The 35+ year old brewery is finally getting the expansion it deserves.
It looks like Brooklyn Brewery has gotten too big for its britches. One of New York’s first original breweries, the company was first established in 1984 by founders Steve Hindy and Tom Porter, two Park Slope neighbors who decided to quit their jobs one day and establish a brand new brewery concept for Brooklyn. Endeavoring to create a uniquely New York experience, they hired famed “I Love New York” designer Milton Glaser to design the logo we now recognize today.
In 1996, they began a serious expansion phase when they converted a former matzo factory in Williamsburg into a fully functional brewery, where they still operate today. Around that time as well, they tapped famed brewer Garett Oliver to be the company’s Brewmaster, and he has since taken Brooklyn Brewery to lofty new heights, earning the James Beard Award for the expertise of his style. Now, after launching their company from a humble Brooklyn microbrewery to one of the city’s most recognized beer companies, the Brooklyn Brewery team is getting ready for their first flagship expansion since 1996.
After a few years of searching for a suitable place, the team has just secured the lease for a brand new brewery at 1 Wythe Avenue, which they will designate as their new flagship space as they slowly transition from their current location at 79 North 11th Street. Moving less than four blocks away from their current flagship, the new space will occupy 41,000 square feet zoned for light manufacturing use across the lower level, first and fourth floors.
At the moment, development is expected to begin at the end of 2022, and Brooklyn Brewery hopes to have this new location open to the public in Summer 2024. In response to the deal, Brooklyn Brewery CEO Eric Ottaway stated, “We are excited to be staying in the neighborhood we’ve called home for 35 years,” adding that the team would have much more information to share about the project in the coming year. For more information on all of Brooklyn Brewery’s latest endeavors, you can follow along with their updates on Instagram.
