Brooklyn Brewery
 | |
 | |
| Location | Brooklyn, New York United States |
|---|---|
| Opened | 1987 |
| Annual production volume | 217,000 US beer barrels (255,000 hL) in 2013[1] |
Brooklyn Brewery is a brewery in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. It was started in 1987 by Steve Hindy and Tom Potter.
History
Hindy learned to brew beer during a six-year stay in various Middle Eastern nations such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Upon his return to his home in Brooklyn in 1984, he and Potter, his downstairs neighbor from Park Slope, quit their jobs and founded the brewery.[2] The pair hired graphic designer Milton Glaser, best known as the creator of the logo for the I Love New York campaign, to create the company logo and identity.[3][4] Glaser received a share in the company in return.[5]
Originally all their beer was brewed by contract by Matt Brewing Company, and the pair started their own distribution company and personally transported and marketed their beer to bars and retailers around New York City.[6] In 1996, they acquired a former matzo factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and converted it into a functional brewery.[2][7]
Although the brewery looked to expand its brewing capacity in the City, originally most of the production, including all Brooklyn Lager and all bottled products, were brewed by contract in the upstate New York city of Utica, due to the limited ability to meet demand at the Williamsburg brewery, its lack of a bottling line, and the cost benefits of contract brewing. The company later sought to expand its facilities in Brooklyn, but had difficulty finding a suitable site within the borough.[8] However, an economic recession allowed them to remain in Williamsburg and undertake a $6.5 million expansion of the brewery in 2009.[9]
Since 1994, Garrett Oliver has been the Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster. He had first been appointed brewmaster at the Manhattan Brewing Company of New York in 1993 where he began brewing professionally as an apprentice in 1989. In 2003 he published the book "The Brewmaster's Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food". Garrett has also been a judge at the Great American Beer Festival for eleven years.[10]
In 2016, they announced that they were looking to relocate their specialty brewing operation in Williamsburg after their landlord, Yoel Goldman, put the building up for sale as they would not be able to renew their lease for a reasonable price given escalating real estate prices.[11] They also plan to relocate their main brewery in Utica, New York to a $70 million, 200,000-square-foot facility on Staten Island.[11]
Beer School
 | |
| Author | Steve Hindy and Tom Potter |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Business |
| Publisher | John Wiley & Sons |
Publication date | September 21, 2005 |
| Pages | 304 |
| ISBN | 0471735124 |
In 2005 Hindy and Potter published Beer School: Bottling Success At The Brooklyn Brewery through John Wiley & Sons.[6] The book is both a guide to entrepreneurship and beer brewing as well as a memoir of the authors' time together while building the Brooklyn Brewery. Beer School goes over topics such as building teams as well as guerrilla marketing and publicity, with each chapter being written around a theme in the brewery's history. The book is told through the perspectives of both Hindy and Potter, and received mostly positive reviews from critics.[12][13]
Honors
Esquire magazine selected the Brooklyn Lager 16 ounce as one of the "Best Canned Beers to Drink Now" in a February, 2012 article.[14]
Beers
Perennials (available year-round)
- Brooklyn Lager - 5.2% abv American Amber Lager
- Brooklyn American Ale - 4.5% American Pale Ale
- Brooklyn Brown Ale - 5.6% American Brown Ale
- East India Pale Ale - 6.9% India Pale Ale
- Brooklyn Pilsner - 5.1% German-Style Pilsner
- Brooklyn Defender IPA - 6.7% Red IPA
- Hecla Iron Ale - 3.4% Dark Ale available only overseas
- Brooklyn Blast! - 8.4% Double IPA
- Brooklyn Greenmarket Wheat - 5% Weisse Brewed from New York State Wheat, Malt & Hops
- Scorcher IPA - 4.5% Session IPA
- Brooklyn Brewery 1/2 Ale - 3.4% Hoppy Session Saison
- Local 1 - 9% abv 100% bottle refermentation golden ale
- Local 2 - 9% abv 100% bottle refermentation Dark Abbey Ale
- Sorachi Ace - 7.6% Farmhouse Saison blend between British Brewer's Gold, Japanese "Beikei No. 2" and Czech Saaz
Seasonals (availability depends upon time of year)
- Black Chocolate Stout
- Brooklyn Winter Ale
- Monster Ale
- Brooklyn Dry Irish Stout
- Brooklyn Summer Ale
- Brooklyn Oktoberfest
- Post Road Pumpkin Ale
- Brooklyn Black Ops
-
Brooklyn Lager -
Brooklyn East India Pale Ale
See also
References
- ^ Ottaway Brothers Assume Leadership Roles at Brooklyn Brewery
- ^ a b Williams, Lena (June 2, 1996). "Could the Dodgers Follow? Brewing Returns to Brooklyn". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-24.
- ^ Foltz, Kim (November 13, 1990). "Lotas Minard Swaps Work for Equity Stake". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-01-22.
- ^ "Case Studies: Brooklyn Brewery". Milton Glaser Inc. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
- ^ Acitelli, Tom (2013). The Audacity of Hops: The History of America's Craft Beer Revolution. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. p. 158. ISBN 9781613743881. OCLC 828193572.
- ^ a b Hindy, Steve; Potter, Tom (2005). Beer School: Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-73512-4.
- ^ Furman, Phyllis (April 16, 2007). "Brooklyn's King of Beers". Daily News. New York. Retrieved 2010-04-24.
- ^ McGeehan, Patrick (July 20, 2008). "Double Edge to Brooklyn's Success". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-24.
- ^ McGeehan, Patrick (November 1, 2009). "Soft Real Estate Market Is a Key Ingredient at Brooklyn Brewery". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-24.
- ^ Smagalski, Carolyn. "Garrett Oliver - Brooklyn Brewmaster of Beer and Food". BellaOnline.com. Retrieved 2010-01-22.
- ^ a b The Real Deal: "Brooklyn Brewery looking for 60K sf for brewing operation - The well-known beer brand is checking out Navy Yard, Industry City for space" February 23, 2016
- ^ "Nonfiction Review: Beer School". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Book Report – Beer School: Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery". Seattle PI. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Best Canned Beers to Drink Now". Esquire magazine via Yahoo news website. 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
External links
- Official website
- TheFoamingHead's Brooklyn Page
- "From the Assassination of Sadat to the Birth of Brooklyn’s Empire" An Interview with co-founder, Steve Hindy, by Masha Udensiva-Brenner, Construction Magazine, June 20, 2011.