Friday Happy Hour With SingleCut Beersmiths in Astoria, N.Y.

These are some pretty badass beer taps.

By Daniel Ford

I love Astoria, N.Y., for a variety of reasons, but great beer is pretty high on my list.

Fellow Astoria lover, and Writer’s Bone contributor, Lindsey Wojcik swears by the brews at SingleCut Beersmiths and may or may not have been drinking a flight on Thursday night while her brother was in town.

SingleCut’s head brewer/president Rich Buceta took a break from brewing those beers to answer some of my questions about how he got started, what his biggest brewing mistake was, and which beer he’d like to have with him on a deserted island.

Cheers!

The flight of SingleCut brews Writer's Bone contributor Lindsey Wojcik enjoyed recently.

Daniel Ford: Give us a little background on your history and how you started brewing.

Rich Buceta: I was a longtime homebrewer who became disenchanted with my then career (advertising) and quit. Not having a “Plan B,” I decided my next chapter might revolve around beer since it was such a longtime passion of mine. I brought samples of my homebrew to a local brewery and got hired by the first place I went (Greenpoint Beerworks). I started cleaning kegs and climbed the ladder to eventually become a brewer. Once I had confidence in my “big league” capabilities, I left to start SingleCut Beersmiths.

DF: I’ve lived in Astoria twice during my time in New York City and it still holds a special place in my heart. How are you involved in the community and what kind of response have you gotten from patrons of your brewery?

RB: We’ve invested quite a bit in our tap room to make it a comfortable and welcoming environment and it’s become a well-known destination in Astoria. We’ve supported many local charity events. The notoriety of SingleCut throughout New York City has helped increased Astoria’s profiles and we believe has added considerably to the wealth of higher end pubs and restaurants that have and continue to open since our establishment.

Live action shot of SingleCut beer. Sexy. Photo credit: Lindsey Wojcik

DF: What was your biggest mistake brewing? What lessons did you learn from a bad recipe or brewing mishap?

RB: Experimenting with a new yeast strain on a full batch! The results were not what we anticipated whatsoever. Lesson: Have such experiments worked out in our pilot system first.

DF: Your logo is simple, but so awesome. What was the process like for coming up with it?

RB: I knew I wanted the SingleCut origin (guitar body shape) to somehow tie into the “S.” It took many versions before I arrived at the current logo, which was the simplest solution and, not coincidentally, the best.

Simply awesome.

DF: You’re very active on social media, and also manage a blog on your website. What’s your social media strategy and how has it helped build your brand?

RB: Tell as many newsworthy and inside stories as we can while encouraging a dialogue with our audience. Such stories speak to our passion and qualify far better than a contrived advertisement.

DF: If you were in Prohibition times, do you think you’d be bootleggers?

RB: Ha! Not sure I’d have the stomach for it. More likely, I’d move to Canada or elsewhere where I could operate legally.

DF: If you were stuck on a deserted island with just one case of one of your beers, which one would it be and why?

RB: 18-Watt, no question. It’s been my go-to beer since the first day we brewed it. I love hops and the sessionable aspect of its alcohol by volume makes it something I can drink often enough.

Good for all your deserted island needs.

DF: What’s next for Single Cut brewery? What does the future look like?

RB: We’d like to start to package our beer. 16 ounce cans are on the very near horizon, most likely stating with 18-Watt and 19-33 Queens Lagrrr! Packaging our beer would expose us to a whole new market and provide us with greater visibility. It’d be the best form of advertising we could imagine.

DF: Name one random fact about your company.

RB: The vast majority of our employees are musicians.

To learn more about SingleCut Beersmiths, check out its official website, like the brewery on Facebook, or follow it on Twitter @SingleCutBeer.

Happy Hour Archive

Friday Happy Hour With Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co.

Majestic and smooth...Kentucky Bourbon Ale

By Daniel Ford

Not long ago, Sean and I had a brainstorming session at Hugh O’Neills, our favorite watering hole in Malden, Mass., following an afternoon of marathon podcast recording.

I was struggling to choose a beer, but my eyes kept coming back to one brewed by the Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co.

“How’s the Kentucky Bourbon Ale?” I asked our waitress, as one does during moments of boozy indecision.

“A lot of people order it,” she said. “It’s good.”

Well, with that hard sell how could I not try it?

I wasn’t disappointed. The beer came to me ice cold and it poured nicely into the handsome pint glass I was given. It was refreshingly sweet and smooth, with an oaky finish usually accompanied by hard, brown liquor in a heavy glass.

By the time I finished my second bottle, a new idea for Writer’s Bone was born. We couldn’t be more pleased to start our Friday Happy Hour series with the brewers of Kentucky Bourbon Ale.

Nathan Canavera, the brand manager for Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co. , answered some of my questions recently and made me very, very thirsty.

Cheers!

Daniel Ford: Your company has a lengthy and colorful history. Give us a little background on that history and how you started brewing and distilling.

Nathan Canavera: Much too much to list, check out this video.

Daniel Ford: Kentucky is known for bourbon. What kind of relationship do you have with the community and how have they reacted to what your brewery has to offer?

NC: When we began brewing our beers after we bought the brewery in 1999, it was a much different landscape than craft beer is today. Craft beer and brew pubs were not on every corner. We had a very grassroots approach to pouring beer at every event that would let us in the door. At that time, and for years after, the yellow fizzy water was the choice of brew for central Kentucky. We built a craft following locally with sponsoring what events we could afford and Lexington was very supportive. Years later, we came upon what is now our flagship, Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, and like you said, Kentucky is known for bourbon and it has taken off like wildfire for us!

DF: How did the idea for your Kentucky Bourbon Ale come about?

NC: The video goes over that a bit, but with Dr. Pearse Lyons history of both whiskey and coopers, as well as his background with Jameson in Ireland, he had a connection with the use of barrels. Fast forward to the brewery where we have barrels on display and we are tripping over barrels here in Kentucky, where there are more barrels with bourbon aging than people. Seems like a no brainer!

Brewmaster Dr. Pearse Lyons 

DF: All of your products have won multiple awards. Which award are you most proud of?

NC: I think the Silver Medal at the World Beer Cup in 2010. This came at a point where we were really beginning to see our growth take off and had opened into Ohio. This award put our brands on the map nationally and it was a huge honor to receive amongst our brothers and sisters in the craft community.

DF: You’re on Facebook and Twitter, and also manage a blog on your website. What’s your social media strategy and how has it helped build your brand?

NC: Funny enough I started our Facebook and Twitter pages years ago before they were seen as business pages. It was a way to engage customers and get feedback at little to no cost. Now, as you mention, it requires strategy, full-time upkeep, as well as individuals with writing skills far surpassing that of a simple beer guy. That being said, we still view social media as our direct line to the consumer—an open arena for good, bad, fun, silly, and serious discussions about our brands, our industry, and our competitors. Our goal is to keep our friends and followers as up to date as possible on everything in our world as well as answer any and all questions or concerns they may have. We know how much work went to getting to where we are today and how important our loyal supporters are to our success.

DF: If you were in Prohibition times, do you think you’d be bootleggers?

NC: Much like the Lexington Brewing Co. did in Prohibition, I feel like we would have been just like they were: brewing low/non-alcohol beers, but still brewing beer on the side. They were later busted and on one sad day the streets of Lexington were flooded with beer.

Beer filling the streets during Prohibition

DF: If you were stuck on a deserted island with just one case of one of your spirits, which one would it be and why?

NC: Our new Rye, Town Branch Rye would be it for me!! The spicy notes of this whiskey, as well as its higher proof (100 would last longer on the island), would make this easy to enjoy while deserted…hopefully I wouldn’t have to share!

DF: What’s next for Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co.? What does the future look like?

NC: Hopefully we can continue to see the growth we’ve experienced over the last 14 years, we look for continued expansion into new territories while still back filling the territories we currently distribute within and filling in the gaps in our footprint. Our spirits are slowly following in the footsteps of the distribution of the beers that had a good six-plus years head start. As always, we need more pots and pans to continue to grow and these are all great problems to have!

DF: Name one random fact about your company.

NC: Dr. Lyons, our owner and original brewmaster, was the first Irishman to gain a formal degree in brewing.

To learn more about the Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co., visit its official website, like its Facebook page, or follow the brewery on Twitter @KentuckyAle.

Happy Hour Archive