Fort Hill Brewery
Fort Hill Brewery is a privately held craft brewery in Easthampton, Massachusetts, producing approximately 20 SKUs of ales, lagers, IPAs, stouts, and hard seltzers for direct-to-consumer tasting room sales and direct-to-trade distribution across Massachusetts without using third-party distributors.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersEasthampton, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Fort Hill Brewery does
Fort Hill Brewery (legally 1776 Brewing Company) is a privately held craft brewery founded in 2014 in Easthampton, Massachusetts, producing approximately 20 SKUs across IPAs, lagers, pilsners, stouts, and hard seltzers. The brewery operates from a single purpose-built facility on a former dairy farm at the base of Mount Tom, equipped with 240hl (6,340 gallon) fermentation tanks and an Italian kegging line. Production relies on traditional German brewing techniques combined with American innovation, with proprietary processes including the polygyle technique for Bill the Butcher Imperial Stout (10.5% ABV), Belgian-inspired fermentation for Jigsaw Jazz Double IPA (9.3% ABV), and lager strategies applied to sessionable ales such as Farmer's Fresh. Water is sourced from the Barnes Aquifer, which won a gold medal for best tasting water in the 2015 Great American Water Taste Test.
The company generates revenue through five streams: direct-to-consumer sales at its public tasting room and outdoor patio (open Thursday–Sunday), direct-to-account on-premise sales to bars and restaurants, direct-to-account off-premise sales to retail stores, contract brewing for larger breweries, and online gift certificates. The company explicitly does not use third-party distributors, instead maintaining a direct salesforce (a Brewery Representative for Boston/Eastern Massachusetts) to preserve margin and customer relationships. Its customer base is described as a "large existing client base" of unnamed stores, bars, and restaurants across Massachusetts, with no disclosed anchor accounts. The company is founder-led by Eric Berzins (General Manager and Head Brewer, Siebel Institute-trained) with a small team of approximately 5–6 full-time staff plus rotating part-time support, and has received multiple awards for its flagship Fresh Pick IPA.
Fort Hill Brewery firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Fort Hill Brewery
- Legal name
- 1776 Brewing Company
- Website
- https://forthillbrewery.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Fort Hill Brewery is a privately held craft brewery in Easthampton, Massachusetts, producing approximately 20 SKUs of ales, lagers, IPAs, stouts, and hard seltzers for direct-to-consumer tasting room sales and direct-to-trade distribution across Massachusetts without using third-party distributors.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Fort Hill Brewery industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Craft Beer
- NAICS
- Breweries (312120)
- SIC
- Malt Beverages (2082)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Microbreweries & Craft Breweries (THAFALAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Brewpubs & Taprooms (On-site Beer Service) (THAFALAA), Taprooms & Brewpubs (CRANACAF), Beer, Brewery & Craft Beverage Tastings (THAJAGAE)
Keywords
Where Fort Hill Brewery is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Easthampton
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Fort Hill Brewery business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Tasting Room Sales: Direct-to-consumer sales of draft beer, canned beer, and growler fills at the tasting room. The tasting room also offers food truck partnerships where visitors can purchase food.
- On-Premise Distribution: Sales to bars and restaurants through their direct salesforce (Brewery Representative). The company maintains close relationships with accounts without using distributors.
- Off-Premise Distribution: Sales of canned and bottled beer to retail stores. Portfolio of about 20 products including IPAs, lagers, and seltzers.
- Gift Certificates: Online gift certificate sales redeemable in the tasting room for beer, glassware, and apparel. Available in denominations of $10, $25, $50, $75, and $100.
- Contract Brewing: The company has done contract brewing for larger breweries, leveraging their expertise in producing quality lagers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Gift Certificate - Various Denominations |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Tasting Room Beer Sales |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Fort Hill Brewery product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Fort Hill Brewery is a craft brewery that produces ales, lagers, IPAs, stouts, and hard seltzers using traditional German brewing techniques combined with American innovation. The company operates a public tasting room in Easthampton, MA for direct-to-consumer sales and distributes its ~20-product portfolio directly to bars, restaurants, and retail stores without using third-party distributors.
Product overview
Fort Hill Brewery is a craft brewery offering a portfolio of approximately 20 products including IPAs, lagers, and hard seltzers. The core offerings include flagship beers like Fresh Pick (New England IPA), Red Prince (Amber Lager), and Hera Pils (Czech Pilsner), alongside specialty beers such as Jigsaw Jazz (Double IPA) and Bill the Butcher (Imperial Stout). The brewery also produces sessionable options like Farmer's Fresh and G-fresh, plus hard seltzers under the Corrupt branding. Gift certificates are available for purchase through the online shop.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Fresh Pick New England IPA brewed with Simcoe, Citra, and Mosaic hops. 7.0% ABV, 50 IBUs. Tropical hop character with high drinkability. Multiple award winner. Available on draft and in cans.
- Jigsaw Jazz Double IPA at 9.3% ABV and 65 IBUs. Citrus-forward with deceptively light body and dry flavor achieved through Belgian brewing techniques and Citra dry hop. Available on draft and in cans.
- Farmer's Fresh Session IPA at 5.0% ABV with 40 IBUs. Uses lager brewing strategies applied to an ale for high sessionability. Available on draft and in cans.
- G-fresh Grapefruit IPA at 5.0% ABV with 40 IBUs. Farmer's Fresh session IPA enhanced with grapefruit for additional citrus kick. Available on draft and in cans.
- Checkmate Chuck Double IPA at 8.0% ABV with 70 IBUs. Full-bodied IPA with lychee, white grapes, honeydew notes and balanced bitter dankness. Available on draft and in cans.
- Red Prince Amber Lager at 5.3% ABV with 17 IBUs. Flagship German-inspired fest beer with smooth, malty flavor and clean, balanced hop finish. Available on draft and in cans.
- Hera Pils Czech Pilsner at 5.7% ABV with 30 IBUs. Traditional Czech-style pilsner brewed with Czech Saaz hops, crisp and refreshing. Available on draft.
- Branch Manager Pilsner at 3.8% ABV with 12 IBUs. Light pilsner with grainy body and Saaz hops for spicy, crisp finish. Available on draft and in cans.
- Doppelbock Double Bock Bier at 7.5% ABV with 24 IBUs. Full-bodied lager designed for colder weather, requiring three batches of grain for complex flavors. Available on draft.
- Lager Beer Festbier at 5.4% ABV with 10 IBUs. Smooth and malty lager traditionally served at Oktoberfest, crisp and refreshing.
- Bill the Butcher Imperial Stout at 10.5% ABV with 55 IBUs. Brewed using polygyle technique where wort from one batch of grain is infused a second time with additional malt to increase sugar and body, aged on oak. Available on draft.
- Passed Stout Milk Stout at 6.0% ABV with 29 IBUs. Rich, dark stout brewed with lactose and rolled oats, featuring strong notes of roasted coffee and chocolate. Available on draft.
- Corrupt Cranberry Hard Seltzer at 5.0% ABV, gluten reduced. Crisp, tart and refreshing hard seltzer with cranberry flavor. Available on draft.
- Corrupt Lemonade Hard Seltzer at 5.0% ABV, gluten reduced. Crisp, tart and refreshing hard seltzer with lemonade flavor. Available on draft.
- Vice Bier Hefeweizen (German wheat beer) at 4.7% ABV with 19 IBUs. Brewed with 50% white wheat malt and 50% malted barley, featuring banana, vanilla, and clove flavors. Available on draft and in cans.
- Gift Certificates Digital gift certificates redeemable in the tasting room for beer, glassware, and apparel. Available online in denominations of $10, $25, $50, $75, and $100.
Quantifiable outcome
- First beer released in August 2014, establishing market presence for over 10 years
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Fort Hill Brewery
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Fort Hill Brewery technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Fort Hill Brewery partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Various Food Trucks (Cote's Cooks, Riff's, Crazy Arepas)minorRegular food truck partnerships where food vendors appear at the tasting room on weekends. These partnerships enhance the tasting room experience and drive traffic. No formal exclusive agreements indicated.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Fort Hill Brewery competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Fort Hill Brewery social profiles
Digital presenceFort Hill Brewery financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Fort Hill Brewery leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Fort Hill Brewery funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Fort Hill Brewery M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Fort Hill Brewery
What does Fort Hill Brewery do?
Fort Hill Brewery is a craft brewery that produces ales, lagers, IPAs, stouts, and hard seltzers using traditional German brewing techniques combined with American innovation. The company operates a public tasting room in Easthampton, MA for direct-to-consumer sales and distributes its ~20-product portfolio directly to bars, restaurants, and retail stores without using third-party distributors.
Is Fort Hill Brewery a public or private company?
Fort Hill Brewery is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Fort Hill Brewery founded?
Fort Hill Brewery was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Fort Hill Brewery based?
Fort Hill Brewery is headquartered in Easthampton, United States, in the North America region.
How does Fort Hill Brewery make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Tasting Room Sales are the primary driver. The others are on-Premise Distribution, off-Premise Distribution, gift Certificates and contract Brewing.
Does Fort Hill Brewery have an API?
No public API is recorded for Fort Hill Brewery.
What industry is Fort Hill Brewery in?
Fort Hill Brewery's product category is Craft Beer. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFALAC, Microbreweries & Craft Breweries, with a secondary code of THAFALAA, Brewpubs & Taprooms (On-site Beer Service). Its NAICS code is 312120 and its SIC code is 2082.