Foolproof Brewing Company

Lore & Background

Foolproof Brewing Company began as High Jinx Brewing Company, founded in 2012 by Nick Garrison, a former homebrewer from Massachusetts. Shortly after starting operations and before selling to the public, the name was changed to Foolproof to avoid trademark conflicts with Magic Hat's beer brand Jinx and Tatamy, Pennsylvania's HiJinx. The brewery produced its first batch in December 2013 and began in-state sales in January 2013. By the end of 2013, it had doubled its production capacity and expanded distribution to neighboring Massachusetts and Connecticut. The brewery's marketing approach involves naming beers after 'experiences' or common beer-drinking contexts for which each is intended. Unusual for a small brewery, Foolproof releases most of its beer, particularly its core year-round brands, in cans and promotes the use of cans for better flavor. The brewmaster, Damase Olsson, is a former chemist and brewer at the Nashoba Valley Winery and the defunct Pennichuck Brewery in Milford, New Hampshire. In January 2014, the brewery released a line of beer-based soaps in collaboration with Newport, Rhode Island-based soapmaker Spindrift.

Reader's Guide

Foolproof Brewing Company is notable for its origin story as a renamed brewery avoiding trademark conflicts, and for its early adoption of canning as a primary packaging method for a small brewery. The brewery's four year-round beers—Barstool (golden ale), Raincloud (porter), La Ferme Urbaine (farmhouse ale), and Backyahd (IPA, named after the Eastern New England pronunciation of 'backyard')—are marketed according to the drinking contexts they are intended for. The brewery's expansion from Rhode Island into Massachusetts and Connecticut within its first year of sales, along with a doubling of production capacity, indicates early growth. The collaboration with Spindrift to produce beer-based soaps in January 2014 represents an unusual product extension. The background of brewmaster Damase Olsson as a former chemist and brewer at other regional breweries adds to the brewery's profile.

Did You Know?

• Foolproof was originally named High Jinx Brewing Company before being renamed to avoid trademark conflicts.
• The brewery's IPA, Backyahd, takes its name from the Eastern New England pronunciation of 'backyard'.
• Brewmaster Damase Olsson previously worked as a chemist and brewer at Nashoba Valley Winery and Pennichuck Brewery.