Seriously, folks. One of the most exciting things EVER is about to happen.  Sometimes in our production brewery that’s cranking out at full-capacity, amidst all of the growing pains, I lose sight of why it is that we do what we do.  We do it for adventure, we do it for the unknown, we do it because there’s no feeling as satisfying as seeing somebody’s eyes light up when they taste something truly new to their experience, and knowing that it was US who “turned them on”. Sometimes to make big flavors, we need to take big chances. Next Friday, we are going to jump off of the proverbial cliff, but at least we’ll be in good company.
You’ve mostly all heard us brewers blather on about how great and camaraderific our business is. It’s true, we’re loose-lipped and incestuous- but definitely not to a fault. I feel very lucky that many of MY brewing “heros” have become my friends too, and some of them are going to grace the Ithaca Beer Company with their talents next Friday.  Roll call:
Brewery Ommegang, Phil Leinhart and co. Ommegang is a truly singular operation. WORLD CLASS belgian-style beers brewed in New York State in the most bucolic of settings by great people.  Phil is one of the rare brewers who can fit into either a corporate(A-B) OR iconoclastic(BO) brewing role. He took over the reins from my boy Randy Thiel(NGBC, whatup?) a couple of years ago, and they haven’t looked back since. They’re only about 90 minutes from us, so I get to see them often and it’s always a treat. Little-known-fact: Heather and I got married in Cooperstown and had an event at Ommegang just before our rehearsal dinner.
Captain Lawrence Brewing Company, Scott Vaccaro. Scotty Cowboy opened up his place in Westchester County just about 4 years ago. Since then he’s turned the beer wasteland that was his backyard into a mecca, and played a huge role in making NYC one of only a handful of places that can be debated as the best beer destination. His brewery is just up the Saw Mill Parkway from my brother’s house, and he started this collaboratradition last summer by inviting me to help brew NY3 for last year’s New York City Beer Week, another great honor. As Larry Horwitz so eloquently put it “Everything that f****** touches turns to gold.” Maybe some of that will rub off on us.
Flying Fish Brewing Company, Casey Hughes. Casey’s been brewing professionally since he turned 18. In his early thirties(but with a 50 year old liver) now, he’s actually legimately old school.  Those who know him are aware that he is able to board airplanes without photo ID. We might need a jedi mind trick or 2…..
I’m going to mention Ithaca Beer, but only because we originally were going to have our friend Hutch Kugeman come down from Great Adirondack in Lake Placid. Both of you who read the last blog entry know that Hutchie started working here at the beginning of April(when the beautiful and talented Mike Smith left), and we’ve just been cranking ever since- 2,ooo bbls sold in the 2 months since he got here. I think(hope) he’ll welcome a more casual, later starting day for a change. Not to mention that he is cousins-in-law with the next guy:
Southampton, Phil Markowski. Ask any serious professional or home brewer if they’ve read “Farmhouse Ales”, and they are likely to produce a dog-eared copy of this classic tome on old world brewing tradition. Phil literally wrote the book on brewing the 2 seminal styles of rural Belgium and France, Saison and Biere de Garde. He’s also a little bit of a recluse, so luring him up here is a coup for sure.
Valley Brewing, Steve Altimari. Steve and I first met back in the “old country” (in this case the SF Bay area) around the turn of the millennium. I doubt he remembers me from then, but it turns out that he grew up right near here in upstate NY and his mother still lives in Romulus. He popped into the brewery for a visit last summer, and I think that he and I are fairly simpatico in philosophy(although he is much more chill than me in practice). He likes big flavors and doesn’t seem to be too much of a purist(see Markowski, Phil) about how to create them. He’s a “brewer’s brewer” and it was a treat to have his wife Barri and their incredibly well-behaved kid here for an afternoon of show-and-tell.
We are honored to have these “Géants” come and play with us. I’ll try not to get underfoot too much, lest i get squashed.
