BY PAUL MITCHELLNorth Country This Week

CANTON – Seven months of construction work at the Bent Beam Brewing project in Canton is expected to get underway on Monday.

A groundbreaking ceremony will take place Friday at 3:30 p.m. at the 41 West Main Street site, owned under the corporate name of St. Lawrence Suds, LLC., according to Gary Hammond, a partner and chief financial officer.

Hammond said Northern Tier Construction, Gouverneur, has been awarded the contract for general construction.

“Total reconstruction will take place over the next seven months,” stated Hammond.

The work will include a new concrete second floor and mezzanine construction as well as adding a kitchen addition and full parking lot, Hammond noted.

The $1.1 million Bent Beam Brewing building will be housed in the former McCarthy’s Furniture Barn.

Joseph Erlichman, a biology professor at St. Lawrence University, will bring his decades-old brewing experience to the table, offering a variety of beers ranging from New England style IPA, extra special bitters to stouts and porters, and seasonal brews.

Once the renovation work on the 100-year-old building is complete, plans call for a full two stories with the brewhouse in the front side and the back end for the restaurant space. A new roof has been installed.

If everything within the project comes to fruition, Hammond stated earlier that the brewery expects to employ 12 full and part-time people.

The Bent Beam Brewing project received a $610,000 Restore NY grant in December 2022.