Benchmark Brewing Company Venturing Into Bay Park

Four years after launching their GABF award-winning brewery in the Grantville area, Matt and Rachael Akin have announced that Benchmark Brewing Company’s first satellite tasting room is headed to Bay Park. Admired for his prowess at creating full-flavored sessions beers, head brewer Matt Akin spent eight years as a key member of AleSmith Brewing Company before leaving to co-found Benchmark in 2013.

The new tasting room will be located at 4112 Napier Street, bolstering the block that also houses bottle shop/tasting room Poseidon Project. The all-ages dog-friendly space will span a 1,000-square-feet of interior with roll-up sidewalk windows and a 1,500-square-foot back patio and fire pit area. In addition to serving its house beers on tap, the bar will also offer growler fills and four packs of 16-ounce cans to-go. There won’t be an on-site food component, though there will be an area available to host food trucks on occasion. Benchmark, which will be participating in the annual Taste of Morena event scheduled for April 26, says it hopes to have the Bay Park outpost up and running by late summer.