June 26, 2014
Percival Beer Company, the producer of Dorchester-inspired Dot Ale 1630, is planning to open a large-scale brewery at 181 Bowdoin St. next summer.
The move, which Percival owner Felipe E. Oliveira announced publicly for the first time on Wednesday, will triple the company’s craft beer production that has seen “tremendous growth in a short period of time.”
The group is now working to raise the capital necessary to build a state-of-the-art multi-company brewery in a year’s time. Percival has already gotten the OK from the 181 Bowdoin St.’s current owner, priced out equipment, designed the interior and exterior, and started soliciting potential customers.
The over 10,000 square foot Bowdoin Street lot is valued at $138,000 as of January 2013, according to the city assessor database.
The brewery will stay true to its flagship brew’s namesake neighborhood, Oliveira told the group of a dozen Fields Corner residents at the Fields Corner Main Street annual meeting. The brewery would initially employ six to 10 workers, though after five years of operation, could see between 20 and 30 people. All hiring would be done within the neighborhood, he said.
The brewery will also use Boston city water.
“We need businesses that make you feel good about Bowdoin Street,” Oliveira said. And brewery such as this does just that. “Craft beer is all about craftsmanship.”
The site would be a contract manufacturing space, allowing other craft breweries to enter the Boston market. Potential international export opportunities for these brews would be especially lucrative, Oliveira said.
Named after the Bowdoin-Geneva street where Oliveira grew up, Percival Beer Company was launched in early 2013, with its offices and production beyond Boston proper. Since then, Oliveira has sought to bring the company inspired by the neighborhood back to Dorchester.
“PBC seeks to promote localization and inspire the Dorchester community to reinvent and innovate,” the Percival website says. “Our goal is to help transform Dorchester into a social and economic destination for all to enjoy.”