New York is a beer town. Despite all of the buzz you've heard about wine, whiskey, tequila, rum, vodka, cachaca, etcetera, if you lived in this town about a hundred years ago, you couldn't walk 10 blocks without coming across at least one brewery (you would know this especially if you came across the NY Historical Society's Beer Here exhibition this past summer).
In the last decade or so, brewing has made a comeback here, especially in Brooklyn with Brooklyn Brewery and Greenpoint, among others. However, the creation of beer has been lacking in pretty much every other borough. So you can imagine why there's so much anticipation for the opening of SingleCut Brewery in Astoria, the first to open in Queens in more than a generation.
Advertising exec turned home-brewer turned professional brewer Rich Buceta named the brewery for a body-style of electric guitar he's played for much of his life. He decided to open the brewery in Queens to fill a gap in the community. All beer will be 100% brewed on-site and they will also self-distribute, ensuring freshness.
Now for the beers. SingleCut's focus will be on lagers (or as they like to call them, "Lagrrrs!"). They even have 2 specialized lager tanks that are only really found in Germany. Their launch beers will be:
- 19-33 Lagrrr!: a pilsner-style but given a "SingleCut injection of awesome," according to Rich. The name "19-33" comes from their address, the year Prohibition ended, and the fact that SingleCut is only operating brewery in Queens since Prohibition.
- Bob Sunburst Finish Lagrrr!: a hoppy, malty, smooth lager
- Dean Pacific NW Mahogany Ale: a red-hued hoppy ale influenced by beers Rich tasted in Oregon
- Billy Half-Stack IPA: SingleCut's flagship IPA
The brewery will also feature a Tap Room where you can sample two beers gratis and purchase and refill growlers (prices and hours are still TBD). Because of local laws, they will not be operating as a bar or eatery, but will be hosting community events 4-5 times a year. The brewery features a stage (along with Rich, most other employees of SingleCut seem to play an instrument) for live music. Rich said they hope to partner with local business in creating these events.
Lastly, in furthering the community connection even more, SingleCut will be available at Queens restaurants like Queens Kickshaw, Sweet Afton, Sunswick, Crescent and Vine, AleWife, and MexiBBQ, as well as many craft beer bars throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan.
The day I went for a visit, the brewery was very much still under construction, but Rich gave me a tour and I can't wait to go back and see the final product. Brewing should be going on right now with the first batch ready for business sometime after the second week in November.
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| Rich Buceta and a Lager Tank |
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| The future Tap Room - love that wood! |
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| Tap Room into the brewery |
Before I left, Rich gave me a bottle of Sunburst Lagrr! to take home and man was it good. Stay tuned in the coming months for another post after I return to the finished brewery!
