USA, MA: Great Marsh Brewing Company nears projected October opening

Beer will be brewing in Essex soon as the Great Marsh Brewing Company nears its projected October opening, the Gloucester Daily Times reported on July 30.

The $10 million facility at 99 Main St. is well underway, although no specific opening date is scheduled yet. Its current red-and-gray exterior with navy blue trimmings is a big change from the skeletal frame that stood just a few months ago. Right now, the focus is on the facility's insides.

A majority of the brewing equipment, much of which is made by German manufacturer BrauKon, has been installed, in the building's largest room facing Main Street. Passers-by can peak into the brewery's main control center through the building's large, front-facing window display.

Great Marsh Brewing owner John Collins, of Hamilton, said a German crew from BrauKon will fly into Essex for a month to test the set-up in mid-August.

"There's a lot of piping, valves and equipment to check," he continued. "Right now, we have three-quarters of a kilometer of piping."

Collins said the system check could take the German crew upwards of two weeks. Afterward, he and his staff will be able to test it out and brew some of their first batches. The brewery is expected to serve up a selection of stouts, light porters, lagers and ales.

Sometime after opening, the brewery will look into acquiring a canning machine. In the meantime, beer will be stored in kegs.

The site was formerly home to Fortune Palace II, which closed last year. Collins bought the property last summer and razed the restaurant building. In its place he constructed a foundation of friction pilings to raise the elevation of the new brewery by 5 feet, due to historic flooding near the Causeway. He also purchased the former Fin & Feather property next door.

Unlike the brewery, there's still a lot of work to be done on the restaurant that will occupy 5,000 square feet of space toward the rear of the building. There's no kitchen equipment installed as of yet.

That equipment is a bit trickier to install as every component is powered through the building's utilities, said Collins. Gas and electric connections are installed throughout the building at this point, he said. Conversely, he noted, the brewery equipment is self-sufficient and runs on its own internal system; it just needs a big enough room to house it.

In March, Collins announced that Webber Restaurant Group, which is behind Bancroft & Co. in Peabody and other restaurants in Greater Boston, is managing the restaurant for Great Marsh Brewing. The menu, which was previously described by Collins in an interview with the Times as "a creative twist on brewery food," is still in the works.

On Monday, the Board of Selectmen agreed to transfer management of Fortune Palace II's alcohol license. Originally, when Great Marsh Brewing was in its early planning stages, the license was managed by Flying Eagle LLC. Now, it belongs to Collins Great Marsh Restaurant LLC.

When it's all finished, the 25-barrel brewhouse will feature a tap room and beer garden, in addition to the restaurant. The brewing area will also feature a second-floor viewing area with a drink railing.

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