Craft Beer Cellar located at 450 Paradise Road in Swampscott recently joined the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Craft Beer Cellar owner Scott Claussen says he joined the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce to further promote the products and tastings for the store.
Swampscott was Claassen’s first choice for a business location because it’s a “bridge” between Marblehead, Salem and Lynn. Clients are coming from all of those communities including Peabody and Nahant, with a mix of out of state tourists.
His love of beer came from working at Goose Island Brewpub in Chicago. “I worked there as a server, bartender and host while I was pursuing my MBA at Loyola University Chicago. It was pretty hard not to become fully immersed in beer as the selection was off the charts and so where the pub brewers. While that place has undergone quite a bit of change in the last 5 years, at the time there were great pub brewers and managers there that not only wanted you to try everything, but also wanted you to understand the difference in flavor, color, ABV and style. It was a great learning experience.”
Claussen adds that he chooses the products to sell by simply researching and sampling. “Creating beer is an art,” he says.
“Everything in the store has either been sampled personally or researched to the point where I feel like it has been sampled. While I generally don’t prefer any one style of beer over another, there are a few that are my favorites and a few that are not.” We focus heavily on local beers as well since supporting Massachusetts and the local area is important. Finally, we do not carry any macro beer with the “familiar names.” Everything we carry is a either a great example of its particular style, or one that I feel has another overriding reason to be carried.”
Claussen says his customers seek a little bit of everything, especially the IPA’s (India Pale Ale). “Quality is important as well and we have already discussed that. Additionally, they want to know that the product is fresh. We check every single date of every case of beer that comes in the door to make sure we have the freshest product out there. Finally, they want to know that it is worth drinking. This really is a mixture of quality and freshness with some knowledge tossed in. Trying something new can be a leap of faith and having us here to provide that knowledge is comforting.”
Craft Beer Cellar hosts regular tastings of beer, wine, cider and mead most Fridays from either 4:00 to 6:00 or 5:00 to 7:00. For more information go to www.craftbeercellar.com and click “find a store” to access the Swampscott location or call 781.715.8495 Craft Beer Cellar is also on Facebook (facebook.com/cbcswampscott), Twitter (@cbc_swampscott) and Instagram (cbc_swampscott).
For more information about the LACC events and membership go to www.LynnAreaChamber.com or [email protected] or call 781-592-2900.