Old Lyme — Lenny Corto, who has run Lenny's on the Beach in Sound View for the past nine summers, says he had been looking for a way to extend the season at his beachside bar and restaurant.

And now he might have hit on the formula: craft beer conceived and developed at the town's only public beach.

Soundview Brewing Co. actually started last year when one of Lenny's employees, Todd Wells, suggested that the longtime establishment, previously the Ocean Spray, could brew up its own beer.

"It took us a year to perfect the recipes," Corto, chief executive of the beer company, said in an interview at his bar.

Much of the test brewing occurred during the off-season on the top floor of another building that Corto owns on Hartford Avenue, the former Beach Donut Shop that he recently converted into a small market.

Wells, who had brewed beer previously in Colorado, and Corto, who brought his business acumen into the equation, soon teamed up with Kayla Leduc, a designer who helped develop the distinctive labels for beers tied to the Sound View brand. They also came up with the brewing company's tagline, "the brew with a view."

And all the beers have names with resonanace in the Sound View area, including Hartford Ave IPA — that's the main road through the beach — and Flatrock Amber — a nod to a spot at nearby Old Lyme Shores that is a favorite stop for cormorants. Other brews not yet released include the names of nearby sections of town, such as Hawks Nest, Black Hall and Old Colony.

"It seems like every local is really identifying with it," said Corto, who also owns the Sugar Shack in Sound View.

Many of the recipes were tried out by patrons at Corto's bar, giving the brewers immediate feedback. Corto's team visited brewers around the state and in Rhode Island to get a feel for their competition and to generate ideas about what it would take to establish the business.

Unfortunately, Corto said, Old Lyme turned down his application to make beer on Hartford Avenue, so he has contracted with an established brewer, which he declined to name, to make his recipes that are available on draft only at Lenny's on the Beach. Many people prefer the local brew, Corto said, and a blind taste testing against other statewide breweries at a recent event made him confident he is onto something.

He is hoping someday to establish a brewery in town, but first must begin the process of getting other restaurateurs in the area — particularly Lyme, Old Lyme and East Lyme — to carry his brew.

"It's an exciting process; it's a learning process," Corto said.

He said many restaurants have their own beer labels, but it is unusual for them to establish their own brews. What usually happens, he said, is that restaurants contract with established brands to put their labels on beers that already have been accepted by the marketplace.

He estimated it would be a year and a half to two years before his beer catches on to the extent that he could consider starting a brewery. He is making the brew in 15-barrel batches — 450 to 500 gallons — for each variety.

"We're going to try to start small," he said. "We're still in our infancy."

Beer takes a bit of a backseat to running his bar and restaurant this time of year, Corto said, but he expects to make it more of a priority once things slow down after Labor Day. He said he hopes to be able to have occasional beer tastings at Lenny's on the Beach even in the colder months, showing off both his own brand and other interesting beers from the region.

Connecticut law recently changed to allow patrons to be able to take growlers of brew home with them after tastings, and Corto hopes to be able to cash in.

"If we can become a year-round place, I think we have a good thing going here," Corto said.

l.howard@theday.com

WHAT: Sound View Brewing LLC

WHERE: 37 Hartford Ave., Old Lyme

WHO: Lenny Corto

CONTACT: (860) 796-9172; info@soundviewbrew.com

MORE INFO: www.soundviewbrew.com