Lucky Malden’s Getting Two New Breweries (and One Will Have Cheese)

A Chelsea brewery needs to grow, and it has looked to the north to fulfill its needs. Mystic Brewery will open a new taproom and brewing facility in Malden, according to Boston Magazine. Mystic’s owner Bryan Greenhagen has secured a space at 11 Charles St., down the road from another Malden brewery, Idle Hands, and the expansion will accommodate a massive growth in brewing capacity.

Mystic opened in Chelsea in 2013 and has hit its growth limit there, turning out 3,000 barrels annually. The new facility in Malden could bump that number as high as 20,000, giving Greenhagen and his team the opportunity to reach more people with Mystic beer.

Mystic will take over what was once a candlepin bowling alley, and Greenhagen is looking for an architect to help him make the most of the 17,000-square-foot space, which he plans to use as both brewery and taproom, with indoor and outdoor seating and space for food trucks. Another part of that space could include a cheese counter, where visitors could get cheese plates, charcuterie, and grilled cheese, Greenhagen told Boston Magazine. Two of Mystic’s employees (Erin Tevlin and Tripp Nichols) previously worked for Boston’s prominent cheese purveyor, Formaggio Kitchen.

With a full buildout in store for Mystic in Malden, the Chelsea brewery will remain in operation, producing the brewery’s pale ales, IPAs, and Belgian-style beers. Greenhagen plans to keep the Chelsea location in some capacity — maybe public-facing, maybe just production-oriented — after opening in Malden.

And that’s not all the beer coming to Malden. A brewpub called Faces is currently under construction at 50 Pleasant St., and since neither Mystic nor Idle Hands was born in Malden (Idle Hands got its start in Everett), Faces will produce Malden’s first true hometown beer. The Martignetti family (of Lanes & Games fame) is behind it, which explains the name — they were also behind the old Faces nightclub by Lanes & Games.

Stay tuned for updates on Malden’s growing beer scene by following Mystic Brewery and Faces on social media.

• Mystic Is Opening a New Brewery and Taproom in Malden [BM]