LAKEVILLE— Brian Donnelly will never forget the day he removed 7,000 pounds of concrete from the ground to dig trenches for a septic system. This was part of the project he undertook to turn what was formerly an Eastern Bank branch into a family-run brewpub. 

His hands were raw and by the day’s end, he couldn’t lift a thing. “It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” he said. 

After an arduous effort, Donnelly, along with his brother Shawn and mother Karen, opened the doors of Red Hand Brewing in Lakeville on Saturday, Oct. 19.

The “outpouring of support” from the community during the first few days of business was “humbling,” he said in a phone call a few days later in the week. 

“It superseded our expectations,” he noted, and surely made the two and a half years of  pouring blood, sweat and tears into the project well worth it. 

Transforming the building, located at 348 Bedford St., into a brewpub involved having to dig 11 drainage pathways to the septic system out of the building’s concrete foundation, said Donnelly. 

“A beer will be called Concrete Weekend in memory of that,” he noted.

Since pitching the idea to start a family business venture, the Donnelly clan has experienced its fair share of obstacles.  

The family had settled on buying a building in Bridgewater, but the deal ultimately fell through, according to Donnelly. 

Brian, Shawn and Karen came up with the idea of opening a brewpub when both Donnelly brothers experienced career setbacks during the height of the pandemic. 

Opening a brewpub is a logical step for a family whose legacy is deeply connected to alcohol establishments. Brian and Shawn’s grandfather ran a successful bar in Charlestown for many years and Brian has been making beer at home for 13 years. 

Growing up, there was “always a full bar in the basement,” said Donnelly. 

He quipped that though his “life has revolved around booze,” he doesn’t drink much. “I’ll have one to two beers and I’m done,” he noted, laughing. He attributes that to the fact that as a kid, “booze was never taboo in our house.” 

Red Hand Brewing will offer 20 beers on tap and three to four beers brewed in-house, according to the Donnellys. Many of the beers on tap are from local brewers, such as Harper Lane out of Middleboro, Second Wind Brewing out of Plymouth, Newport Craft and Canned Heat out of Fall River. 

“As many local people as we can get involved, we’re getting involved,” Donnelly noted.  

Red Hand Brewing also offers a wide selection of spirits, barrel-aged cocktails and a limited edition of Sam Adams Utopias, a specialty beer that is aged in bourbon barrels, contains 28% alcohol and costs hundreds of dollars per bottle. 

Customers can order food from Lawless Food, which will have a food truck on the property. Lawless Food offerings include typical pub grub and smoked meats. 

Donnelly said opening the brewpub would not have been possible without the support he’s received from local brewers. 

“It’s a really good group of people in the industry,” noted Donnelly. “I’ve never had anyone say: ‘I don’t have time to answer your question or I’m not telling you that.”

Between Red Hand Brewing and other fellow brewers, “it’s not a competition… even though it sort of is,” Donelly said with a wink. 

Red Hand Brewing offers a “family-oriented atmosphere,” said Karen Donnelly, where “well-behaved children and adults are welcome.” 

Dogs are allowed only outside, where several picnic tables are set up. 

Customers can sip a locally brewed beer or cocktail while looking out onto Assawompset Pond.

“That’s one of the reasons we stuck it out here, to be able to look across and have the water,” admitted Karen Donnelly.

It’s hard to miss the giant crimson hand that is etched onto the brewpub’s sign and hangs as a stained-glass window adornment by the entrance. 

Brian Donnelly explained that the brewpub’s logo is the Red Hand of Ulster, which appears on his family’s coat of arms and is a symbol of Northern Ireland.