Gary Bogoff has been brewing craft beer since before it was cool.
When he and his former partner Chris Lalli opened Berkshire Brewing Co. in 1994, microbreweries were just trying to gain a foothold in a market dominated by the big national and international brewing companies.
Now it’s the county’s largest brewery, with a staff of 60. Last year, it brewed about 19,500 barrels, and there’s still room to grow by another 30 percent with the current equipment.
In recent years, BBC has been having some of its beer canned, but this past spring it opened its own canning line. The project was two years in development, and the equipment has enough capacity to can the product of other brewers as well. BBC already delivers beer for other breweries and cider-makers. BBC self-distributes in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, and is carried by other distributors in the rest of New England.
Bogoff hopes to open a taproom at the brewery in the near future. Legislation allowing beer manufacturers to have tap rooms is pending on Beacon Hill. It would allow BBC to sell samples for on-premise consumption and to sell packaged beer to take home. BBC currently offers tours at 1 p.m. on Saturdays, during which it provides samples, but Bogoff would like to have a place where people can sit and enjoy a full pour.
Since BBC opened, it has produced more than two dozen different beers, from one-offs and seasonals to time-tested flagship flagon-fillers like Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale. Its Brewers’ Series also allows its six brewers to get creative and craft their own concoctions.
A recent addition is Inhopnito, an American India pale ale brewed with an experimental strain of hops from Washington State.
While older places like BBC did a lot of the work to pave the way for the craft brewing movement, Bogoff welcomes new brewers with open arms.
“I’ve always been open to helping others and encouraging them,” he said. “I enjoy the diversity. It’s a beer drinker’s paradise.”