As fall descended upon New England, two local breweries were preparing to celebrate the completion of their first years in business.

While taking two very different approaches to their upstart companies, founders of both agree one thing has made their ventures a success – the community.

For Iron Duke Brewing Company in Ludlow, the brewing facility and taproom in Stockhouse 122 at the Ludlow Mills hasn’t slowed down since it opened on Thanksgiving Eve in 2014.

“There wasn’t an empty seat to be had and it hasn’t disappointed ever since,” Iron Duke’s Michael Marcoux told Reminder Publications.

He admitted the immediate success was a bit of a shock to him, Master Brewer Nick Morin and co-founder Ron Remillard and the taproom was a big contributor with regular customers making their way in every weekend.

“When we built the brewery, we thought we had a good product and people would come, but not the way they have, especially from our local community,” he said. “I mean, every Friday, you can almost expect to see the similar faces from 3 to 6 p.m. when people are getting out of work. I think that’s one of the biggest surprises is how well the taproom has done.”

Just over Putts Bridge, White Lion Brewing Company has used Springfield as a springboard for its products, relying on community outreach in a population that is rapidly becoming more interested in well-crafted spirits and food to expand brand recognition before establishing a brick and mortar brewing facility in the city.

“We’ve uniquely positioned ourselves to be part of what is a budding renaissance for the city of Springfield,” White Lion President Ray Berry said. “Our first goal was to craft a great product and introduce it to the people of Western Massachusetts, and once that was established, build a first-class multi-barrel operation in the city.”

With that tactic, and a strong partnership with distributors statewide, White Lion has also seen rapid growth.

“I think we have a story that resonates with people,” Berry said. “We have a strong portfolio of products crafted by [Master Brewer] Mike Yates, and I think people really appreciate it.”

The two companies’ approach to creating beer has also illustrated differences in philosophy.

Iron Duke has routinely introduced new beers throughout its first year in business and regularly has up to 12 different varieties available in their taproom.

“It’s really amazing because it didn’t take long for people to find their favorite,” he said. “Now the challenge is keeping up. Every week we’ll have someone asking when Shoes for Louie is coming back or when they’ll see Juneau again.”

While offering variety, there are still the mainstays that drive the company. The Baby Maker, an Irish porter, remains the company’s most popular beer.

“We never thought a dark beer would be a flagship beer for us,” he said. “When we go to accounts, it’s the first one most ask about.”

The most surprising response, he said, was to the Juneau, an Alaskan spruce tip ale that was made this year with the help of a fan of the brewery from Alaska, who provided a mountain of spruce tips when the brewery made a plea on social media after its harvest fell short.

“The one we had done using local tips had a piney bite to it but this one had the piney notes, but also that berry finish that comes out of nowhere,” he said. “We will definitely be getting more spruce tips from Mary next year.”

White Lion, on the other hand, has been much more methodical in its beer release schedule, originally producing the White Lion Pale Ale and Twisted Tale Cream Ale and later following it up with the Insane Mane Red Ale. During the summer, the company released a session IPA called feroCITY, which was available on draft only.

For its first birthday, the company introduced its fifth beer, Blue Eyed Black, a black IPA.

“It’s probably the most creative of the names we have for our beers, and I think it suits it well,” Berry said. “It’s 6 percent [alcohol by volume (ABV)] with strong hops and some great roasted malts that really balance out the beer.”

Whether operating out of a home base the way Iron Duke has or delivering products through contract brewing like White Lion, participation has been crucial to the success of both companies.

White Lion played host to ValleyFest, the city of Springfield’s second craft beer fest and the first at Court Square, this August.

“ValleyFest was an opportunity for us to not only showcase White Lion, but also the creative spirit of Springfield and the Pioneer Valley,” Berry said.

Among the local breweries to participate? Iron Duke.

White Lion has also formed partnerships with or supported community nonprofits such as Dakin Humane Society, American Cancer Society, Pioneer Valley Row Club, Friends of the Homeless, American International College, Suit Up Springfield, New England Business Associates, and Blues to Green through events.

Iron Duke also hosted its first Harvest Festival at the Ludlow Elks Club, at which it unveiled its Harvest Ale, which supported the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and earlier launched its Mug Club loyalty program, which sold out in a matter of hours.

“We thought maybe we’d get in the 200 or 250 [people] range and we got close to 400 people at the Harvest Fest,” Marcoux said. “Those events allow people to spend time with us outside of a work setting and kind of have some fun. When we got into this, we were looking to do something we enjoy and doing festivals and loyalty programs allows us to have fun with our patrons.”

Looking at year two, both companies expect their growth to continue.

For Iron Duke, that growth starts with the release of its anniversary beer, 52, which will be offered for the first time during the company’s “52-week celebration” weekend. The weekend begins with a beer dinner at Max’s Tavern on Nov. 19, followed by two days of local music with Mama’s Marmalade and Funk Knight on Nov. 20 and 21.

“52 will be a big Russian Imperial Stout. It’s going to be around 10 percent [ABV] and will be available in 750 mL bottles and we’ll also have it on draft this year,” Marcoux said. “We’ve also saved a couple of beers, so there might be a keg of Juneau that gets brought out one of those nights.”

For White Lion, a large development is in the works.

“I think we are now in a position to begin phase two, which is to introduce our physical location in 2016,” Berry said.

For more information on Iron Duke, visit http://irondukebrewing.com, or follow them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/irondukebeer), Twitter or Instagram (@irondukebrewing).

To learn more about White Lion, visit www.whitelionbrewing.com, or their social media pages on Facebook (www.facebook.com/WhiteLionBrewing), Twitter (@WhiteLionBrew) and Instagram (@WhiteLionBrewing).