Married Couple Open Montclair’s First Microbrewery

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Golden Buddha. Rosemary’s Baby. These are just two of the tasty beverages that will be available at the grand opening of Montclair’s first microbrewery.

On Saturday, Oct. 13, Montclair Brewery will open its doors to the public for a grand opening event, marking a long journey’s end for its wife-and-husband owners, who recently completed a successful Indiegogo campaign to help raise funds to make their dream a reality.

“We’ve been preparing for this day for a while,” co-owner and general manager Denise Ford Sawadogo said.

Her husband and head brewer, Leo Sawadogo, agreed.

“We’re looking forward to sharing our flagship beer styles such as our ‘Golden Buddha’ passion fruit golden ale and our experimental beers like our ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ rosemary IPA,” he said.

The Montclair Brewery will offer craft beer brewed on-site, and will have a tasting room for on-site or to-go consumption. It will open with five starting brews on tap, with plans to expand to a rotating, full roster of 10 beers.

According to the Sawadogos, their brainchild will feature brews inspired by their roots in West Africa and the Caribbean. The brewery will also offer classes on homebrewing and a lineup of proposed events such as "beer yoga" and African Dance.

The brewery is located at 101 Walnut Street. Learn more and see hours of operation here.

Here’s what’s in store for opening day, according to the Sawadogos:

“The grand opening celebration will commence with an official ribbon cutting led by the Mayor of Montclair, Robert Jackson at 12:15 p.m. There will be music throughout the day including a 2:30 p.m. mini-performance from Montclair High School’s “Passing Notes,” a Nutley-based acapella singing group, and a special performance by “4th Street NightOwls,” a vintage 1920’s style blues/jazz ensemble from 7 to 10 p.m. The day-long festivities will include brewery merchandise giveaways throughout the day and a live call-in interview to 99.9 FM “What’s on Tap” craft beer radio show around 1:30 p.m.”

• See related article: Montclair Couple's Proposed Microbrewery Hits Unexpected Snag

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Photos: Montclair Brewery