Origin Beer Project
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Cheyne and Erika Tessier launched one of Rhode Island ’ s only two alternating proprietorship ( alt-prop , or tenant or partner brewing ) breweries in rented space at Buttonwoods Brewery .
How did you come to launch the Origin Beer Project out of Buttonwoods ? Cheyne Tessier : Erika , my wife , and I co-own Origin . I had come from Proclamation Ale , and Morgan was looking for somebody at Buttonwoods , so I left that position , and came on three years ago . Meeting Morgan goes back further at Beervana . We walked around before the fest opened . We didn ’ t know who he was at the time , but we were like why don ’ t we hang out at this festival and get to know each other over beer . Morgan Clark Snyder Jr .: I got a ticket the morning of . I didn ’ t even know what Beervana was . Cheyne : His vibe was what I was into as a home brewer : saisons and farmhouse styles . I already had a seed of an idea for a brewery , so Morgan and his father both knew I was working toward something . Two and a half years into working here is when we started looking more seriously . Erika and I had looked at a lot of spots but they fell apart because of the pandemic . We had talked about an alt-prop sort of thing , which is what Origin is . As far as our model goes , it allowed us to open with little to no capital ; we used everything we had in our bank account with a little assistance from Morgan Sr . for a small loan for a fermenter . We decided to start now and operate out of here . It allows us to split some costs , start with low overhead and low investment , and build the brand . | | CONTINUED ON PAGE 98
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l NOVEMBER 2021 47