At long last, our first 48 kegs out the door to our wholesale distributor.

Fallen Worcester firefighter honored with specialty beer: MyFoxBOSTON.com

Watch City Brewing Co. (256 Moody Street, Waltham). Waltham’s a bit of a hike if you’re in Boston proper (though this spot is pretty close for Bentley students), but Watch City Brewing Co. is well worth it. You won’t find any major beers on tap; they brew everything themselves. Instead, you’ll find stouts and porters, lighter summer-style beers, and even some weird ones, like bacon- or spearmint-flavored brews. I recommend the Moody Street Stout, a foreign-style stout that’s rich and velvety, with aromas of coffee, chocolate, and roasted nuts — and just the perfect amount of carbonation.  Read full article >

The Watch City Brewery brewed up a special beer in honor of firefighter Jon Davies, and that special brew was on tap at a local bar.

Brendan Monahan visited the bar and Davies’ firehouse on Franklin Street in Worcester to get the story.

Watch the  video for more.

Rescue One Kölsch on tap at Dive Bar tribute to Jon Davies

(NECN: Katelyn Tivnan: Worcester, Mass.) – A Waltham brewer whose brother is a firefighter is making a special beerand the profits are going to the family of a Worcester firefighter who was killed in December.

The proceeds from the sale of the beer will benefit a fund set up for the children of Jon Davies. The brewers hope to raise $3,000, and so far, they say, the response is overwhelming

Rescue One Kolsch is being brewed in memory of Jon Davies by Aaron Mateychuk of Watch City Brewing Co. In Waltham, Mass., whose brother, James, is a Worcester firefighter.

Aaron Mateychuk said the production of the beer has been prompting calls from all over the country.

At the Smokestack restaurant in Worcester, a number of firefighters are regulars and now consumers of the brew. Discussions are also under way to make the beer a permanent product.

Watch City Brewing Co. has released a beer to benefit the children of a Worcester firefighter who died in the line of duty.

Aaron Mateychuk, brewmaster at Waltham-based Watch City, brewed the beer — a kölsch — with the help of Worcester firefighters. (Mateychuk’s brother, James, is also a Worcester firefighter.)

Watch City began shipping Rescue One Kölsch to bars and pubs last weekend, and it should be showing up on tap in the Boston area now. It will be available as such places as the Salty Pig, Stoddard’s, Canary Square, and Deep Ellum, Mateychuk said.

Watch City also bottled some of the beer in 22-ounce bombers. Priced at $10, those 400 bottles are sold only at the brewery in Waltham.

One-quarter of the sales price is going to the Jon Davies Children’s Fund, which is helping the three sons of the 43-year-old fallen firefighter, who died Dec. 8 when the burning building he entered collapsed on him.

So how’s the beer? It’s crisp and refreshing.

Straw yellow and clear with a short head that quickly dissipates, Rescue One Kölsch has a subtle, winey aroma that suggests grain crackers and light hops. The beer has a mild bitterness, a slight hop profile, a hint of lemon, and just a bit of creaminess.

A German-style ale that is cold-lagered, a kölsch is like a hybrid of a pale ale and a light lager. It’s also fairly tame, at 4.8 percent alcohol by volume. It would be a perfect summer beer, but heck, it’s here now, and we’ll take it. It should be around for a while, too. Watch City plans to brew the third and fourth batches of Rescue One Kölsch next week.

Aaron Mateychuk, brewmaster at Waltham-based Watch City, will oversee the brewing of Rettung Eins Kölsch (or “Rescue One Kölsch”), along with assistant brewmaster Kelly McKnight and five Worcester firefighters, yet to be named. Kölsch is a crisp, straw-colored, German-style ale that is cold-lagered; indeed a kölsch tastes like a refreshing hybrid of a pale ale and a light lager.

Mateychuk — whose brother, James, is a Worcester firefighter – told me the beer will likely be ready for sale sometime between Feb. 8 and Feb. 15. It will be sold almostly entirely in half-barrels, to bars, pubs, and restaurants, which means it will be available primarily on tap, though a limited number of 22-ounce bottles will be sold at the Watch City brewery.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of Rettung Eins Kölsch will go to the Jon Davies Children’s Fund, which is helping the three sons of the 43-year-old fallen firefighter, who died when the burning building he entered collapsed on him. No one else died in that Dec. 8 fire.