May’s just flying by…and clearly the craft beer biz isn’t slowing down any time soon. But no worries, the Beer Buzz is always on the case, keeping you up on all the beer news and lifestyle that matters. Plus we’ve an all-important update on what we’ve been drinking lately and you don’t want to miss that!
Blue Point’s New Brewery Is Now Operational (Patchogue, NY) – Although not yet open to the public, Blue Point’s new $35 million facility started brewing and packaging operations on Monday according to Newsday.
Housed on the former Briarcliffe College campus along the village’s Main Street Blue Point’s new 53,000-square-foot brewery will eventually serve as the Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned company’s new headquarters, replacing its existing River Avenue location.
Although the new facility is now up-and running, there’s still work to be done before Blue Point can open its new destination location to the public. Roughly four to six times the size of Blue Point’s current operations, once completed the new brewery campus will feature an outdoor beer garden, lots of green spaces, a restaurant, tasting room and merchandise emporium.
Words to Drink By (Washington, DC) “Beer has always been my drug of choice…I’ve been drinking it since I was nine” – Tom Bobak, Editor/ American Craft Beer
Brewing Ins And Outs In New York State (Clifton Park, NY) – On Monday, Shmaltz Brewing announced in a press release that it had sold their New York State brewery, a facility they opened only five years ago, to SingleCut Beersmiths, a rapidly-growing brewery that was founded by Rich Buceta in 2012 and is operating at full capacity at its current facility in Astoria, Queens.
The next six months will be a time of transition for both Jeremy Cowan’s Shmaltz and Rich Buceta’s SingleCut according to the Daily Gazette.
Shmaltz will continue to brew its beer in Clifton Park and operate its taproom in the short term. SingleCut, the first full-scale brewery in Queens since Prohibition, hopes to move in and start brewing at the facility that will afford them an annual 30,000 barrel capacity around Thanksgiving.
Beers under the Shmaltz name hope to continue as contract brewed brands going forward, with Jeremy Cowan retaining ownership and control of all its brands under the Shmaltz, He’brew Beer and New York 518/838 Craft, and Alphabet City line.
What We’ve Been Drinking Lately (Cooperstown, NY) – Last night we hit up a new summertime blend from Brewery Ommegang and it was terrific. Fruity and tart yet surprisingly dry, Ommegang Saison Rosé is actually a 7.7% ABV blend of two saisons, one aged on oak, the other brewed with hibiscus flowers and co-fermented with chardonnay grape juice.