Finding the Right Brew

When retired U.S. Army Reserve Major Mike McCreary was laid off from his white-collar job in 2008, it didn't take him long to revert to his blue-collar roots.

He packed his bags and traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to learn a potentially lucrative skill that he always found fascinating: brewing high-quality beer.

"I took a three-week course in Sunderland, England, where we learned all of the chemistry and microbiology of the craft," he said. "I learned the business from some of the best."

And so began the story of how a former soldier and vice president of a scientific division at an international transportation security company became the owner/operator of Cavalry Brewing Co., a microbrew with just two employees located inside a 3,500-square-foot leased facility in Oxford's Hurley Industrial Park.

The company began selling beer locally at the end of July. Already its four brews – two English-style ales, an English porter and an Irish stout – can be found on tap and on the shelves at 55 restaurants, bars and liquor stores across Connecticut. Six packs of the beer styles, all of which include imported English hops and barley, retail anywhere from $8.49 to $9.99 at package stores locally, including those in Oxford, Danbury, Bethel, Naugatuck, Southbury and Newtown, among others.

McCreary, a Woodbury resident, said his extensive research leads him to believe the expanding niche market of microbrew coinsures will continue to grow, even during tough economic times.

He's excited about the possibilities and rattles off market analysis as if it has already become second nature.

"The average compound annual growth for microbrews is 12 percent over three years," he says. "Even the big guys (like Anheuser-Busch) are trying to tap into this market because people want flavorful beers."

It's still unknown whether his hypothesis about business growth potential will prove true, but the 52-year-old husband and father who spent more than 20 years in the military is no stranger at taking calculated risks.

In 2003, as his wife was five months pregnant with their first child, he lived up to his reservist obligations and was shipped to Iraq, where he led a team of Army soldiers in developing wartime infrastructure in Baghdad. He oversaw two successful missions.

McCreary served with guys known by military-style monikers such as Hatch Plug, Dog Soldier, Nomad and Big Wally.

"They had my back, and I had theirs," McCreary said. "We became good friends to this day."

To honor them, McCreary has named his first four beers, the only brews he's concentrating on at this point, after the four soldiers.

The beers Hatch Plug and Dog Solider are English ales that McCreary says you can find in just about any town in England.

Big Wally Irish Porter has a slight hint of coffee and chocolate malt, which McCreary quips, "Is like a breakfast beer; it's like chocolate coffee and a croissant in a glass." 

And his Nomad Stout has malt and chocolate undertones that compliment the stout beer-style made famous by Guinness. The bottle's logo also tells a tale of what is, perhaps, the most intriguing story behind the names of all four beers.

"…(Nomad) was the only officer of our group to be wounded and this came from an Iraqi ceiling fan. We promptly shot the fan and transported the wounded soldier to an aid station where he received three stitches."

In Iraq, McCreary didn't think much about the brew business. He had a solid job back home and was anxiously awaiting his return to the states to be with his wife and their now 7-year-old daughter.

When he was laid off two years ago, his original plan was to open a brewery/restaurant, known as a brew pub, in his hometown of Woodbury. But he said he was disenfranchised with the local government's seeming lack of interest in his plan, so he called Oxford officials.

"Within 10 days I had all of the permits I needed to move my business into the community," he said. "Oxford lives by its word: It says it wants industry, and it works with business people to make it happen."

Herman Schuler, the community's economic development director, said government officials here try to streamline the application process for business owners because they realize "time is money."

"It's important to respect the people with capital who want to invest in town," he said. "We hope they will continue to grow here and expand."

McCreary has no plans for expansion anytime soon. He doesn't want to hire people for a short period only to have to lay them off if business is slow.

And for now, he's content with operating out of a relatively small industrial space with his 1-year-old dog, a Border Terrier named MASH, who watches over the brewery grounds, and his co-worker, Justin Benevento - a fellow Army veteran who completed two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.

At work, the duo does everything from brewing and bottling the beer – with a little help from friends and family on occasion – to selling and distributing it.

Just as he's finicky about his hops and barley, McCreary is equally picky about who he hires. He says he will only employ United States veterans as long as he's in business.

"Some people don't like that, but given the state of the economy at this point, I don't think most people are going to give me too hard of a time about it," he said.

For now, he's not hiring anybody because his sole intention is to create quality beer and sustain the business for long-term profitability.

"If the pain gets too bad, I'll hire a distributor," he said. "But for now, it's just us, and we're having fun."

 For more information about the Cavalry Brewing Company, visit the website here.