Having been downsized from a corporate position in 2008, Woodbury’s Mike McCreary opted to open Cavalry Brewing on Hurley Road in Oxford in 2009.
The names of the beer he produces — “Hatch Plug Ale,” “Dog Soldier Golden Ale,” “Big Wally Porter” — are all references to McCreary’s years in the military.
“Cavalry Brewing came about because I wanted to tell a story about my experiences in the military and about the friends I served with in Iraq,” McCreary writes in the “about us” section of the company’s website.
The Valley Indy sat down with McCreary recently to talk all things beer.
Click the video to watch McCreary’s business profiled on The Brewery Show, a web series that profiles breweries.
Valley Indy: How’s business?
McCreary: “We’re growing. I employ one person right now, and anticipate in the next two or three months hiring a driver and a helper.”
Valley Indy: Where can Valley people buy your beer?
McCreary: “Pretty much every liquor store between Seymour and Woodbury on Route 67. You go to our website, there is a beer finder, you can find a liquor store. Southford Lodge has it in bottles, the Brookside Inn on Route 67 has it on tap. Grill 121 at Oxford Airport also has it on tap.”
Valley Indy: What do you like in a beer? What are your favorite commercial brands?
McCreary: “I like the good drinking beer. I like to have beer that is going to be a balance between malt and hops, I don’t want one overpowering another. Outside of what I have here, I like the English ales, the Bass, and the stouts.”
Valley Indy What is the best temperature to drink beer? Is it a summer drink?
McCreary: “It can be argued — if you’re an English aficionado, or an American. I prefer the English style, which is about 50 to 54 degrees. Americans tend to prefer beer much colder, around 35 to 38 degrees. It’s for year round, absolutely. A lot of people’s taste buds change as winter sets in and they want a darker, heavier beer. In the summer they want a lighter flavorful ale.”
Valley Indy: How much does your beer cost in the stores? Is it a premium brand?
McCreary: “You know what, I don’t care what it costs in the stores, that’s not my job. That’s the retail end of it. Most are priced around $8.99 a size pack, but it’s not my job to dictate what they sell it at.”
Valley Indy: We noticed your beers have military themes. What is behind that pattern?
McCreary: “I was in the Army 23 years, five years active duty, 18 years in the reserves. So far I have named my beers on military themes. The first four beers were named after people I knew in Iraq. There are three or four people running around with beer named after them. But there’s no guarantee I will continue that. We’re coming out with a new beer, an IPA named after the Rangers, called ‘Marauder IPA’ (Indian Pale Ale). It’s going to be a tribute to the rangers. ‘Dog Solider’ is the lightest, and it’s a golden ale. ‘Hatch Plug’ is an English bitter, we have ‘Big Wally Porter’ and ‘Nomad Stout,’ a dry Irish stout.”
Valley Indy: What were you doing before you opened a brewery?
McCreary: “I was unemployed for a period of time. Prior to that I was running a division of a company that decided to shut the division down. We were a manufacturing company, making analytical instrumentation. We had a sales force in the U.S., Europe and the U.K.”
Valley Indy: How did Oxford come to be the home of your brewery?
McCreary: “Oxford is a very industry-friendly town. They say they want industry here and actually come through. From the day I walked into town hall to the Wednesday night I came for a meeting at town hall, it took 10 days to get approval for this. That is fast. It’s fantastic.”
Valley Indy: What is down the road five years?
McCreary: “Five years from now if we can continue expansion and growth the way we are, I’d like to have my own place, my own facility, and triple in size for capacity and production. We’ll be on the right track. We can easily do 60 barrels a week from a production standpoint.”
Reach Cavalry Brewing at 203 – 262-6075 or e‑mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
