On a Friday night in May, Mystic is brimming with visitors and locals. The streets are beginning to feel congested by the drawbridge and the inauguration of seasonal construction.

But tucked away from the bustling streets is a small, quaint space to have a beer. Quietly positioned in the basement of an old brick building on Water Street is Barley Head Brewery, a microbrewery small in size but efficient in its use of a space filled with beer. There is just enough room to sit comfortably yet intimately with locals, visitors and friends.

I headed down the steps and was greeted with the sound of chatter and laughter, pint glasses half-full, and flights flashing individualized beer gradients. Kris, a friendly member of the staff, told me about the beer they currently had on tap. Pointing to the chalk board behind, he described a few IPAs, a stout, a barley-wine, and a crisp beer brewed with raspberries. With only two small barrels, the brewery has a small output, but a small output means their beer changes weekly, and because of this they offer a wide variety. I bought a flight of four: Triceratops Triticale Trippel, Enthrall IPA, Whaleback Rock DIPA and Oaken Bloke, a barley-wine.

Each beer had its own hop or hint of citrus and tasted fresh. The freshness can be attributed to the fact that many of their ingredients are sourced locally, and the weekly menu also means nothing sits around. They sell beer until it’s gone and then move onto their next creation.

At Barley Head Brewery, the production room and visitor space is divided simply by a standing, shaded divider. On the left is a high-top counter attached to the wall where stools predominate, and to the right are a couple low-top tables with a long bench. The perimeter of the brewery is lined with artwork by local artists, and a large window in the front lets in enough light to brighten the whole space.

Before the brewery opened last summer, I was told the space required a much-needed renovation, which took nearly a year. Before, Barley Head Brewery it was a storage unit less than half the size that it is now.

On the ceiling juts a beam where the original wall had closed off the space. About 10 years ago, it was a jewelry store. With a wall knocked down, new floors, and the authentic brick of the original building, the brewery feels new but has history. As a basement, it will be the perfect refuge from the summer heat.

With the sudden profusion and success of microbreweries over the past five or so years, it is surprising that there are not more breweries in Mystic. There are great bars, but nowhere to experience the same feel that sitting in a brewery gives.

What I like most is that they support local agriculture and artists and pull it together in a space that does not necessarily strive for quantity, but for quality.

Barley Head Brewery is open Thursday & Friday 5-10 p.m, Saturday 12-10 p.m. and Sunday 12-6 p.m.

Annika Burgess of Stonington is a recent graduate of the University of Connecticut.