Innovation Destination Hartford spoke with Ben Braddock, Founder and Owner of Hog River Brewing Company in December 2015, before the brewery opened. Since then, Hog River has become a local destination for craft beer and entertainment.IDH Website Curator Nan Price recently checked in with Ben to find out what’s new.NAN PRICE: Give us a little update.BEN BRADDOCK: Since opening August 20, 2016 we have been moving forward with a full head of steam. From a production standpoint, we’ve more than doubled our brewing capacity while keeping more than 90% of our sales in house. We’ve been inching closer to distribution, which should become more of a reality as we increase our capacity.NAN: Aside from funding, what do you need most to move your company forward?BEN: We need more people to support small business in Hartford. There’s a huge network of motivated people trying to make a difference in Hartford. We need more people to give the city a chance by pushing their comfort zone while trying something new.Small businesses are the heartbeat of this city and people will never hear of them unless they make an effort. We ask that people come experience what is going on for themselves and make up their own mind about what Hartford really is. I think people will be surprised in what they find. This is alone will help create a vibrant city culture and successful small businesses.Read the entire interview from 2018 at Innovation Destination Hartford.