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Mighty Squirrel Brewery, a company renowned for its Cloud Candy IPA, has a new home at Fenway Park.
Prior to opening the company’s Waltham flagship location in December 2018, Mighty Squirrel released the now-renowned Cloud Candy IPA, which was met with an overwhelmingly positive reception. Mighty Squirrel co-founder Naveen Pawar told the Herald that regional support has only grown for the juicy ale filled with notes of star fruit, papaya and mango.
“We went from selling 160 cases of Cloud Candy per month to 20,000 cases per month over the next five years,” he said. “From what we understand from our distribution partner, it has become the highest-selling craft beer in the state of Massachusetts.”
That distinction becomes even more impressive when competing against roughly 20,000 other brands. Having a regionally sought-after product allowed for Mighty Squirrel’s other craft beverages to gain notoriety as well, Pawar said, but the brand’s vision had not yet been truly fulfilled.
Pawar said he always envisioned a “fun, community-oriented space” where people could sit for hours on end without being bothered or asked to leave. Throughout the pandemic, he said, people would reach out offering up potential spots for expansion.
The decision to take up shop at 1 David Ortiz Drive was made, Pawar said, while he went on a run to visit a potential spot just a few blocks away from their new home in December 2021.
The space featured a fair amount of assorted “nooks and crannies” that Pawar said he and the design team used to their advantage. Renovations over the past year resulted in an upstairs seating section, a brewing capacity of more than 1,000 barrels and a fully functioning kitchen.
A grand opening was held March 14 and, much like Cloud Candy, Pawar said, the reception to the brewery’s Fenway location has been extremely positive. With a capacity of 500 people, he said, it has been a bit overwhelming at times.
“The people that live locally in the hundreds of apartments nearby and others stopping in from different parts of the area or different states have already been great to us so far,” he said. “We’ve gotten some fantastic feedback since opening.”
The brewery also offers food ranging from Neopolitan pizzas to authentic mulitas and tacos, a first for Mighty Squirrel customers who frequent the Waltham location.
“We also offer salad options with protein like chicken, steak and salmon,” Pawar said. “So we have a menu that caters to a wide audience.”
Pawar also encouraged frequent patrons and new customers to try Mighty Squirrel’s new hard seltzers and hard smoothies. The pina colada and strawberry daiquiri smoothies, he said, have been the most-requested out of the bunch since opening in mid-March.
“We’ve spent a few years trying to figure out how to make that an option in the brewery, so we’re really pleased they have come out so well,” Pawar said.
With the Red Sox’ home opener set for April 9, Pawar said he and the entire Mighty Squirrel team are looking forward to being that community spot for Bostonians and visitors.
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