent Facebook post showed an old train rail being lowered from the rafters and repurposed as the bar’s footrest.

Nocterra’s roster of beer is already coming together, too, with offerings like the Trail Break helles lager, Scioto Coast double IPA and Beta-Flash New England IPA on deck. The goal is to open with beers available on draft and in the can; once the brewery is up and running, more seasonal brews and barrel-aged sours will come online.

Owners Bryan Duncan and Bruce Vivian founded the brewery on a shared love of good beer and the great outdoors, and much of their messaging so far emphasizes employees’ love of nature. The name combines “noc” for nocturnal, because many homebrewers brew in the evenings, and “terra” for earth. The brewery also adopted a moth logo as a nod to “bugs,” the general term brewers use to describe the yeast and other living ingredients involved in the brewing process.

Nocterra Brewing Company is slated to open later this fall.