Here's a toast to Mercury Brewing for investing in the town whose name appears on its best-loved product, Ipswich Ale.
The company has outgrown its present quarters. But rather than move out of state or even out of town, owner Rob Allen recently announced plans to install a new bottling plant in the former Soffron Brothers clam processing plant in downtown Ipswich that will also include a brew pub.
That's good news for employees and good news for the town, which will reap tax revenue from the rehabilitation and expansion of the abandoned shellfish processing facility in Brown Square. The enterprise should also beautify and bring new life to that section of downtown Ipswich.
The new plant will more than double the company's present brewing capacity. (Besides Ipswich Ale, Mercury Brewing produces Stone Cat beer, its own brand of root beer, and this year will produce four specialty brews including Choate Bridge Stout in honor of the town's 375th anniversary.)
Further evidence that the beer company is here to stay: It's changed its name from Mercury Brewing to Ipswich Ale Brewery.
