MILLERS FALLS — Adapting to industry changes and listening to community feedback has carried Element Brewing Co. co-founders Ben Anhalt and Dan Kramer into their 15th year in business.

To mark the occasion, Element Brewing Co. will host a celebration on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 2 p.m. featuring live music from Dusty McNeal, Gabe Jay Music and Brookside Project. Attendees can also try the new anniversary beer, Extra Special Oak, alongside specialty cocktails and food.

Element Brewing Co. first started brewing in 2009 in Millers Falls, and Anhalt and Kramer opened their current location at 16 Bridge St. in November 2015. Since 2017, they’ve been distilling alcohol as well. The addition of a distillery served as a unique turning point in Franklin County history as it became the first commercial distillery in the county since before Prohibition, according to Kramer.

Anhalt credited late state Rep. Steve Kulik as being instrumental in helping Element Brewing Co. obtain the necessary approvals to operate a distillery. He added that it’s been fun to build from just brewing beer to operating a taproom and distilling alcohol as the business does today.

Additionally, Anhalt said the community in Millers Falls and the rest of Montague has been a key reason why he and Kramer have persevered despite bumps in the road.

“It’s been great for us getting to know the Millers Falls and Montague neighborhood,” Anhalt said. “It’s been a long, long road with many bumps. We got through [the pandemic] and we’re coming back from all of those slower years that we had with that.”

Over the last 15 years, Anhalt said Element Brewing Co. has survived by adapting to changes in the wider industry, like guidelines for how beer is packaged, while also listening to what customers want.

Anhalt said customers have compared their space to other breweries and taprooms, and customers say they appreciate being able to talk directly to the two co-owners and the people who make the products they are buying. Being a more “homey” space for patrons, and less stale and corporate, has been an important aspect of the appeal.

“We really just try to make a nice place where our local community would like to hang out, and then that just kind of spills over to tourists coming off of Route 2, and just making it a comfortable place to be,” Anhalt said.

Kramer feels similarly, noting that industry shifts over the last 15 years have been something that Element Brewing Co. has been able to keep up with.

“One of the most exciting aspects of the way Element has evolved is adding the distillery,” Kramer said. “It has been both professionally interesting to learn and hone a new skill set, and I think as the industry has evolved, it’s been a good asset for us.”

Still, the brewing industry has become more challenging. Anhalt mentioned the difficulty of coping with rising costs to import ingredients. The best way patrons can help, Kramer said, is to continue to shop local.

To thank the community for its support, Kramer said Element Brewing Co. partners with local nonprofits and organizations as part of its “Thankful Thursdays” program, during which a percentage of sales benefit the chosen organization. Kramer and Anhalt also offer space for local vendors to sell their items.

Heading into the rest of the month, Element Brewing Co. will release some of its reserve spirits and will host a Dec. 14 sip-and-shop with craft vendors ahead of the holidays.

“It’s just part of us trying to be able to give back to the community that’s been so generous to us for 15 years,” Kramer said.

For more information about the 15th anniversary event on Saturday, Dec. 7, visit elementbeer.com/events-1.

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.