Palladino Farms’ brewhouse holds ribbon-cutting, opens with “Oktoberfest” weekend

By Lauren Young

Staff writer

After returning to Pompey to run his family’s farm back in 2011, owner Dan Palladino has spent the past seven years expanding the business into a brand — quadrupling the site’s size to over 2,600 acres, opening a farm store and a farm-to-table café, building a live music stage and a homemade playground, maintaining its own pumpkin patch and now, finally, creating its own brewery.

Residents have waited months for the opening of Heritage Hill Brewhouse and Kitchen at Palladino Farm, located at 3149 Sweet Road in Pompey. Nestled above the hills of the town with over 400 acres of barley and overseeing eight counties, its motto is “Brews, Foods & Views,” and focuses on New York State-grown ingredients.

“It’s taken a lot of little things to happen for us to get here. It’s kind of crazy, but here we are,” said Palladino during the brewery’s ribbon cutting event inside the brewhouse on Thursday, Oct. 11. The event was hosted by the Greater Manlius Chamber of Commerce, with attendees including Pompey Town Supervisor Carole Marsh, County Legislator Dave Knapp, Pompey Codes Enforcement Officer Jeff Cooke, Pompey Town Clerk Ann Christmas, and Manlius Chamber members Dave Jones, Dave Tyler, Jim Fields and Judy Dardzinski.

Two batches of the brewery’s beer — Dutch Hill Maple Amber and the Frazee Milk Stout — were sampled, and attendees were shown how the beer is produced.

The smooth, wooden interior of the brewhouse is garnished with hanging lights and seating for over 50 guests — the glossy-finished tabletops and bar top are even made from a cherry treehouse Palladino played in as a child with siblings.

The brewery specializes in craft beer made with malt barley and hops, initially serving 10 different beers, though its tap room has space for up to 20 taps. The brewery will be run by John Frazee, former owner of Gravity Brewing Co. in Colorado and a Fabius-Pompey High School friend of Palladino’s. His family owns Frazee Farms in Fabius, a dairy farm and farm equipment company.

The beer list

Brewing at 10-barrel batches, the brewery’s other initial batches include: Frazee Milk Stout, a rich milk stout brewed with roasted barley, chocolate malt, oats, milk sugar and hopped with state-grown Willamette hops; Lot 47 Hefeweizen, a summer wheat ale with hints of clove and lemon; Way 48, a Strawberry-Rhubarb version of Lot 47 Hefeweizen that honors Grandma Way’s rhubarb patch along Sweet Road; Dutch Hill Maple Amber, an English-Style Pale Ale fermented with maple syrup from Dutch Hill Maple in Tully and Route 20 East, an IPA with state-grown Centennial hops.

More batches are planned, including lagers, Belgian-style ales and barrel-aged beers.

Palladino said most of its malt comes from the 1886 Malt House in Fulton, the largest malt house in New York State.

“Most of our beers are over 90 percent grown in New York, or just on our farm,” said Palladino.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Head Chef Alicyn Hart, former chef at Good Nature Brewing in Hamilton and former owner of Circa in Cazenovia, will be creating locally-sourced dishes on a rotating menu, from smoked New York strip loins served in béarnaise sauce to grilled swordfish steak.

The third-generation crop and beef farm also partners with other local farmers, from Elly’s Acres in Jamesville for lamb to Muranda Cheese Company in Waterloo.

Opening with “Oktoberfest” weekend

A special evening for 100 ticketed guests will be held on Friday, Oct. 12 to enjoy the first evening at Heritage Hill Brewhouse & Kitchen, with foods, brews and tunes from musician Bill Ali, Grand Ole Opry performer and SAMMY award winner Loren Barrigar and the Doyle-Whiting Band.

Its grand opening to the public begins on Saturday, Oct. 13 for “Oktoberfest” weekend, featuring performances by Professor Louie & the Crowmatix, SAMMY award winner Todd Hobin and contemporary blues artist Murali Coryell.

Free Local Music Day will be held on Sunday, Oct. 14, with performances by Hoover & Parker, Nick & Jay and Butternut Creek Revival.

Heritage Hill Brewhouse & Kitchen is located on 3149 Sweet Road in Pompey, open Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The kitchen closes at 9 p.m. every day. Live entertainment is planned for Thursdays and Fridays, said Palladino.

To learn more about Heritage Hill Brewhouse and Kitchen, visit its website at Heritagehillbrewery.com.