A Road Less Traveled – Donovan Bailey and Down the Road Brewery

After being laid off last year, Boston local Donavan Bailey decided to take “a road less traveled” and do something that he really loved. His dream is to build Down the Road Brewery – a three-barrel brewery dedicated to creating beers that strike a balance between history, tradition, and innovation.Donavan is currently raising funds towards that dream – and I recently had a chance to visit with him, sample his beers, and talk about what’s happening in the craft beer industry.

How did you get into the craft beer business?

Well I have been homebrewing for about 20 years. When I was laid off last year, I decided to do something that I had a passion for. And that passion is brewing great beer.

I like the name of your brewery. Why did you choose it?

I wanted to make a place that the people who came there felt like it was a part of the neighborhood and they had an ownership. So I wanted a name that evoked that.

You have great names for your flagship beers: T-34 Russian Imperial Stout, Wayne’s Wee Heavy, Quadruped the Hop Monster, and Angel’s Breath. Tell us about those names.

T-34 gets its name from the Russian tank of WW2. I was a tanker in the army and still love all things armor so I figured that it would be a great name for the beer.

Wayne’s Wee Heavy is a beer that I formulated for my father, who loves malty beers and Scottish Ales in particular. If you take a look at the label, you will see that is me as a baby and my father. The funny thing is that I am holding a beer can. I didn’t notice that until I scanned the image for the label.

Quadruped the Hop Monster gets its name because we dry hop the beer 4 times over 4 weeks with 4 different types of hops.

Angel’s Breath got its name because Belgian beer, especially the Quads, are normally of monastic origin. And it tastes like Angel’s blew into a glass.

In addition to your flagships, will you be brewing any other beers?

Yes; we are going to have 4 year-round beers and at least 2 seasonals each quarter.

The year-round beers are Protean Torpedo, an American Pale that is hopped with Chinnok and Citra hops; Hooligan Nut Brown, a traditional North English Brown ale with a touch of local honey; Patchwork Kilt, a 80-/+ Scottish ale that uses a traditional long boil to develop a great toffee and caramel flavor; and a really great Kolsch that is brewed in the tradition of the style. It is a great beer for everyday drinking. We are also going to have a barrel-aging and sour beer program but those are going to be special and limited-release beers.

What are your distribution plans?

Initially the flagships and limited-release beers will be available in stores. They are going to be in 750ml bottles. The rest will be available at the brewery. Our plan is to buy a canning line as soon as it is possible and start canning beer. At that point, we will make the other beer available in stores.

A new trend that we’re seeing more of is craft breweries being acquired by Big Beer. What are your thoughts on this and do you see this trend continuing?

In this world, consolidation is going to keep happening. It is just too easy for the macro breweries to swoop in and buy what they want. I feel and so does the BA that once that happens to a brewery, they aren’t craft beer anymore. I don’t think that the craft beer sector is going to be hurt by it today but as time goes on, I think that it will take a toll on the industry.

If you could go on a beercation, where would you go and why?

I am thinking Germany and Belgium just to be able to see a long-standing beer culture first hand.