Brooklyn Brewery

Brooklyn? I'm not sure I've been to Brooklyn before. Does this count as exotic travel? I've never been to a part of New York with fewer falafel shops. But, this corner is worth re-visiting.


The Brooklyn Brewery is located in Williamsburg, in a pretty nondescript warehouse district.


On Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons though, they open to the public, and the people flock. Mostly locals, and a young crowd at that.


The master of ceremonies, brewcat, sells beer tokens.


Brooklyn itself was a hotbed for American brewing - at one time more than 100 breweries were located here. Things apparently went south in 50's though, and maybe this collection of antique bottles is most of what's left.


This is clearly a working facility, as pallets of malt and bottling/labelling machines were merely moved aside to make room for guests.


I was interested to learn that when Brooklyn Brewery got started in '87, their beer was made under contract by the Matt Brewer Company, which makes another line of beer I like, Saranac.


The single on-site hopper. Currently, only 20% of the beer is brewed on site, with the rest made in Utica, in Upstate New York. In response to this line of questioning though, their official response is:

Quisque id quam massa. Vestibulum ac ullamcorper nunc. Phasellus ut elit turpis. Aenean malesuada, urna non consectetur sodales, neque sem volutpat eros, eu malesuada dui leo sit amet diam. Duis dolor augue, laoreet at tincidunt ut, feugiat a odio. In dapibus sem at turpis tincidunt pretium.

Got all that? They are expecting to significantly expand their Brooklyn operations later this year. Business must be good.


The current Williamsburg location was initially a foundry (Civil War era), and more recently a matzo-ball factory.


The Brewmaster's Reserve line and Locals 1 and 2 are bottle conditioned in a separate warehouse, located right across the street.


Environmentally-friendly practices on site include the use of wind-generated power and the use of NYC tap water. Sort of makes me wonder what they do to normalise the water from Utica? Or if it matters? It should matter, right?


After a quick look around, off to the bar (at the far end of what looks to be the bottling/labelling room.) It was heaving, great vibe!


But it looked like everyone was having a good time.


Choices, choices!


Summer ale in biodegradable cups.


And a few items for take-away.