The Peru Gazette

Terry Schmaltz and Mary Pearl

By John T. Ryan

Peru should be the home of two microbreweries sometime in 2014. Last month Livingood’s Restaurant announced plans to open a restaurant in November and a brewery a few months later. On October 9^th the Town Planning Board approved an application from the Valcour Brewing Company to construct a microbrewery on Route 9, a few hundred feet north of the entrance to Ausable Point State Park.

Mary Theresa Pearl and Terry Schmaltz told the Board that they plan to be brewing beer and hosting beer tastings in 2014. They will not operate a restaurant or pub, but customers will be able to taste their beers inside the brewery and on a large deck overlooking Lake Champlain. The 3,000 to 4,000 square foot building will be constructed on a 2.78 acre commercially zoned property.  Pearl said the building would have a residential look.

Discussing her products Pearl said, “We plan to have four flagship styles (a lager, pale ale, black IPA and a stout), plus seasonal styles.  We’ll have tastings and we plan to work with the tourist industry and local restaurants.” The beer names will be tied to the North Country with names such as Peru IPA, and others that relate to the Battle of Valcour.

A Plattsburgh native, Pearl told the Peru Gazette that she and her husband love this region’s beauty and history and want to be a part of preserving its past and enhancing its future. Mary Theresa Pearl is a graduate of St. John’s Academy and Siena College. Both she and her husband are retired U.S. Army officers.