Brewery Visit: Brooklyn Brewery

Brooklyn Brewery

    Steve Hindy and Tom Potter founded Brooklyn Brewery in 1987. Steve Hindy worked as a journalist for the Associated Press. Because of his job, Steve had a six-year stint in the Middle East. Upon returning, he settled in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood. While Hindy was in the Middle East, he caught the home brewing bug from diplomats stationed in Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait where alcoholic beverages were forbidden. Tom Potter was a former lending officer at Chemical Bank. Potter spun him an idea about bringing beer back to New York, but Potter wasn’t convinced. He attended a conference in Portland to see what all of the fuss is about, and decide whether or not he would be willing to help Hindy fund a brewery. Porter gets and inside scoop on the process of making beer and everything that goes into it because they assume that he is an investor. Hindy quit his job and founded The Brooklyn Brewery. 

Tasting Room

Some of the labels of the brews they have

    The pair started off by contract brewing because they did not have the space yet in Brooklyn. They contracted to a brewing company in upstate New York. The contract was with a brewery in Utica, New York. They commissioned William M. Moellera, fourth-generation German American brewmaster, to develop a recipe for Brooklyn Lager. For the label design and company identity, they hired the world-renowned designer, Milton Glaser, best known for the “I Love NY” logo. He agreed to make the logo for a percentage of the profit and a lifetime supply of the beer made. He is still alive and receiving his weekly cases of beer. The logo has two yellow circles that are supposed to represent headlights traveling to Brooklyn to get beer. Hindy and Potter wanted something more flashy, but Blazer convinced them that simplicity is best. 

    It was not easy for Hindy and Potter in the first years of the company. It is said that the initial test batch was hand-labeled in the basement of their Brooklyn brownstone. When trying to distribute, they found most New York distributors were controlled by the big breweries and uninterested in small local brands with little marketing money. Sofia Collier, the founder of Soho Natural Soda, advised the Hindy and Potter to distribute their own brands with their own trucks. So, they promptly bought a van and a small beverage truck, painted their logos on the sides and began peddling Brooklyn Lager store to store on their own. The established some partners along the way to help with the funding: Mike Vitale, Ed Ravn and Jim Munson. Even with their support, Hindy and Potter struggled to establish the Brooklyn brand in New York City. New York tavern owners were skeptical of a full-flavored beer that cost as much as the leading imports and had no recognition or advertising in the market. 

Some of the equipment they started with

    In 1994, they hired Garrett Oliver, to design their planned Brooklyn plant and oversee production at the Utica Facility. On May 28, 1996, Mayor Rudy Giuliani cut the ribbon to open the new Brooklyn brewery. Giuliani poured the first official glasses of the first beer, a Bavarian style wheat beer known as Brooklyner Weisse. Fun fact, because of the dead yeast that is present in this beer, it is only served on tap. 

Me on the tour :)

    In 2003, the company sold its distribution division to two of the big New York wholesalers. Phoenix/Beehive, the respected distributor of Heineken, Guinness, and Miller, now distributes Brooklyn Brewery’s beers. Today, The Brewery is finishing a major expansion that will allow the company to double its overall production right here in Brooklyn. The Brewery has never had so many beers available in so many places. At last count, Brooklyn beers can be enjoyed in 25 states and 20 countries. 

The new automated system

    We got to see the brew house expansion. They received the space in 1996. They recently got a new 50 barrel automated system. They used to have to keg beers by hand. This machine increased production by a lot. They will now be able to produce more beer per day. As far as the processing goes: for the ale, they use yeast and it is held at 60˚F-mid-70˚F’s for a few weeks, and the lager is stored at 40˚F (frost brewed) for a couple of months.

Me and my beer!

I got the opportunity to try the following beers:

Brooklyn Lager

Brooklyn Brown Ale

Brooklyn Weisse

Brooklyn’s Dry Irish Stout

Brooklyn Local #1

Mary’s Maple Porter

Brooklyn Sorachi Ace

Some great beer!