If you’ve walked past the semi-rundown building at 11 Main St. any time over the past five years, you may have noticed a small handwritten sign in the window proclaiming the future opening of a Second Wind taproom on the first floor. (It already has a popular but tiny brewery tucked into a driveway space on Howland Street.) Beer lovers most certainly took note as the months turned to years and the project showed few signs of progress. Many likely gave up on the promise of that fading sign ever becoming a reality.
Second Wind owners Hans Terbush, Kenny Semcken, and JR Shepard are weary of the frequent questions surrounding the supposed opening of the location, but they are optimistic that it will eventually happen – maybe even by the end of the year.
The hold-ups, and there have been many regarding permitting and other logistical issues, have largely been resolved, they say. One major hurdle remains, though – the installation of an expensive sprinkler system required by the town. After months of searching, the owners say they have finally found a contractor willing to install one for under $100,000. That’s considerably less than other quotes they received.
The new facility will become the primary taproom for Second Wind. In the meantime, the brewery has managed to prosper at 7 Howland St., just a short walk away, even as bigger and better-appointed breweries have opened in town, including the large and lively Vitamin Sea just down the hill on Water Street.
Plymouth is now home to seven brewers, an impressive count for a town of our size. But Second Wind Brewing was the first to open in Plymouth center, in 2018. That facility will remain the primary location of its brewing operation even after the Main Street space opens.
During the three years prior to 2018, friends and homebrewers Terbush, Semcken, and Shepard were finding their way around the Plymouth beer community with stints brewing at IndieFerm and in sales and merchandising at the Craft Beer Cellar (now part of Plimoth General Store downtown), while working their day jobs.
To further enhance their beer cred, Terbush became a certified beer server and Semcken and Shepard passed the exam to become certified cicerones , the beer version of a sommelier. The allure of opening their own hometown brewery soon became impossible to ignore.
The build-out of the original 3½-barrel (108 gallon) brewery on Howland Street took most of 2016 and 2017, a farmer brewer license was granted in November 2017, and Second Wind opened for business in April 2018.
In January 2019 Terbush became Second Wind’s first full-time employee and has served as head brewer ever since. In 2020 the brewing system was upgraded to a seven-barrel system that produces about 450 gallons of beer every week.
The Howland Street location also serves as an intimate taproom, but in more temperate weather the garage doors are opened to a patio, increasing its seating capacity. While food is not regularly served – except for a brief but glorious period during the pandemic when a pop-up doled out amazing dumplings and ramen – both the nearby Food Court Craft Kitchen and Artisan Pig deliver to the taproom.
Still, the space is less than ideal in cold weather, especially since Vitamin Sea, Sour Not Sour (also downtown), Mayflower Brewing Company in the Plymouth Industrial Park, Untold Brewing at Cordage Park, and IndieFerm in Camelot Park all offer warm space and creature comforts (especially those amazing paninis at Vitamin Sea). Given that formidable competition, it’s easy to see why finally opening the Main Street taproom is so important.
In addition, since July 2023 Second Wind has occasionally hosted a beer garden on the green at the Redbrook development throughout the summer season. It also used to sometimes serve fresh beer from a truck at Bramhall’s Country Store in Chiltonville.
Wherever the location, it’s ultimately about the beer. Core offerings at Second Wind include Howland at the Moon (Belgian Wheat, 5.2 percent ABV), Buckshot (Session IPA, 4.6 percent ABV), and 1,000 Years Between (New England IPA, 6.2 percent ABV). These are typically accompanied on-tap by a double IPA, a dark beer such as a porter, and a hard seltzer or sour. The 11 taps are rounded out with a variety of seasonal and specialty offerings.
Second Wind beers are commonly found on draft at bars and restaurants throughout downtown and the waterfront, particularly Howland at the Moon, Plymouth’s (much better) version of Blue Moon. Four-packs of Second Wind cans are available at several local retailers, as well as at the Howland Street brewery.
Second Wind has long been involved in the Plymouth community, too – most recently with the Plymouth Public Library Foundation Arts & Craft Festival. Among other local events, Second Wind sponsors the Cage Titans Fighting Championships, held regularly at Plymouth Memorial Hall. The sponsorship includes the brewing of a signature brew for each event.
The brewery and taproom on Howland Street are open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 10 p.m., Fridays from 2 to 10 p.m., Saturdays from noon to 10 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 8 p.m.
The beer garden at Redbrook in South Plymouth (1 Greenside Way) will be open from 3:30 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 18.
Paul Boyd, a Plymouth resident, is a retired professor and faculty director of the MBA program at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island. His research has focused on growth and success in the craft beer industry.