Bridgeport distillery, residents battle over liquor license, expansion

BRIDGEPORT — Having temporarily shifted from producing spirits to hand sanitizer to survive the coronavirus pandemic, Fifth State — formerly Asylum — Distillery may soon open a new seasonal outdoor tasting patio.

First, though, the small business needs to renew its state liquor permit, issued in 2016. And operators Bridget and Rob Schulten are facing fierce opposition from their neighborhood’s City Council member and some of her constituents.

During a four-hour teleconference hearing Thursday, Councilwoman Maria Pereira urged the state Liquor Control Commission to revoke Fifth State’s license. She and a half-dozen other residents alleged the Schultens illegally hosted parties there and that Rob Schulten tried to intimidate Pereira and a small group of protesters by racing his truck at them when they stood outside the distillery May 15 to oppose the proposed patio plans.

“I was truly frightened for their safety ... and, quite frankly, my own safety,” an emotional Pereira, who filed a pending police report on the incident, testified under oath.

“The tire was screeching,” said resident Michele Small. “He didn’t handle himself in a professional way at all. I felt very threatened.”

Rob Schulten testified he in no way sought to intimidate or threaten anyone when he, along with his son, arrived at the distillery that morning to find the group gathered near his gate preparing to be interviewed by a local television station.

“I was just trying to get to work,” Schulten said, adding later, “I did not try and scare anyone . ... I didn’t yell at anybody.”

“He told me he came up to the business, there were people standing in the driveway — next to the driveway — so he had to stop short. He honked,” Bridget Schulten added. “They were in his driveway and he was going to work.”

Launched as Asylum after its address — 259 Aslyum St. in a light-industrial/residential area of town — and rebranded Fifth State in early 2020 just before COVID-19 struck and temporarily shuttered many establishments, the distillery produces locally-sourced “small batch” vodka, whiskey, gin and lemon and chocolate liqueurs.

In contrast to state wineries and breweries, Connecticut’s distilleries must abide by stricter serving limitations. Asylum is open to the public and for private tours Saturday afternoons, with visitors, Rob Schulten explained Thursday, limited to small tastings of “up to 2 ounces per day, per person. And people can buy up to two, 750 liter bottles per day (with) a maximum over a two-month period.”

Prior to the global health crisis, the Schultens were looking forward to taking advantage of a 2019 state law allowing distilleries to expand their offerings. They have also been negotiating with Mayor Joe Ganim’s administration to lease a 30by-100 foot section of 80 Hastings St., an adjacent demolished factory the city acquired by foreclosure, for a beer gardenstyle tasting patio to open Thursdays through Sundays, April through November.

Pereira gathered over 70 signatures to force Thursday’s liquor commission hearing. Under the rules of the proceedings, she was allowed to call and cross-examine witnesses. The Schultens were represented by New Haven-based attorney Peter Berdon.

Also present was William Coleman, Bridgeport’s deputy director of economic development. Coleman testified Fifth State has been “a good story for the city, economically (and) in terms of the image of the city.”

“I feel it’s been a good business to work with,” Coleman said. He noted the patio lease was a work-in-progress requiring local council and zoning approvals. Public hearings by the council and zoning commission on the lease were canceled this spring.

Frank Whitman / For Hearst Connecticut Media Rob Schulten explaining the distilling process at Asylum Distillery in Bridgeport.