The Empire Farmstead Brewery on Rippleton Road moved one step closer to completion this week with the delivery of a brand new, state-of-the-art 60 barrel brewhouse, as well as a brand new bottling line and cutting-edge water treatment facility. The machinery arrived during a three-day delivery process — and in the midst of a snow storm that shut down the Cazenovia school district — and all was installed immediately upon delivery.
“I feel like it’s my birthday; I feel great,” said founder and owner David Katleski as he watched the 5,200-pound mash mixer being lowered into place in the brewing area of the 40,000-square-foot building. “We’re on schedule for a mid-to-late March opening, the goal is to have beer in production and in the distribution network by April 1 and we hope that by the third week in May we will be open to the public.”
The equipment delivery and installation, which is only a part of the ongoing construction process for Empire’s farmstead brewery location, is bringing to fruition a four-year project for Empire that will not only expand its presence in Central New York, but also, for the first time in the company’s 20-year history, will inaugurate the bottling and retail distribution of Empire beer.
“I’m feeling great. We’ve been planning this for four years and to see the equipment start rolling in, it’s a relief almost,” said Tim Butler, director of Empire’s brewing operations. “It’s definitely one of the biggest days of my career I would say.”
On Monday, Jan. 18, the brewery saw the delivery of its 60-barrell automated brewhouse — which consists of six separate tanks for the brewing process — with the delivery of 10 fermenters, three brite beer tanks, a centrifuge and hop cannon to follow on Jan. 19 and 20.
All of the brewing equipment was designed and built by Feldmeier Equipment of Syracuse.
“It’s world class, everything is state-of-the-art and fully automated. We didn’t cut any corners. David has given us all the tools we need to make great beer,” Butler said.
Empire’s new brewing facility will allow it to increase production from its current annual output of 1,200 barrels of beer to up to 70,000 — the latter number being an output that Empire does not anticipate reaching for years.
“We built this facility for today’s needs with the anticipation that we’ll be growing in years to come,” said Monica Palmer, Empire’s director of marketing and design.
In addition to improving the consistent quality of Empire’s beer portfolio, the farmstead brewery facility will also begin the bottling of the company’s beer, starting with five of its offerings: Skinny Atlas, Slo Mo IPA, Black Magic Stout, White Aphro and East Coast Amber Ale (which is the renamed Empire Amber Ale). There will also be rotating seasonal beers every few months and, if there is room in the production tanks, specialty, one-off limited release beers on draft only, Butler said.
Part of the new farmstead brewery will also be eight acres of crops to be used in the beer-making process, including hops, barley, rye wheat, lavender, vegetables herbs and fruits. Some of the crops will also be used in the food in the brewery’s restaurant.
“It’s not going to be your traditional full-service restaurant, but certainly it will have food that goes well with beer,” Katleski said. More details on the restaurant aspect of the farmstead brewery will unfold as the spring opening draws closer, he said.
The new Empire Farmstead Brewery is expected to create as many as 70 new full-time jobs when it is fully operational, with the intention of hiring “as many local people as possible,” Katleski said.
For more information about Empire Brewing Company and its new farmstead brewery, visit empirebrew.com.
