USA, MA: Break Rock Brewing coming this week to Quincy

Quincy will get its only brewery this week when Break Rock Brewing, a craft beer destination years in the making, opens to the public on March 3, The Patriot Ledger reported.

"It's exciting and I feel a lot of relief," co-owner James Southwood said. "It's been a long time coming, that's for sure."

In its new Marina Bay space, Break Rock can seat just under 200 people, plus another 18 when its patio opens in May. On one side of the large room is the brewery and the bar, and on the other side is seating, Skee-ball, a basketball game, a 1980s arcade cabinet and dozens of board games.

"We want to build a community. I want this to be like an upscale neighborhood bar," Southwood said. "We want people to know they can come here to have a reliable good time. Our doors are open to anyone and everyone."

To start, Break Rock will serve six or seven beers on tap, including a kölsch, golden ale, pale ale, stout, English mild and several New England IPAs, which Southwood expects will be the most popular offerings. The brewery will have snack offerings like chips and cheese and cracker board. Customers can also bring in their own food.

Cans to go and "crowlers" – 32-ounce aluminum cans – will be available for sale.

Quincy is the largest community in Massachusetts without a brewery amid a craft beer boom in which more than a dozen have popped up along the South Shore. Among Break Rock's supporters at a recent soft opening were representatives of Brockton Brewing and Widowmaker in Braintree.

"That's the great thing about this industry. We love to support other breweries," Eval Salvera, co-founder of Brockton Brewing, said. "We wouldn't be where we are without the support of other South Shore brewers."

Southwood, a Marshfield native, said planning to open Quincy's only brewery added a bit of pressure to the mission, but that quickly dissipated.

"The feedback has been very welcoming," he said. "People have been pressing their faces to the windows in excitement. If it hadn't been like that, maybe we would have felt the pressure more, but we're just feeling excitement now."

Southwood first started planning his own brewery in 2014, and said he decided on Quincy as its home between 2016 and 2017, though it took years to find the right space amid a hot real estate market and pandemic complications. Southwood opened Break Rock with co-founder and head brewer Vilija Bizinkauskas. The brewery raised $75,500 toward its opening through the online crowdfunding website Mainvest.

Break Rock is between the Marina Bay Market and Aria Salon & Spa on Victory Road.

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