Bucket Brewery

Pawtucket’s Bucket Brewery is 3,400 square feet of pure awesome. After outgrowing their original space, the five owners – Nate Broomfield, Erik Aslaksen, T.J. O’Connor, Andrew Powers and Ron Klinger - decided to move into a bigger space, which opened to the public in November 2013.

“While it’s much bigger than our old location, it’s still small for a commercial brewery,” Broomfield, one of the two recipe designers, says. “With the current equipment we could produce about 40BBL [barrels] per week.” Bucket’s tasting and retail areas are both located in the same room with the equipment, a unique design.

Broomfield admits that it was nerve-wracking to expend as much money and time into the business as he has. Luckily the investment has been paying off. His secret? “It’s (almost) all about the beer!” the brewer/owner says with a laugh.

Currently there are four regular beers in the lineup: Rhode Scholar Kolsch, Pawtucket Pail Ale, Park Loop Porter and the 13th Original Maple Stout. “Our maple stout doesn’t have a strong maple flavor,” he notes. “We add it sparingly and coax out some really cool flavors that are usually hidden behind the sweetness.”

Bucket also has a line called “Consistently Inconsistent,” which allows the brewers to have fun and try new things.

Pop in on a Saturday between 11am-4pm for a tasting, or take an organized tour that same afternoon at 2pm, 3pm or 4pm. “We also open some Friday evenings for our Sound Checks when we bring in live music and local artists,” Broomfield says. “Our beer is available all over RI in bars, restaurants and liquor stores.”

Click here for a full list of locations.