Our property was once home to the David Baldwin house, named after David Baldwin (born around 1907). The land was a working farm until the early 2000s but then quickly fell into a state of disrepair. In addition to the original barn, the land contained over ten large-scale chicken coups that also were in a state of near collapse. Our founder and head brewer, Caius Mergy, saw this property while driving through Branford during the summer of 2020 and wanted to revitalize the property by establishing a farmhouse brewery.

Our founder, head brewer, and owner, Caius Mergy, found his love for beer during his final year at Middlebury College in Vermont, where he studied Classics (Greek and Latin language). While writing his thesis about Marcus Aurelius, he visited various craft breweries in Vermont where he became obsessed with brewing and fermentation science. He spent as much time homebrewing with his roommates and reading any brewing textbook he could get his hands on, as he did finishing his undergrad work. This passion continued while he obtained his Masters in Classical Archaeology from the University of Oxford, UK – through extensive “field testing” at The Eagle and Child (artistic home for C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and others), Bear Inn (dating to 1242), and The Crown (Shakespeare’s pitstop) among others. At this time, he decided he would fully pursue brewing after graduating with a Masters degree, and along the way in Oxford he found inspiration for our logo on an ancient Roman mosaic.

In the summer of 2018, Caius enrolled in the Master Brewer Program at the Siebel Institute in Chicago and the Doemens Academy in Munich, Germany, where he graduated at the top of his class. He was also the youngest person ever to graduate from this program. During his time in Chicago and Munich, Caius continued to make plans for his own brewery. Having already designed the logo, he created the name “In Tempore Brewing Company”. The Latin translates to “In Time”, inspired by how beers can create memories and emotions linked to a certain time and place. While still pursuing the dream of his own brewery, Caius left Connecticut to work in California as a brewer at Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company in San Carlos.

While working in California, the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Spring of 2020. In order to be closer to home and family during such an uncertain time, Caius moved back to Connecticut with the intention of making his dream a reality. He found the current property we are located on and began the process of creating the brewery. After a few name changes, he decided to name it after his own name, which is Latin in origin, in keeping with the classical inspiration for the brewery, and would match the name heritage of the various beers. Due to many permit delays and supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, ground was finally broken in the Spring of 2022.

The brewery now rests on the original farmland cultivated by David Baldwin. The building draws inspiration not only from the farm, but also from both traditional Roman meeting halls and German beer gardens. The brewery building and tap room is similar to a traditional Roman basilica, while our beer garden is inspired by traditional German beer gardens. The property is also home to a small hopyard, the hops from which are used in our yearly wet-hop Saison. It is also home to several beehives, the honey from which is used both in our brews and served on our charcuterie boards in our taproom. As we continue to hone our craft, we will also continue to embrace our farmhouse aesthetic and culture, and work as much as possible with Connecticut-grown ingredients. We can’t wait to explore the future of our beer with the local community and we will keep to our slogan of: Body, Soul, Mind, Beer.