Welcome to 3cross!

3cross Fermentation Cooperative is Massachusetts' first community-owned brewery. Our 5,500 square foot space in the basement of 26 Cambridge Street houses a spacious taproom, a small nano-brewery setup and lots of space for expansion. While beer is the core of our business here at 3cross, we have plans for a variety of other fermented foods and drinks in the future. Since the business is owned by you, our customers, we keep our focus on serving our local community. It's unlikely that you'll ever see 3cross beer sold too far from Worcester.

Our name references the classic spoke lacing pattern for a bicycle wheel and you'll find elements of bicycle lore and culture throughout the brewery. Since we're cyclists as well as beer lovers, we aim to make 3cross the ideal place to end your next ride. Of course, we also aim to be the perfect place for anyone to enjoy a fresh, local beer.

Cooperate!

What is a Cooperative? Glad you asked...

A cooperative is a democratically owned and controlled business that exists to serve its members needs and aspirations. Cooperative businesses are owned and run by and for their members and a share in the profits and decision making.

Here at 3cross, the business is owned both by its workers and its consumers (that's you!). Each group elects representatives to the Board of Directors to help steer the business, with input from the membership as a whole. Unlike a traditional corporation, each member has an equal vote in the affairs of the cooperative, regardless of the amount of their capital investment. In the case of really important decisions (like changing the business's core mission), all members have an equal say in the final outcome.

Why would I want to become a Member?

Beyond having a say in the direction of a business you patronize and having an opportunity to serve on the Board, members will receive a 20% discount on merchandise purchases along with the special perks below.

Annual Meeting and Celebration

Once a year, we'll hold our Annual Meeting to elect the Board of Directors and vote on important decisions. It won't be just a meeting though, there'll be plenty of time to socialize and celebrate another year!

Quarterly Members-Only Beer

Once a quarter we'll randomly select a member to help design and brew a beer of their choosing. They'll be free to have as much involvement as they like - from simply selecting a style to actually putting on some brewer's boots and cleaning out the mash tun. Once the beer is ready, it will be available for members to purchase at cost.

Patronage Dividends

In years when the business has profits remaining after necessary reinvestment, members will receive a dividend in proportion to their purchases with the coop. Some portion of this dividend will be in cash and some portion may be in the form of increased investment in the coop.

Charity of the Month

Since we have a no tips policy here at 3cross, we donate any cash left on the bar each month to a designated charity. As a member you'll be able to suggest and vote on which charity that money goes to.

I'm sold! How do I join?

The first step is to fill out our membership application here on our website. Once you've completed that you'll just need to make a $150 equity contribution. We'd prefer to have you come in to the taproom to do that (we want to get to know you!), but we understand that's not possible for some. If that's the case, we'll send you a link to make your equity contribution online by credit card.

Sustainability isn't just a buzz word.

3cross isn't just about brewing beer and supporting our local community. We also want to make sure that we steward our natural resources for the enjoyment of all. Brewing beer can have a significant environmental impact due to large water, electrical and fossil fuel requirements. Here's what we're doing to try to minimize or mitigate our impact on the planet.

Giving Back

Working together with 1% for the Planet, we have committed to donating 1% of all of our sales to non-profit organizations whose missions are in areas of critical environmental impact: climate, food, land, pollution, water, and wildlife.

So far, 3cross has donated to the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition (MassBike), the Regional Environmental Council and Worcester Earn-A-Bike. MassBike and Worcester Earn-A-Bike work within our city and our state to promote cycling as a fun and eco-friendly mode of transportation and recreation. The REC works to secure access to fresh, healthy food for everyone.

Green Energy

Via a partnership with the Mass Energy Consumers Alliance, 3cross offsets 100% of it's electrical usage with the purchase of Class 1 RECs from wind power generated in Massachusetts. By doing this we're helping to make the local electric grid greener, faster.

Waste Management

Breweries generate a lot of waste in the form of grain solids that have been used, but still contain nutrients. We give our spent grains to local farms to use as feed for livestock, keeping them out of the landfill.

Responsible Purchasing

When making decisions regarding which products we purchase to run our business, we always consider environmental impact. All of these decisions are important, from little things like paper goods (we purchase 100% recycled) to more impactful ones like our malted barley (the bulk of which is malted without the use of fossil fuels).

Frequently Asked Questions

Join Our Mailing List

Thanks! Please check your email to confirm your subscription.

Get in Touch

Have you checked out our FAQ? We receive many inquires and most of the common questions are answered there. Please give it a look. We're a small operation, so we are unable to respond individually to questions that are addressed in the FAQ. We need to spend our time making beer!

3cross Membership Application

Processing application...

There was an error while submitting your application. Please try again later. Sorry for the inconvenience. If this error persists, please send us an email at info@3cross.coop

Your application has been received. Next time you're in the taproom let us know you've completed the application and we'll process your payment.

Your application has been received. We'll send you an invoice to pay your equity contribution soon.