Portsmouth farm brewery plan includes new 9,335-sq-ft building

Zoning board to review Ragged Island’s proposal for farm brewery on Van Hof property

By Jim McGaw
Posted 3/20/19

PORTSMOUTH — Ragged Island Brewing Co.’s proposal to establish a farm brewery on the former Van Hof Nursery property on Bristol Ferry Road includes plans for a new 9,335-square-foot …

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Portsmouth farm brewery plan includes new 9,335-sq-ft building

Zoning board to review Ragged Island’s proposal for farm brewery on Van Hof property

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — Ragged Island Brewing Co.’s proposal to establish a farm brewery on the former Van Hof Nursery property on Bristol Ferry Road includes plans for a new 9,335-square-foot building to house its brewing operations along with a seasonal taproom.

Donovan Gray Distributing LLC, which operates the brewery that’s currently located in the Portsmouth Business Park, has a purchase-and-sales agreement with the Van Hof family to acquire the 37-acre nursery property at 54 Bristol Ferry Road with the intention of preserving the land as a working farm and expanding its current operations. Ragged Island plans on growing hops, fruits and perhaps other ingredients for its beers on the property.

The Island Garden Shop and Van Hof Nursery closed last fall after more than 50 years of business.

Ragged Island cleared its first hurdle in October 2018, when the Town Council voted 4-2 to amend the zoning ordinance to define the term “farm brewery” and allow that use throughout all zoning districts through the special-use permit process.

Donovan Gray Distributing, the applicant, and Van Hof Land Associates, the owners, were originally scheduled to seek the special-use permit to develop a farm brewery, including the new building, at a Zoning Board of Review this Thursday, March 21.

On Tuesday, however, Ragged Island’s Matt Gray said the petitioners will ask to postpone the hearing to another night. Thursday’s agenda is already full and he expects the brewery hearing to be a long one, he said.

“We’re actually asking for a continuance to have a special hearing because we know neighbors will want to be heard,” said Mr. Gray, adding that “all neighbors and abutters have all been notified” about the zoning application.

The next regular zoning board meeting is on April 19, but that’s during school vacation week, and some people involved with the petition will be out of town, he said. Ideally, Ragged Island hopes to have a hearing scheduled for April 4, but that will be up to the zoning board.

All buildings retained

The brewery initially looked at ways to utilize the property’s main 1890s farmhouse, formerly used as Island Garden Shop’s retail space, for its brewing operation but soon realized that it wouldn’t work, he said.

“The new building has been part of the plan since day two,” Mr. Gray said.

The new, modern-looking building, located further down the hill from Bristol Ferry Road, “will be the home for all of our brewing operations and will have a seasonal taproom (late spring through early fall) that will allow us to connect the agricultural side of the business with the brewing side as we welcome guests to view the hop fields that will fill the southern part of the lot,” Mr. Gray said.

The main farmhouse building that has housed the Island Garden Shop will be used as a year-round taproom and retail space, he said.

Besides the main farmhouse, there are also three barns on the property. All will remain, said Mr. Gray.

“There are four buildings on the property. We’re building a fifth,” he said.

The Planning Board voted unanimously March 13 to send a favorable advisory opinion to the zoning board regarding the special-use permit.

“We’ve had no hurdles really at all so far,” Mr. Gray said, adding that he looks forward to the brewery receiving all the necessary approvals so construction can begin. 

“Everything’s moving very quickly,” he said.

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Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.