Founders Justin Gargano and Mike Fawcett both grew up on the Connecticut shoreline. Â As do most home brewers, the two friends shared the dream of one day opening a brewery to share their creations with the community they have grown to love. Â With each experimental brew concocted in their Branford, CT apartment, their passion for well-crafted beer deepened.
In 2010 they officially founded the Thimble Island Brewing company - named for the cluster of islands off the coast of Branford. Â Both Justin & Mike worked in technology jobs by day, but they spent their nights and weekends in a rented garage working to build a business out of their hobby. With no formal brew training, it took a lot of trial and error to perfect the craft. Â They learned quickly that the home brew system they were used to working with would not produce the quality and scale needed for a serious brewery. Slowly they pieced together equipment and built out the facility at 53 East Industrial Road from the ground up. Â
The dream became a reality in July 2012 when they sold their first pint of beer, American Ale, at KC's Pub in Guilford, CT. Â It was received very well by the community and their business grew steadily. Â Just six months later, the pair released their next beer, Coffee Stout, made with Willoughby's coffee beans (a local coffee roaster). Â
Thimble Island Brewing Company continues to expand their recipes, now offering several standard varieties available on tap at bars and restaurants throughout the Connecticut shoreline, as well as specialty brews found only in the brewery's tasting room.  Bottles of the flagship American Ale can also be found at select package stores.  Expansion is evident in the physical space as well.  Their space is now 6 times larger than it was when they first launched, and they are looking forward to opening the doors of a new larger facility, expected to be completed by the summer of 2015.
