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A Nip of Knowledge: Contract Brewing

Jan 28th, 2010 by

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Posted in Beer

6 Responses to “A Nip of Knowledge: Contract Brewing”

  1. Josh says:
    January 30, 2010 at 2:02 pm

    I bought a bunch of Harlem Brewing Company Sugar Hill for a house party in Harlem, thinking it was a great way to support a local brewer. They’ve done a ton of marketing in Harlem to make it look like the hometown beer. The beer itself ended up being an OK golden ale, but what got me angry was when I did a closer inspection of the bottle. The beer is a contract beer, brewed up in Sarotoga Springs. That’s about as un-Harlem as you can get.

  2. David Flaherty says:
    January 30, 2010 at 3:02 pm

    Josh, interesting point but in essence, you probably were supporting the local brewer. I don’t know the specific brewery you mentioned, but they are most likely the ones in charge of the business end of things (ie the marketing, sales and day-to-day operations).

    The brewing itself may be done up in Saratoga Springs but my guess is its Harlem Brewing Company’s recipes for the beer, as well.
    Perhaps in supporting them now, they may eventually be able to open up a brewery in Harlem and move the operations “home”. I know this is the case with some smaller brewers who can’t afford the extensive (and expensive) equipment needed just yet.

    For what its worth, I say keep buying their beer!

  3. Celeste Beatty says:
    February 27, 2010 at 8:29 pm

    Josh,

    First thank you for buying Sugar Hill beer. I understand your disappointment. As a homebrewer, I started brewing our beer in Harlem and poured everything I own literally into trying to open a brewery in Harlem (that’s another story). The beer you tasted is not only based on my original homebrew recipe, it is often brewed by me when I can afford to drive up to Saratoga Springs to cook with all of our favorite ingredients.
    As you may now realize, many local beers (I don’t need to name them here, I think you have already) are contract brewed. I know many great brewers that simply cannot afford the overhead of a brewery. But a lot more than beer is considered “local” but also contract manufacured by the way. So, I guess it’s all spiritual!
    AND yes, David, we are in fact working towards brewing in Harlem
    on a small scale, so stay tuned. You can see our brewery campaign at kickstarter.com. Thanks much for sharing your thoughts and insight.

    Cheers to You!

    Celeste
    Founder-Brewster

  4. David Flaherty says:
    February 27, 2010 at 10:24 pm

    Nice, Celeste, thanks for writing in…I had a feeling that was whats going on and I wish you all the best. I want to get over and taste with you all some time!

  5. Josh says:
    February 28, 2010 at 5:08 pm

    Celeste,

    Thank you for the clarification about Sugar Hill being a local beer, and I’ll be sure to break out a few at my next party!

  6. Celeste says:
    May 13, 2011 at 10:02 pm

    Josh:

    By now I’m sure you’ve tasted some really great local crafts:
    some of my favorites are Kelso, Sixpoints, Hebrew.
    As an update, our brewery project was short listed, meaning
    our bid to construct a brewery in Harlem made the top 3 list, we are hoping to get some good news before Memorial Day. That would mean, moving a step closer to beginning a 2 year process of planning and eventually opening a brewery.

    Thanks for the support!

    Cheers to You!

    Celeste

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