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Date: 5/27/2021
LONGMEADOW – There’s only one way to brew beer – fresh and local.
That’s the philosophy behind One Way Brewing.
Managing partners Jason Tsitso and Zach Schwartz officially welcomed the public to their permanent home at at 807 Maple Road with the brewery’s first round of can sales on May 22.
Shortly before a steady stream of customers arrived to support them on their first day, Tsitso and Schwartz said they were excited to bring that philosophy and a brand new industry to the town they call home
“There’s nothing like this around here, so this is just a great spot and we’re excited to be here,” Tsitso explained.
Both Longmeadow residents with full-time jobs and families, the partners said proximity was important in selecting the location.
“This is a passion project for us – something that started as a hobby that we wanted to grow into a business, but it had to make sense for our family life,” Tsitso explained. “This spot just opened up and we thought it was perfect.”
For the time being, One Way brewing will exclusively sell cans while building out its taproom, which is tentatively slated to open around Labor Day.
“We weren’t sure what to expect or anticipate with COVID restrictions so we felt it would be best to focus on brewing beer and getting that out to the public,” Schwartz said. “It just so happened that the building industry kind of went mad, so that kind of caused us to take a little pause and step back.”
In spite of the delay, a taproom remains a major part of their plans as it would allow for a greater connection with the community, they added.
“For Zach and I, that’s why we started doing this. We started brewing for ourselves, and then we went to one brewfest and we were instantly hooked because we loved the connection with people and we loved being able to get people to try our beer,” Tsitso said. “We love talking beer and getting feedback on what we can do better and what people are looking for.
The taproom brings that back and we’re really excited for that to happen.”
Can sales every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with the exception of this week – with sales on the evening of May 27 in advance of the Memorial Day weekend.
One Way Brewing also has a founders club called The Elevens through which members can arrive early to get first dibs on beer. The brewery’s One Club rewards program also allows customers to earn points that can be redeemed for benefits at the brewery.
The company kicked things off last week with cans of its flagship beer, the Kickstarter New England IPA – “That’s the beer where it all got started for us,” according to Tsitso – and The Betty, a Scottish export ale.
As seasoned homebrewers who initially broke into the market through the homebrew festival circuit, One Way Brewing has found its mango milkshake IPA to be a fan favorite and Tsitso said it would be available soon. Breakfast at The Kitchen, a chocolate coffee cream stout, has also been a crowd pleaser that will be released later this year.
“We’re really been lucky and have gotten a lot of positive feedback about our beers,” Tstitso said.
While attempting to launch a brewery during a pandemic, Schwartz explained they found COVID-19 caused delays in some aspects and actually streamlined the process in others.
“Brewing licenses and a lot of the federal stuff didn’t take as long because they weren’t as busy. That went much quicker than we anticipated. But our brewing equipment, for example, arrived about three months later than we anticipated, so that pushed everything back,” he said.
Tsitso added, “Being new brewers, it’s difficult to anticipate when we were going to open and when we needed stuff, so it’s taking longer than we thought it would to get ingredients and supplies. It’s taken a little more planning than we thought it would from the day-to-day planning aspect. You’ve really got to think ahead.”
Compounding issues was a national shortage of cans, which made it difficult to find a supplier that would work with them, Schwartz noted, but members of the local brewing community like Rustic Brewing Company and Fieldcrest Brewing Company have been supportive in making sure One Way Brewing had what it needed.
“There’s a really awesome brewing community here and other breweries have reached out and said, ‘Hey, you can buy cans from us,’ and that’s worked out well. Otherwise, we literally wouldn’t be able to be here canning today,” Schwartz said.
“This is what’s awesome about this community – it really is a community where everybody kind of bands together .. It’s one of the reasons we wanted to get into it,” Tsitso added.
Tsitso also noted the town of Longmeadow was a good partner in getting the brewery off the ground.
“I know everybody thinks it’s impossible to get things done in Longmeadow, but I think if you put your mind to it and come up with a good plan, they’re always looking to add to the community,” he said.
For more information on One Way Brewing, visit https://www.1waybrewing.com/ or visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/1WayBrewing.