Since Rockney Roberts and Kevin Williams began planning their own business more than a decade ago, the population of breweries in Syracuse has more than tripled.

In 2008, Syracuse had two breweries and by the time Roberts and Williams were licensed there were three. In November 2015, the duo opened Willow Rock Brewing Company as the seventh brewery in the area.

The Brewers Association’s most recent statistics, released in 2017, reveals a growth from 2,475 to 6,596, more than doubling, in breweries nationwide from 2012 to 2017. The bulk of that growth came in the craft sector of beer production, specifically in brewpubs and microbreweries. As the market of craft beer expands seemingly exponentially, it’s the variety in brews that will provide consumers with many options this Sunday for National Beer Day.

“As a consumer I think it’s really exciting,” Roberts said, “because you can go into a place and regardless of the labels that are on something and say ‘hey, maybe I’ll like that. I’ll give it a shot,’ because you know everybody’s interpretation is going to be different.

The first stand-alone brewery in Syracuse, Middle Ages Brewing Company, opened in 1995. The business gained popularity through its English malted barley and it’s blue and orange branded “Syracuse Pale Ale.” When other breweries formed, they diversified.

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A blind taste conducted by Paste Magazine ranked Mass Riot, an American India Pale Ale produced by Prison City Pub and Brewery, as the No. 6 beer of its kind nationally in 2016. The beer follows the New England IPA format that brewers say has dominated their taprooms. While the beer provides the hints of haziness and juiciness drinkers love to ask for, said co-founder and co-owner Marc Schulz, the beer’s aftertaste provides a slight bitterness reminiscent of “old school” IPAs.

“Ever since (the award) it’s pretty much the one beer that people literally come through the door asking about,” Schulz said. “And it’s funny to us we have several other New England style IPAs that we usually prefer more.”

The beer has added to the “brewpub experience” at Prison City, said Schulz. The brewery also provides its own menu. Schulz, who previously worked in the restaurant business,  thinks the food options separate his business from breweries that only have taprooms.

When Prison City finishes its expansion project for a larger production facility, Schulz hopes to increase from 750 barrels to 5,000 — hopefully reaching 10,000 eventually.

Schulz joked that the space could be called “the Mass Riot brewery,” noting it will focus heavily on producing the popular brew while brewers will continue to experiment in the smaller original space.

After being approached by the Onondaga Historical Association, Willow Rock revived the “Congress” beer, an original Syracuse craft lager that was originally discontinued in the 1960s. Josh Schafer | Senior Staff Writer

Roberts and Williams have their own IPAs at Willow Rock. Their “Half In the Bag” IPA sells well alongside “Congress,” an original Syracuse craft lager that was discontinued in the 1960s. The Onondaga Historical Association approached the brewery to revive the beer and Roberts added a successful American-style twist to the original German brew.

“It’s a fun lager that really harkens to the rich brewing history in Syracuse,” Roberts said.

At Buried Acorn Brewing Company, which opened this past fall, co-founder Tim Shore also has IPAs. He jokes they’re what keeps the lights on. Though it’s a top seller, he thinks the concept of “hazy and juicy IPAs” are too abundant. On a mural in the taproom the latin word “nubilum in ebrietatem” is inscribed on a gravestone, which translates to “cloudy beer.”

Buried Acorn is a farm brewery, meaning more than 60% of its ingredients are grown locally. While Scandinavian yeast adds a different dynamic to many of his beers, Shore also brews his beers in wine barrels. Ghoster Blanc, a wine aged golden ale, contains Sauvignon Blanc yeast. In other brews, the oak, mixed with other organisms within the beer, can create apricot or hay type flavor which develops over the eight-month average aging process.

Shore wants to expand his barrel collection from 50 to 1,000. The use of wine barrels to create beer takes more time than processing it in stainless steel barrels, Shore said. It’s worth the wait to differentiate.

“We try do things traditionally but also our own way,” Shore said through a smile. “Traditionally different kind of.”

Published on April 2, 2019 at 10:27 pm

Contact Josh: [email protected] | @Schafer_44