Devil’s Purse Brewing Co.
When Matt Belson and Mike Segerson opened Devil’s Purse Brewing Co. to the public last month, they had plenty of competition. Cape Cod Beer has been around for over ten years, and both Bad Martha in Martha’s Vineyard and Cisco in Nantucket are well established.
“We didn’t know what to expect,” admitted Segerson.
The pair met in 2010, and began brewing beer for fun together in their kitchen sinks with a plastic bucket and pot from a homebrew kit. Five years later, an old-fashioned loan from the bank got the two friends a new, 5500-square-foot brewery in South Dennis.
They lined the former warehouse with seven metal barrels, turning grain, yeast, hops and water into cold kegs of ales and lagers. A month later, however, Matt and Mike were overwhelmed with orders. Recently the company was forced to halt the addition of new sales accounts and restructure their business for larger production.
“We can brew as much as 400 gallons in one day. We don’t even have time to drink as much anymore,” they laughed.
The name of the brewery, Devil’s Purse, draws from the rough, black skate eggs that wash up onto Cape beaches. The brewery and its founders, two Cape Cod locals, have a close association with the ocean, further apparent in the names of their European-style beers: Surfman’s Check ESB (a sweet and spicy up-front flavor with a dry finish and cleansing bite); Skatemouth Pale Ale (a malt-forward pale ale with sweet malt flavor and notes of spicy orange marmalade); Pollock Rip IPA (a dry finish IPA with spicy citrus flavors); and Handline Kolsch (an interpretation of a German-style kolsch with lemon zest and cut grass flavors).
In addition to Devil’s Purse’s four year-round beers, Matt and Mike will dedicate one of their seven-barrel fermenters to one-off selections such as their Skywave Provisional Saison.
At the moment, the brewery is draft-only, producing kegs for Cape Cod bars and restaurant such as Bistro on Main (Chatham), the Red Nun (Chatham, Dennisport), Blackfish (Truro), and Local 186 (Provincetown). There are on-site samples and 32-ounce growlers available at the brewery.
Devil’s Purse Brewing Co.
120 Great Western Road, South Dennis
508-694-7171 / devilspurse.com
Open to the public Fridays from 2-6 pm and
Saturdays from noon-6 pm
