Have you ever heard of a cool new beer but haven’t been able to find it?
A new business based out of the Central New York Regional Market aims to link New York craft beer consumers with beers from many of the state’s smaller and out-of-the-way brewers.
“We will be here to hook you up,” said Chad Meigs, owner of Drink New York Craft. “More New York state beers for New York state drinkers.”
Drink New York Craft will offer online ordering and shipping, supplying what Meigs says is a demand that has grown during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The business will fill a gap in the beer distribution network, said Meigs, who also owns The Bineyard, a hop-growing and processing business in Cazenovia and has experience in e-commerce.
Large beer companies and even many of the bigger craft brewers use traditional distributors, who buy from the breweries and sell to retailers like stores and bars. That’s regulated under the federal “three-tier” distribution system.
Smaller craft brewers generally sell most of their beer in their own shops and tasting rooms, and only occasionally supply a nearby bar or store.
Meanwhile, it’s been common for years for discerning craft beer fans to seek out prized beers from those small-to-midsize brewers, sometimes travelling great distances and waiting in long lines for a special release.
But the pandemic meant fewer drinkers were venturing into tasting rooms or travelling for a beer.
“Covid changed everything,” said Meigs, “Before Covid, most small brewers sold almost everything in house, at their taprooms. It’s starting to look a little different now.”
Even so, Drink New York Craft will be something of a niche. It has a rare “Class C” license from the state, which allows it to operate as both a wholesaler and a retailer. It will focus mostly on the the special, limited beers, rather than on just the best-sellers at each brewery.
“We’ll probably have fewer flagships (the top sellers) and more of the one-offs or seasonals,” Meigs said. “It will definitely be a variety.”
And, for now, it will offer beers only from New York breweries, and sell and ship only within the state.
“That concentration on New York breweries is really great,” said Paul Leone, executive director of the New York State Brewers Association. “Anything that lifts the profile of our brewers and beers is very good for the industry.”
The shopping site launched this week with a handful of breweries supplying beers ranging from lagers and cream ales to sours and barrel-aged stout. Meigs expects to add more breweries soon.
These hard seltzers from Willow Rock Brewing Co. in Syracuse are among the products offered by a beer delivery business based in the CNY Regional Market called Drink New York Craft. It aims to connect New York craft beer fans with some of the state's hard-to-find beers from smaller brewers. (Don Cazentre | dcazentre@syracuse.com)
Here’ a look at the starting lineup of breweries and some of the beers they offer:
· Lunkenheimer Brewing of Weedsport: Beers include Blood Orange Kolsch; Lunktoberfest (an Oktoberfest); and Exit 40 Pale Ale.
· Pantomime Mixtures of Hector on Seneca Lake: This brewery specializes in barrel-aged, mixed fermentation beers. They include Technicolor Dreamcoat, a wild yeast ale with apricots and peaches; and Bittner Creek, a Belgian-style kriek (cherry ale).
· Willow Rock Brewing of Syracuse: Beers include the modern retro Congress Lager, Hoi Hoi Hoi! (a German Märzen beer), to its Leaf hard seltzers; Mister Zero (a New England IPA); and several of the brewery’s Leaf hard seltzers.
· Kingston Standard Brewing in the Hudson Valley: Beers include a Pale Ale; a Sour IPA; and Geuzette, a Belgian-style lambic.
· Hopshire Farm & Brewery in Dryden near Ithaca: Beers include a Honey Ale; Zingabier ( a Belgian-style ale); and Frisky Imp, a barrel-aged imperial stout.
· Underground Beer Lab of East Syracuse: Beers include One of My Kind IPA and Sublime Attractions Pilsner.
The beers in the Drink New York Craft lineup start at around $2 per can or bottle (and you can buy any of the beers as singles as well as 4- or 6-packs and cases). They range up to $20 per bottle or more for some of the aged or stronger beers. The current shipping rate is $10, meaning the more you buy the better the shipping deal.
Meigs keeps the beers in coolers in his location among the produce warehouses at the Regional Market, where he also has an office. He packages the beers in special wrapping to preserve the chill, and expects shipping to take no more than a few days.
Rockney Roberts, co-owner of Willow Rock Brewing, is hoping that partnering with Drink New York Craft exposes his beers to more consumers. Willow Rock recently poured beers at a brewfest in Buffalo, and had attendees there asking where they could buy them. But the Syracuse brewery currently has no outlets in Western New York.
“I think it’s a great way for people to find beers that wouldn’t otherwise be able to pick up,” Roberts. said. “Especially those hard to get limited releases. This gives someone in Buffalo, for example, a chance to try a beer they wouldn’t normally get their hands on.”
More on beer and brewing in CNY:
A new craft brewery opens in Marcellus. It’s the 21st in Onondaga County
CNY’s long-awaited ‘Brewseum’ of beer history finds a home in Pompey
New Central New York brewery is small, out-of-the-way and experimental
Don Cazentre writes about craft beer, wine, spirits and beverages for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.
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