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Farm Brewing Law Contributes to Rapid Growth Of Brewing Industry in Central New York Brewing Law Contributes to Growth Of Brewing Industry in Central New York

The cost of the current brewing license is lower than previous licenses.

By Fernando Garcia-Franceschini

Anchor:
The brewing industry continues to grow rapidly in New York State. The eleventh brewery in Syracuse will open in early 2019. NCC’s Fernando Garcia-Franceschini tells us how a law passed by Governor Andrew Cuomo is propelling this growth and how it will affect the industry in the future.

Fernando Garcia-Franceschini / Reporter:
The Farm Brewing Law has helped create more farm breweries in the state but, as most things, it has its pros and cons.

Matthew Ducey / Brewer:
We’re huge supporters of it, we love it and we’re thankful for it.

Fernando Garcia-Franceschini / Reporter:
The Farm Brewing Law has been a big factor in the rapid growth of the brewing industry in Central New York. The cost of this license is about a third less than the cost of the past license.
Empire Brewing Company Brewer Matthew Ducey says the law helped the 1994 business expand to a second location and that the low cost represents a challenge big breweries who aren’t thinking of expanding.

Matthew Ducey / Brewer:
It allows people to enter the brewing market and become competitors to them, so they might see it as a gateway to future competition and less sales.

Fernando Garcia-Franceschini / Reporter:
Even though the New York Farm Brewery license represents a challenge for some, for others it’s the opportunity to start their ideal business.

Logan Bonney / Anything But Beer Founder:
Using less resources we were able to start a business that is able to self-sustain. I mean, that’s what it’s all about: sustainability and making sure that we can survive tomorrow.

Fernando Garcia-Franceschini / Reporter:
Anything but Beer began producing beer and vegetable-based beer alternatives only ten months ago and thanks to the low cost of the license.
Founder Logan Bonney says he doesn’t see the uprise in farm breweries as competition, but rather as “coopetition”.

Logan Bonney / Anything But Beer Founder:
By us all cooperating and competing in a non-destructive way, we get to make the pot bigger where all of us succeed more.

Fernando Garcia-Franceschini / Reporter:
As of now breweries are only required to buy twenty percent of their ingredients from local farmers. In 2019 that number will increase to sixty percent and by 2024, 90 percent.
Bonney says this will be difficult, but he sees the good in creating an industry around breweries in New York.

Logan Bonney / Anything But Beer Founder:
While it’s a little more difficult, I think that the positive impact is worth the pain.

Fernando Garcia-Franceschini / Reporter:
Bonney says Anything But Beer plans on following Empire’s footsteps and expand in April of next year. Reporting from Syracuse, Fernando Garcia-Franceschini, NCC News.

Anchor:
Some of the ingredients farm breweries need to get in-state are hops, grains, and water.

The brewing industry has been growing at a rapid pace in Central New York. A major factor that has contributed to this increase is the Farm Brewing law passed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, which gives farm breweries in the state a license about a third cheaper than past licenses.

Anything But Beer is one of the many farm breweries that has been able to open business thanks to this license. Founder and owner Logan Bonney said this law has created a sense of cooperation, or “coopetition” instead of competition, between local brewers.

“The Syracuse business environment is really cool,” he said. “By all of us cooperating, we get to make the pot bigger and all of us succeed more.”

However, this law has its pros and cons.

In order to maintain the license, breweries are required to purchase 20 percent of their ingredients from local farmers. Starting next year, that number will increase to 60 percent.

Bonney said that meeting the requirement might be difficult for local farm breweries but that, at the end of the day, the idea is for New York to create a business around revolving around breweries.

According to Bonney not only will the brewing industry continue to grow thanks to the necessary partnerships with local farmers, but also malt houses, known as malted grain production facilities, and hop farms.

 

Anything But Beer merchandise
Anything But Beer has created partnerships with local farms to get the required amount of local ingredients by law.
© 2018 Fernando Garcia-Franceschini

On the other hand, Matthew Ducey, brewer at Empire Brewing Company, believes this will ultimately affect bigger breweries who are not looking to take advantage of the license.

Ducey says the future of the brewing industry in New York is going to focus more on local industry versus national industry, which is why this law is going to gain more importance in the near future.

As stipulated in the Farm Brewing Law, by 2024,  farm breweries must buy at least 90 percent of their ingredients from local farmers.

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