Massachusetts

Brewing up a business can unlock a new career

Brewing up a business can unlock a new career

Theodore Bunker

Forty years ago in the U.K., the term "microbrewery" emerged to describe new small-batch operations independent of the large brewers and pub chains that dominated the market. Much as many of these relatively tiny beer, ale and stout producers now do today, the first successful one, Litchborough Brewery, provided a path to economic independence for its founder.

Bill Urquhart started the operation in Litchborough, England, in 1974, after his employer, Phipps Northampton shut down. Urquhart was the brewer for Phipps, and after it closed he decided not only to start his own microbrewery, but to provide training to a new generation devoted to the craft. His is considered the first successful small-batch brewery. Many more would follow, promising a similar degree of independence to their intrepid founders.

Boston roasters renew city’s coffee obsession
Massachusetts

Boston roasters renew city’s coffee obsession

Kara Bettis

BOSTON – One more day in Boston, one more coffee shop. National roaster La Colombe opened its first Boston café Thursday near South Station. It's one more shop in a city with a coffee obsession that dates back to the colonial era.

One might think that another coffee shop can't survive in "Beantown," the birthplace of Dunkin' Donuts. But in fact, experts say, Boston is really at the cusp of another kind of coffee trend, one that focuses on a sensory, interactive experience with a single cup of coffee that puts quality over quantity.

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