E-Malt.com News article: USA, CT: Spacecat Brewing Co. slated for May opening in South Norwalk

Connecticut’s beer scene continues to expand, even through the COVID-19 pandemic, and another brewery is set to join the options in Fairfield County this spring, Thehour.com reported on February 5.

Spacecat Brewing Co. is slated for a May opening at 57 Chestnut St. in South Norwalk, says founder James Bloom, who signed a lease for the 4,700-square-foot production facility and taproom in the J. & J. Cash mill building last October. The space is three blocks from the South Norwalk Metro-North station.

Bloom was working as a data analyst for Remedy Partners when he formed a friendship with a colleague, Jeff Dunn, an avid homebrewer. As the two homebrewed together, they began talking about someday launching a brewery.

“I was already in this headspace where I wanted to branch out and create a craft business, but I wasn’t sure what that was going to look like yet,” Bloom said. “And it happened quickly. We just went full force into the idea.”

Bloom decided in summer 2019 to move forward with the brewery plan, he said, with friend Dunn as a mentor and supporter. Less than nine months later, the COVID-19 pandemic upended Connecticut’s food and beverage industry. As the pandemic’s impact delayed his opening process, he also watched the status of the state’s breweries carefully.

“We were worried that a lot of breweries in Connecticut would go out of business,” he said. “(Most) didn’t, which is good. And then a lot of them thrived, and are growing. We kind of kept moving forward and we signed the lease in October, officially.”

The pandemic also changed Spacecat’s original business model, Bloom said. He had intended to welcome a sit-down crowd, and sell most of his beer as taproom pours. But now he’s planning to can the beer for off-premise sales, realizing many people may be more comfortable drinking at home under the current circumstances.

“Right off the bat, I think we’ll be focused on to-go sales, and we’ll focus on getting people in there safely if they want to come and drink with us,” he said. He plans to partner with local restaurants and food trucks to provide snacks and meals for in-person visitors, and he’s also hoping to develop outdoor seating space on the property.

Bloom is working to bring in a brewer who will help determine the direction of the beer offerings, he said, but he’s interested in lagers and pilsners, along with IPAs. He envisions having eight to 12 beers on draft regularly.

He chose the name Spacecat for something approachable, he said, inspired by prints he ordered on Etsy. One was a “hyper realistic” picture of a cat in a space uniform.

“I wanted a name that wasn’t serious, and I wanted it to be memorable,” he said.

With more than 100 breweries now open in Connecticut, Bloom said he has wondered if craft beer has hit its peak. But he has realized beer drinkers tend to embrace the local breweries in their towns and cities, and he hopes to be that space for beer lovers in South Norwalk.

“These breweries are focused on their community, which I think is just very cool,” he said. “It’s kind of what motivated me to want to go into it, because it’s no longer striving to be the (big) regional brewery to be successful. You’re striving to be this really awesome destination for people to come in.”


09 February, 2021