Kevin Barnes and Douglas Constantiner go way back. When Constantiner started working at Green Flash Brewing in 2009, he was placed under Barnes’ direction. It wasn’t long before Constantiner realized that, with such a knowledgeable boss, he stood little chance of ascending the organizational chart. So, he moved on to The Bruery, where he met his eventual business partner and, in 2012, opened Societe Brewing. That operation was later joined in Kearny Mesa by a brewery producing base beers for non-alcoholic and THC beer interest, Two Roots Brewing. Barnes headed operations at that facility and, being so close to one another – just under a mile – he and Constantiner were able to reconnect and maintain a relationship going beyond master and student.
Two Roots shuttered its Kearny Mesa brewery in 2021, but Barnes and Constantiner remain closer than ever, both collegially and geographically. For the past two years, the former has served as Societe’s “brewer in residence”, filling in when there is a prolonged absence or open position on the brewery side. It has allowed Societe to tap into their spot-starter’s veteran experience while allowing Barnes to fund several entrepreneurial endeavors he has started since departing Two Roots.
The first of those businesses to make it to market is Beaglepuss, a brewing company based in Rhode Island. Launched late last year, it produces what Barnes and his partners refer to as “NABs in disguise”, with the acronym standing for “non-alcoholic beers”. Unlike most N/A beer companies’ products, which tend to cover a broad style and flavor spectrum meant to cast the widest net when drawing in consumers, Beaglepuss’ offerings are universally hop-forward.
We started with a kind of old-school West Coast-style IPA with lots of citrus, pine and resin plus a decent dose of caramel malt, a hazy IPA with lots of fruit and balancing bitterness, and a dry-hopped semi-dry cider. We’ve received great feedback so far and are excited to bring more products to market.”
Kevin Barnes, Co-founder, Beaglepuss
Barnes is currently developing a Bohemian-style pale lager and a second New England-style IPA for Beaglepuss. Once they make it past the R&D phase, they will join the company’s other beers on shelves in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts, and soon, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Beaglepuss’ beers are also available online.
While Barnes handles R&D and production, his partners, Jarad Rogers and Patrick Ramey, are applying their 20 years of combined experience in the New England region to other areas of the business. Rogers has worked in sales roles for AB InBev, Artisanal Brewing Ventures and Two Roads Brewing, while Ramey has assisted in design and promotion for Urban Outfitters, Restoration Hardware and numerous large-scale drink-promotion programs. Together they are off to a solid start, with Beaglepuss’ NABs having won a pair of awards at the Tasting Alliance World Beer Competition.
Further west in the heartland, Barnes is working on another project with his cousin. Dubbed Andiamo Brew (a nod to their shared Italian heritage), the business will produce a wide variety of exclusively low-alcohol, “ultra-sessionable” beers coming in under 4% alcohol-by-volume. Andiamo’s portfolio will consist of traditional styles with modern, innovative twists, including a cold pale ale, Czech-style tmavy (dark lager) and Italian-style Pilsner. Barnes hopes to launch the business with kegs and limited self-distribution in April.
But wait, as hard as it is to fathom, there’s even more.
“I’ve developed a way to make non-alcoholic beer and hop seltzer that doesn’t require a brewhouse or even a brewer, specifically,” says Barnes. “The idea behind the concept is to enable cannabis-drink producers who make sodas, seltzers and other beverages infused with THC, to simply use their mixing or Brite tanks and easily be able to add non-alcoholic beer to their portfolio.”
It’s a great deal for any single brewer to have on their plate, but Barners relishes the opportunity to test his limits and explore entrepreneurism after so many years of funneling his professional energies into other peoples’ enterprises.
As with his work with Societe, his mind and door remain open in terms of consulting work, be it shoring up a brewery’s temporary personnel shortfall or lending his expertise in formulating and producing craft beer, non-alcoholic and cannabis beverages. There’s no distance he won’t travel for the right opportunity.