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Date: 1/4/2023
LUDLOW – Vanished Valley Brewing Company celebrated its five-year anniversary in December 2022.
“It has been a crazy ride for us. It has been fun, but it has not been easy,” co-owner Josh Britton said.
Vanished Valley is located at 782 Center St.
According to Britton, the business started producing beer in 2017. Vanished Valley started out as a farmer brewer which allowed them to produce and self-distribute.
Britton and co-owner Michael Rodrigues have been brewing beer in their garages since they were teenagers and wanted to take their recipes and knowledge to the public.
In what started out as a small shed-like building in the back parking lot of Europa Black Rock Bar and Grille has now transformed into a taproom and kitchen with a brand new 4,000-square foot facility to brew beers.
The attention the brewery received in its first couple of years made it hard to produce as much as they needed in the original brewery, which led to their expansion, according to Britton.
“We worked our tails off producing as much quality liquid as we could in the first two years. Our demand then went through the roof and we decided to expand,” Britton said.
Rodrigues used to own Europa but was ready to retire the business in 2019 so Vanished Valley could take over.
Europa served as the tasting room for Vanished Valley, according to Britton.
Since Vanished Valley was originally not able to pour their product, they would run drafts at the restaurant and people would come down to buy the cans.
The third co-owner Manny Vital was another key part in helping Vanished Valley succeed, Britton said.
“He technically owns the property and building which makes us landlords in a sense,” Britton added.
Vanished Valley opened its new building in January 2020 but quickly had to adapt when COVID-19 hit in March of that year.
“Thankfully the state changed some of the laws around how to access beers at that time. Maybe for the first time ever, they allowed breweries to deliver beers to doorsteps. We also added an element of barbeque to the menu. We thought it be so cool to have fresh barbeque and beer delivered to their doorstep,” Britton added.
After securing grants and loans from the government to “weather the storm,” Vanished Valley was able start executing their plan to host events and grow its taproom popularity.
“We got so busy with the expansion, keeping the beer at the best quality we could and dealing with the [coronavirus] pandemic, we realized this year would make it five years.” Britton said.
Vanished Valley launched a beer called “V” which is the Roman numeral for five to commemorate the last five years.
Britton said, “Everything went great with the launch. The response and feedback from the people have been excellent between the beer and anniversary glass we designed.”
The name Vanished Valley comes from the story of the Quabbin Reservoir.
Back in the 1920s and ‘30s, Boston was looking for a place to get their fresh water. The government decided on a valley to make their manmade reservoir.
Britton said, “They knocked down as many of the buildings and trees that they could and let the swift river flood the area to expand the reservoir. What we take from that story is the four towns and hundreds of people who sacrificed their homes for the benefit of other people. That is where Vanished Valley, the valley that vanished, came from.”
Britton added that some of the beer names stick with the theme of the Quabbin Reservoir like Lost Town, Watershed, Gon’ Fishin and more.
Not only does Vanished Valley name beers to reflect the Quabbin Reservoir but also designs cans for special occasions and gives back to the community.
“I have two beers called gratitude and joyous. Gratitude comes out every year on Thanksgiving to show appreciation for family and friends. A portion of the proceeds from that beer go to the Friends of Quabbin nonprofit organization that protects and oversees that land. Our joyous beer launches around Christmas time and those proceeds also go to the Friends of Quabbin.” Britton added.
Vanished Valley has also made beers and cans to raise proceeds for the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Ludlow and the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month.
Britton said, “We wanted to be more than beer. We wanted to use this tool and dream we are building to help others at the same time by giving back to the community as much as we can.”
Vanished Valley also does their best to appeal to non-beer drinkers as well, Britton said.
He added, “We wanted to be a place where everyone is welcomed obviously. We have a little bit of everything for everybody. If you do not drink beer that is fine. We also have wine and seltzer on tap along with seasonal mix drinks here and there.”
Britton and Rodrigues look ahead to plan what may be in store for the next five years.
“Right now, we are only in Massachusetts. We are looking to distribute to Connecticut. There is always the question of expansion elsewhere which we have not decided on yet. This past year we have been so busy on rebounding from COVID [-19] that is keeping us as busy as it is,” Britton said.
Rodrigues added, “Everything changes so fast you have no idea. We just must keep up with the changes and try and forecast where people are going with it. It could be a no alcoholic brewery who knows.”
The biggest change for Vanished Valley has been the recent public demand for spiked seltzers.
Britton said, “I never thought in my entire life we would be brewing seltzer, but the market demands it, so we took it on. I think we do a good job at ours.”
Britton said he is excited to see what the next five years has in store for Vanished Valley but added that he and the other owners are always coming up with new ideas to increase business and fun events for the community.
You can contact Vanished Valley at 610-1572 or visit their website at www.vanishedvalley.com.