Kings County Brewing Collective

 Kings County Brewers Collective Pt. 1 of 2 
 Kings County Brewers Collective Pt. 2 of 2 

 Non-Flash version of the full podcast

In the mid- to late-1800s, Brooklyn, and Bushwick in particular, was a brewing powerhouse: the Otto Huber/Hittleman brewery on Meserole, which now houses the 60-tap beer mecca The Well; the old Schlitz bottling plant a few blocks off of Bushwick Ave., currently being renovated into upscale apartments; Rheingold; William Ulmer; Schaefer. At one point there were about 45 breweries in Brooklyn, and the borough accounted for a tenth of the nation's beer production!  A NY Times article provides a map and some history. All of that ended with the closure of Rheingold and Schaefer in 1976, and the borough didn't see a return to production brewing until the Brooklyn Brewery opened in Williamsburg in 1996 (though Park Slope Brewing brewpub was on the scene by then).

L-R: Tony, Pete, Zack, B.R.

But brewing is back in Bushwick! Three partners have leased a 5,000 sq ft commercial space at 381 Troutman St., just off Wykoff, and spitting distance from the Jefferson stop on the L-train. They're building a 15-barrel, 3-vessel brewhouse made by American Beer Equipment, which they'll use to fill four 30-barrel fermentors. Kings County Brewers Collective plans on having a 1,000 sq ft tasting room in the front of the brewery, featuring two 13'x13' open garage doors, to create a bright, open, welcoming feel. 

A test batch.

In addition to offering their brews on 12 tap lines, they'll also sell beer to go in Crowlers, 32-oz aluminum cans filled fresh from the tap like a growler, and sealed on the spot. They also plan on canning some batches using a mobile canning service. The brewery is aiming to have the doors open and beer flowing sometime over the summer of 2016.

The brewhouse, still unwrapped.

Partner and production manager/quality control technician Pete Lengyel said that KCBC will have a barrel aging program right from the start. Having done some work with the barrel program at Brooklyn Brewery, as well as brewing stints at Greenpoint Brewing/Kelso, Rockaway and Finback, we're sure that it's bound for success. He notes that they'll be looking to get a foudre and perhaps some grundy tanks to add capacity for making some funky brett beers. Pete, a native of San Diego, worked in molecular biology before being bitten by the brewing bug.

Floor plan.

Partner Tony Bellis, a former home brewer who has extensive experience in the coffee industry, said that they'll probably have three different IPAs when they launch, out of about 7 or 8 planned debut beers, including a kettle sour, pilsner/lager, and a saison. Before joining the venture, Tony did his time at Greenpoint Brewing/Kelso, starting out at the bottom filling kegs and working his way up to head brewer, where he worked up until November 2015.

B.R., Tony, Pete, Zack.

The third partner, Zack Kinney, whose background is in advertising, also started out home brewing and, like the other two, studied brewing through the American Brewers Guild program. Zack and his partners are hoping to revitalize a great beer culture in Bushwick, focusing on community, education, collaboration, and damn fine beer! 

Lots of great street art throughout Bushwick.

In addition to advanced gear such as a centrifuge and a hopback, they'll have a 1 barrel pilot system. This will allow them the freedom to try out a lot of different styles and techniques, and experiment extensively. We're eager for these talented, inspired individuals to get brewing, and we'll definitely be checking in with them again once the brewery is open for business!

Mashtun.

Fermentor.

Grain mill.

Looking from the back to the front.

Looking from the front to the back.

Street view.

Beer Here Museum Exhibit

Yes, they have t-shirts!

[link to podcast page]
WFMU's Beer Hear! with Bob W. and B.R. from 8/27/2012

You'd expect the NY Historical Society Museum to put together exhibits on things like the socioeconomic impact of the Erie Canal on NY State in the late 1800s,  the transition of New York City from the Dutch to the British in colonial times, and other such subjects which, while definitely interesting, can be a bit academic and dry.

A 1779 ledger of Wm Faulker's brewery, showing no discrimination
between Revolutionary and Redcoat customers.

Well, this is the last week of an exhibit that opened in May at the NYHS that is anything but dry! "Beer Here: brewing New York's history" will have its last-call on Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012.

B.R. and I sat down with one of the exhibit's curators, Nina Nazionale (notice the "ale" in her name!), who put together the exhibit with Debra Schmidt Bach (sounds a lot like "bock"!). Nina told us how they conducted research and acquired materials to display for this extensive, educational, in depth, visually stimulating and extremely entertaining exhibit.

BR and Nina in the exhibit's beer hall.

Anyone who is a fan of beer, brewing culture and history mustn't miss this! And if a pure "museum experience" isn't your thing, there is an functioning bar/beer hall as part of the exhibit! Yes -- you can buy a beer and enjoy it there with some pretzels, after getting your thirst whetted while learning about the history of beer in New York! There is also one last beer event, featuring Greenport Harbor, this Saturday Aug. 25, 2012 -- one session starting at 2pm and another at 4pm.

That's what museums have been lacking -- beer!

As you might expect, there's lots of beer memorabilia on display -- old photos of beer halls and breweries, vintage bottles and cans, and beer artwork. There are also plenty of antique implements and brewing equipment on display. You can even listen to classic radio commercials for beer and view vintage TV beer ads, including a hilarious Piels animated ad from the 60s featuring cartoon hucksters Bert and Harry Piel (voiced by radio legends Bob and Ray). The audio and visual quality at the exhibit is of "broadcast quality", unlike the youtube clip linked just prior. We only posted 1/4 of the photos we took, and we only photographed a fraction of the countless, wide-ranging items on display.

Bert and Harry Piel, with Philippe Dupré at MSG -- lost in translation, or found in inebriation?

We have a few special passes offering 2-for-1 admission to the exhibit ($15 for two people, as opposed to $15 each). Email us if you would like one, and we'll snail-mail you the discount pass, or we'll arrange a drop off at a NYC location, as long as supplies last. The museum hours are listed on their website, and on Fridays it's "pay-as-much-as-you-like" from 6pm-8pm. Also, there are some very swank exhibit-related items for sale, should you care to exit through the gift shop.

Early 1700s license for a tavern to sell beer in NYC.

1700s ad -- not too similar to the Spuds McKenzie campaign some years later.

Tavern sign from 1700s.

A huge brewing complex near 110th St. and 10th Ave. in the 1800s.

This Bowery beer hall could serve 1,000 volks at a time!

That's an awful lot like Kulmbacher...

Box o'hops.

The Schaefer brewery on Kent St. in Williamsburg.

Vintage bottle capper.

Amen!

During Prohibition, Schaefer sold .5% abv "near beer".

A Staten Island brewery.

The exhibit's bar.

The museum beer hall.

Gift shop!

At first I thought that they misspelled "Beer Hear!"