Zoning Change Clears Way For Popular Brewery To Move To Cheshire

CHESHIRE, CT — The Cheshire Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved an amendment to zoning regulations that clears the way for a popular brewery to move to Cheshire, according to the Meriden Record-Journal.

The owners of Counter Weight Brewing Company announced plans earlier this year to buy land in Cheshire for the future home of the brewery. Counterweight Brewing Company is currently located at 23 Raccio Park Rd. in Hamden.

The Record-Journal reports the amendment adds a new paragraph to the zoning regulations that will allow breweries, distilleries, wineries, and other alcoholic beverage manufacturing facilities to operate in Cheshire.

The amended paragraph reads as follows, via meeting minutes:

Breweries, wineries, distilleries and any other alcoholic manufacturing facilities licensed by the State of Connecticut to be permitted as Site Plan uses in the Commercial 2, Commercial 3 and Industrial 2 Districts, and by Special Permit in the Industrial 1 District, will provide for expansion of the economic base with uses that are compatible within the districts that they are proposed, and the amendment is not in conflict with the 2016 Cheshire Plan of Conservation and Development. The Commission also recognizes that any future development will be subject to Site Plan or Special Permit approval which will provide review of all exterior site design issues, and hereby approves this application with an effective date of June 5, 2020.

Planning and Zoning Chairman Earl Kurtz said it will be “awesome addition” to Cheshire, according to minutes of the meeting.

In announcing plans for the move, Counter Weight Brewing Company said it wasn’t about “aggressive growth, but rather about building a space that will allow us to further our quality control, the efficiency of our day to day production, and to design a more focused experience for our guests.

"Our team will have more tools and space to be creative while we push forward our quality standards and continue to explore old brewing traditions while venturing into the future of what Counter Weight beer can be,” the owners wrote in a post on Facebook earlier this year. “This next step for us would not be possible without the incredible support of our amazing loyal customers, friends, and staff. To have the opportunity to build our next brewery from the ground up is a dream come true and we humbly thank you."

The new location in Cheshire hasn't been disclosed and the timeline for the opening hasn’t been announced.

Read more about this week’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting at the Meriden Record-Journal here.