Popular Boston-area beer maker Trillium Brewing today announced plans to open a seasonal beer garden inside the historic “Roslindale Substation Building,” located about 8 miles from downtown Boston.
Trillium has partnered with Roslindale Village Main Street, a non-profit organization promoting the Roslindale neighborhood, on the pop-up watering hole, which will open in December.
Located about 30 minutes north of Trillium’s Canton, Massachusetts, production brewery, the beer garden will operate five days a week through the winter season.
The move follows a successful summer season in which the cult beer maker collaborated with the Greenway Conservancy to operate an open-air beer garden in the middle of a 17-acre park in downtown Boston.
“We received a heck of a lot of interest from beer garden on the Greenway this summer,” Trillium co-founder JC Tetreault told Brewbound. “We thought was an awesome continuation of what we started this summer.”
On the Greenway, depending on the weather, Trillium sold anywhere from 20 to 30 barrels of beer each week, he added.
The company is currently in discussions about a possible return to the Greenway in 2018.
“We had an awesome season,” JC Tetreault said. “I think it surpassed everyone’s expectations.”
Esther Tetreault, who co-founded the brewery with JC, her husband, added that the Greenway offered Trillium its first opportunity to pour full pints for people inside its home city.
“That was a success alone,” she said.
Trillium originally launched out of a small brewery and retail shop, where it only offered to-go sales of its beer, in Boston’s Fort Point neighborhood in 2013. It is currently in the midst of building a new brewery and restaurant a few blocks from its original location.
By operating beer gardens in different Boston neighborhoods, the company is able engage directly with consumers and build a “community and culture” around the brand, Mrs. Tetreault said.
At Roslindale, Trillium will occupy a “prominent corner” on the main floor of the historic building. The beer company plans to offer as many as eight different draft options, Mr. Tetreault added.
“At the Greenway, we found that having a larger number of options slowed down service,” he said.
Mr. Tetreault said that most of the infrastructure is in place at the Roslindale space, but the company will need to add a service area and cold room as well as install a draft system. A specific opening date has not been set, but Tetreault said he plans to host co-branded events with other brewers and chefs when the location is operational.
Trillium is on pace to produce upwards of 27,000 barrels of beer by the end of 2017. Last year, the company produced about 10,000 barrels of beer and sold 95 percent of it directly to consumers.
Mr. Tetreault told Brewbound that “almost all” of Trillium’s beer will again be sold directly to consumers this year. He also said the company anticipates opening its new Fort Point brewery by late-summer 2018.
A press release with more details is included below
TRILLIUM GARDEN COMING TO ROSLINDALE VILLAGE
Boston, MA, November 17th, 2017- Trillium Brewing Company, in partnership with Roslindale Village Main Street, is excited to announce plans to operate an indoor winter beer garden in the iconic Roslindale Substation Building.
The Trillium Garden at the Substation is slated to open in early December 2017 and will run through the winter season. In the heart of Roslindale Village, the beer garden will be an indoor venue open five days a week, serving a variety of rotating draft options. The location accommodates open seating, community space, and a limited number of private event opportunities.
“We had a killer time with the Garden on the Greenway this summer so we jumped at the chance to bring Trillium to another Boston neighborhood,” said Trillium co-owner Esther Tetreault. “Our goal has always been to build a strong community and share what we do. The Substation is such a unique and iconic space, in a welcoming neighborhood, making Roslindale a perfect winter home for the Trillium Garden.”
“Beer aficionados will have the unique opportunity to drink Trillium’s award-winning beer in the Substation’s awe-inspiring space, with its 34 foot ceilings, 18-foot copper clad doors, 250-ton capacity gantry crane, and six two-story windows,” said Alia Hamada Forrest, RVMS’s Executive Director. “Where Trillium goes, its fans follow. I’m eager to welcome the newcomers that will discover Roslindale’s existing mix of vibrant restaurants and retail options, and hope that these types of creative partnerships continue to spark across all of Boston Main Street districts. We know when you visit — you will want to return.”
The Roslindale Substation (designed by architect Robert Peabody of Peabody and Stearns with Stone and Webster Engineering Corporation) was built in 1911 and is one of six nearly identical converter substations built in and around Boston at that time to convert alternating current (A/C) electricity from the Boston Elevated Railway’s South Boston power plant to direct current (D/C) power for use by the trolley system. Service was discontinued in 1971 and the space remained unused until 2014 when the $4.8 million Substation renovation project was conceived and undertaken by Historic Boston Inc., Roslindale Village Main Street, Peregrine Group, LLC of Rumford, RI, and architect Prellwitz Chilinski Associates of Cambridge. In January 2017, Craft Beer Cellar opened on the lower level of the substation, ending the 46 year vacancy. Trillium’s tenancy on the main floor of the building will revive a prominent corner and reactivate the historic space. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic places.
Project planning is underway and an opening date will be announced soon. Follow @TrilliumGarden on Twitter for the latest updates.
About Trillium Brewing Company
Trillium opened in March 2013 with the support of family, friends, community, and three employees. That small brewery has since developed into an exciting venue of collaboration and creativity. Trillium is grounded in the concept of a New England farmhouse brewery, using local ingredients whenever possible. From wild ales, fermented with their native New England mixed microbe culture, to more hop-forward offerings, Trillium aims to produce beer that is both approachable and engaging.
Web: www.trilliumbrewing.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trilliumbrewing/
Twitter: @TrilliumBrewing
Instagram: @TrilliumBrewing
About Roslindale Village Main Street:
The mission of Roslindale Village Main Street (RVMS) is to promote Roslindale Village as an appealing destination and the dynamic center of our community. As an independent non-profit organization, we bring together local volunteers, businesses and public agencies to strengthen the Village’s economic vitality, physical appearance and unique local character.