Widowmaker started as a passion homebrew project by friends Ryan Lavery and Colin Foley. In 2016 Ryan & Colin decided it was time to make Widowmaker more than just beers they brewed for friends and family in Ryan’s basement. After a long search for a location in Quincy without any prospects, it was a craigslist listing that brought Widowmaker to our original and current location at 220 Wood Road in Braintree Massachusetts. After a 10 month build out of a production space and taproom Widowmaker first opened their doors to the public in September 2017. In 2023 Kenny Semcken bought the shares of Ryan & Colin’s original partner, the three partners have active and full-time roles within the company.
At opening, Widowmaker had the fermentation capacity of 35 BBLs and in our first year we produced just under 300 BBLs. We have grown since we first opened, we currently have 405 BBLs of fermentation capacity and are on pace to produce nearly 5,000 BBLs in 2023. We are very lucky to have an amazing production team, which is currently headed by Director of Brewing Operations Chris Hogan, who consistently produce great beer and push themselves to get better with every batch of beer we brew. We proudly display awards the production team has earned in our Braintree taproom including our World Beer Cup silver award for our core beer Blue Comet.
In addition to our Braintree taproom Widowmaker has also operated numerous seasonal beer gardens, currently there are two operating beer gardens. Our Quincy location can be found in Kilroy Square in the heart of downtown Quincy. This location operates from May through October annually since 2019. In 2023 we added a second beer garden located at 501 John Mahar Highway in Braintree, this location operates will remain open through October with expanded plans for 2024. In October of 2023 Widowmaker opened our second location at 190 North Beacon Street in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston. Widowmaker Taproom & Kitchen features a brewhouse and 50 bbls of fermentation space, a kitchen that is operated by our friends Bone & Bread, a taproom, and seasonal outdoor seating.