Empty silver cans run through a machine at Greenpoint Beer & Ale and emerge full with vibrant colorful labels.
And on Saturday — just in time for New York City Beer week — the brewery is celebrating its return to Brooklyn after more than a year of producing beer and ale offsite.
“I want to get back to brewing, I want to get back to serving beer and meeting customers again,” said owner Ed Raven, adding that construction has been fun but can be tiring at times, and soon it’ll soon be coming to an end.
Greenpoint Beer & Ale was originally located in a building that was set to turn into a seven-story high rise building. Raven had to figure out where the brewery would go after their last night on December 31, 2018.
“The old location’s lease only had another year and a half on it,” Raven said. The new landlord’s plan didn’t have room for the brewery. “They came to us and after about six months of negotiations we made an agreement to move out.”
Greenpoint had moved production to Massachusetts until it was able to brew at the new location. The move called for some adjustments, like working on the new systems and checking the recipes. It wasn’t until the middle of last year when the quality of the product became consistent.
The move to 1150 Manhattan Avenue seems to have worked out well for the Brewery since they will be brewing 4 times the amount of beer than they could at the old location. Raven expects a variety of beers to come out of the new barrels, including traditional and experimental styles.
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“We’re still working through the kinks and it’s going to probably take us a few batches until we’re really confident about everything that we’re doing,” Raven said. “We’re happy with it though.”
Greenpoint Beer & Ale completed its first canning just in time for New York City Beer Week, which starts on Saturday, February 22nd. They are planning something special to celebrate their return to the city.
“We’re probably going to pull something right out of the tank that hasn’t been canned — just as a teaser,” Raven said, “But I won’t mention the name or the style yet.”
