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In 1898 Brooklyn had 48 Breweries! — Brooklynian

In 1898 Brooklyn had 48 Breweries!

boygabriel
boygabriel
edited November -1 in The Lounge / Random Stuff
Today I can only think of four:

Brooklyn
Kelso
Sixpoint
Coney Island

Delicious as they are, I want more!

http://levysuniqueny.com/847/bike-brooklyn-beer-blitz-bonanza/

Comments

  • the0ther
    the0ther
    bring back Schaefer. sha-fi-aye is the greatest beer of all time!
  • homeowner
    homeowner
    Its become a space issue as well as one of access. Breweries need industrial space and lots of that has been re-zoned and converted to residential space. In addition, they need access to rail or shipping and again those areas with that sort of access are being repurposed. So, without those things its difficult to run breweries of significant size with large distribution.
  • boygabriel
    boygabriel
    Do microbreweries really do enough volume to need access to rail or shipping?
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    Boygabriel wrote: Do microbreweries really do enough volume to need access to rail or shipping?
    Back before we had a safe water supply, many people drank beer for liquids. Once that local market disappeared, they had to become Macro breweries to survive.

    So, blame the Catskill -Croton - NYC aqueduct for the disappearance of many of the brewerys. While sad, the decrease in beer consumption may have led to good effects: A decrease in workplace injuries and unwanted pregnancies.

    Given that water born illness killed thousands, we probably ended up better off despite the disappearance on the breweries. ...but, yes, it is debatable. :)

    Re: modern obstacles, homeowner is on the money. Many micro breweries (such as Sam Adams, Saranac, etc) aren't micro at all.....
  • xlizellx
    xlizellx
    One thing: MANY breweries in the US are contract breweries (meaning they, as the named brewery, create the recipe, the slogans, the bottles, the names, etc... but then hire the "muscle" to actually make the beer. MOST micro breweries are at least somewhat contracted --- like Brooklyn Lager is made elsewhere and then the more specialized beers are made here in Brooklyn.

    I would LOVE LOVE LOVE more breweries to open up -- but if they want distribution they could contract out to a cheaper place/location.

    I am from PA and we have a local place called the Bethlehem Brew Works. They are an amazing restaurant who also brews some of the best beer out there. On site they brew their smaller batches of seasonals, but their larger-scale brews are done in a warehouse somewhere else. This type of place could be successful in NYC where they could make the beer in NJ or upstate and then serve it onsite and do some of the smaller batches here in the city.
  • boygabriel
    boygabriel
    Sam Adams is still small compared to the big national breweries though. (Sam Adams brews 1.5 barrels per year, Coors, for example, brews 16 million, and Bud brews 38M, and Bud Light 37M.)

    http://researchwikis.com/Beer_Marketing_Research

    And yeah, some are owned by conglomerates, but their recipes are frequently unchanged. Kind of like how Ford (bad) owned Volvo (good), and now sold it to a Chinese company.

    Brooklyn beer is brewed in Brooklyn and upstate. Kegs are done in Brooklyn, bottles are done upstate.

    According to this, Saranac is still family owned.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    yes, but as xlizelx and homeowner point out, NYC makes it rather prohibitive to open one here:

    1. Real estate costs.

    2. Transportation (aka trucking) is a pain in the ass, and no one wants diesel trucks on their blocks.

    .....yes, there is some vacant warehouses and space around (the Morgan Ave Stop on the L train comes to mind...) but if you are going to open one up in an ugly location, you might as well put it in PA, as xlizelx suggests.

    A restaurant-brewery could happen, but those are so expensive to operate that they depend on sales and consumption right there [i.e. there is no "potential profit" to be gained from transporting it to a beer retailer.]

    BTW, if you are getting tired of what you local bodega stocks, the Beer Wholesale place on Washington Avenue has a pretty big selection....
  • boygabriel
    boygabriel
    Kelso brings me Clinton Hill pride.
  • xlizellx
    xlizellx
    whynot_31 wrote:

    BTW, if you are getting tired of what you local bodega stocks, the Beer Wholesale place on Washington Avenue has a pretty big selection....
    SERIOUSLY! It's great!!

    Also, right now, they have these Park Slope CoOp cases for $20. You don't get to see what is inside the case, but for $20 you get 24-bottles of something.

    We got a case over the weekend that had 22 different German beers and then 2 US microbrews. Nothing I would go out and buy as a 6-pack at the corner, but all good beers to have for those "I need a beer" moments.
  • boygabriel
    boygabriel
    The Washington Avenue place is amazing. I've spent too much time simply happily walking the aisles there.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    A frequent destination of myself and the granny cart.
  • dda
    dda
    With regards to micro-breweries and breweries in general, I highly recommend the documentary Beer Wars. It's quite good and deals with competition and monopoly in the beer industry...oh, and it is streaming on Netflix.

    I could say more, but I am tired. Just grab a beer and enjoy!
  • boygabriel
    boygabriel
    cool.
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