By Martin Luttrell TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF © 2006 Worcester Telegram & Gazette Corp.
WORCESTER— From a block away, it looked like a moving van backed into the driveway of the Worcester house. But the distinctive Harpoon logo and the 8-foot-tall glass of ale on the side told friends and neighbors that Daniel C. Kenary was home for a visit.
Mr. Kenary, president and co-founder of Harpoon Brewery in Boston, stopped at the home of his parents, James B. and Maryanne N. Kenary — “initial investors,” as he jokingly referred to them — during a thank-you tour of the state to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary.
The stop was the 13th of the day, and came before Worcester native Mr. Kenary and two company employees fired up the 37-foot-long Chevrolet 5500 Duramax diesel recreational vehicle for a last stop at Jillian’s Billiard Club on Grove Street. At each stop, the crew would lower the back deck and put on a cookout and hand out samples to people who had sold their product.
“We’re saying ‘thank you’ to people,” Mr. Kenary said as neighbors looked up at the vehicle’s open door and climbed in for a peek inside. “The idea is to bring the brewery out to people.” The Harpoon-mobile has already visited Maine, New Hampshire and Connecticut, and will tour the Cape and North Shore next week to conclude the tour.
Mr. Kenary said he is grateful to those who helped make his company the largest craft beer brewer in New England, and one of the largest in the country. A craft beer is one produced by a regional, small or micro-brew company.
Mr. Kenary, a 1982 graduate of Harvard University, went on to get a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago. He and a Harvard classmate, Rich Doyle, had toured Europe, sampling the local beers, and returned with a desire to widen the choice of beer at home.
Mr. Kenary, then a banker with the First National Bank of Chicago, raised more than $400,000 with Mr. Doyle and another partner, George Ligetti, with Mr. Doyle writing a business plan, he said.
The company built a brewery on Northern Avenue in Boston, and offered Harpoon Ale as its first beverage. Now it expects to sell more than 100,000 barrels this year, producing four year-round beers and four seasonal brews, he said. Harpoon also produces four styles under its UFO (unfiltered offering) brands, and brews a yearly “100-Barrel Series,” a limited quantity sold in 22-once bottles.
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