Company Profile: Shaidzon Beer Company

Shaidzon Beer Company, located in West Kingston, Rhode Island, was recently voted the second "favorite solar brewery” in New England and 15^th in the country in the Brews from the Sun competition.

Shaidzon is located at the Fairground Business Development Center, owned by Beth and Andy Curtis. The building, which houses two other business tenants, features a 189 kilowatt solar array which went into operation last year. The system utilized a Renewable Energy Fund grant and currently offsets about one-third to half the building’s electrical usage in the winter, and nearly 100 percent in the summer. The carbon emissions prevented from entering the atmosphere are equivalent to saving 11,573 gallons of gasoline per year.

The brewery is the creation of friends Josh Letourneau and Chip Samson who both got their start brewing beer at home and decided to team up and form Shaidzon Beer Company. The founders say they came up with the name one day when the sun was in their eyes and they put their “shades on.”

Shaidzon opened for business last fall, around the same time as the solar installation became operational. Josh and Chip say local breweries are gaining in popularity because they offer customers the ability to try the beer on the premise before they buy it and take it home, which is not possible in liquor stores or restaurants. Their products are inspired by international beers, but are all brewed locally.