Seneca Lake Brewing – FLB Featured Brewery

Finger Lakes Brew had the pleasure of sitting down with Brad, the owner of Seneca Lake Brewing Company, for the featured Finger Lakes Brewery June 2017. To say we had a good time is a complete understatement…

When did you know that starting your own brewery was the adventure that you wanted to pursue and has it turned out to be more or less work than you expected?

In February 2014 I was lucky enough to purchase a 20 acre tract of land up here on Seneca Lake (where the future home of The Beerocracy Pub will be) from Aunt Pat (my girlfriends Aunt). After seeing how the brewery scene was starting to take shape back then it became clear that utilizing that property for a commercial endeavor was a huge opportunity and the brewery explosion was just in its infancy and creating a brewery was the way to go. In terms of more or less work, I would definitely say more, sometimes you go into these things with blinkers on and the more you get into it (designs, plans, construction etc) the more other things open up. Trust me (and this doesn’t just go for breweries) but there is never a day where the project list doesn’t grow or you end up sitting and twiddling your thumbs! Personally I think every great entrepreneur or business owner will understand that and its the only way that success in the future is somewhat guaranteed as you adapt and change constantly with the every shifting industry and market.

What was it about the Finger Lakes that made you want to set up shop here?

Let me put it this way – Who Wouldn’t! Seriously, there are the best views, brews, foods, people and more….The Finger Lakes (and particularly Seneca, Cayagu and Cayuta are only on the cusp of what is going to be the future! This area has so much to offer and right now little of it is truly tapped into. There are some great initiatives out there for people interested in starting a business up here, government, banks, grants and more..It really is a great time to get into business on the lakes. Partnerships are a huge thing for us and the other business owners around are what make those partnerships successful, as an example one of our biggest partnerships is with Barnstormer Winery and we are constantly collaborating, talking, meeting and discussing items that will not only benefit us as a brewery or them as a winery but the area in general and being able to attract more visitors to the area, which in turn will make all of our businesses even bigger success stories.

What is it about cask ale brewing that you like so much? Can you briefly explain how it differs from other forms of brewing?

For me it’s all about heritage! Being from the UK, I grew up with the stuff. In the UK Cask ale isn’t just a beer its a way of life, going down to your local pub and spending 3 or 4 hours there over a few pints, socializing with friends and family, you just cant beat it!. Being New York States only dedicated cask ale brewery allows us to bring a small slice of that over here and not only allow people that may never get the opportunity to travel to the UK to sample it first hand, but also allow us to educate them on a completely different style to what they are used to.  The general process for brewing cask ales is the same as any other beer, up until fermentation. Once our ales are complete with primary fermentation (we also do open fermentation) they are then placed into the cask to go through a secondary fermentation process (most other breweries at this point would place the beer into brite tanks to allow the beer to drop). During this secondary fermentation process the sugars interact with the yeast (which is still in the beer and thus in the cask) to create natural carbonation (we do not use any forced carbonation in any of our ales). Secondary fermentation generally lasts for approximately 2 weeks at which point the ale is good for tapping and selling. When we rack and tap our ales we have to rack and tap the ales on one day, then let them sit for 24 hours before being able to pour them from the tap, this allows any yeast or sediment that may have been kicked up during the racking and tapping process to settle in the bottom of the cask and clean ale be poured into the glass. Another major difference is the temperature of which cask ales are (or should be) served at. The optimum temperature should be anywhere between 52 & 57 degrees, this allows more flavor to come out on the drinkers palette and also creates a smoother pint. Trust me I can talk about this stuff all day, but to save boring people in this, we highly recommend they stop in and we can chat more about it over a pint.

I understand that you’ve recently teamed up with head brewer, George. How has it been sharing the process with someone else?

George is my right hand man and not only Head Brewer but GM of the whole operation and to be honest none of this would exist without him. If we talk about dedication, he has it. For the past year George has been driving from his home in Schnectaddy, NY to the brewery (around 4 hours each way) pretty much every weekend to brew and cask the ales. Additionally neither George nor I have taken any salary, this not only helps us get past the huge amount of what’s, how’s, when’s, was this going to work, etc that are associated with starting a new business but also allowed us to utilize revenue coming into the company to grow the company. That is different now however and the concept is proven and we are growing at a rapid pace, so I am super excited that George and his family (Heather & Riley have been amazing through this too) will be here in the Finger Lakes with us full time from the end of June….When George is here full time that will allow me to step back a little bit (not too much though) and focus on other areas of the business, such as getting The Beerocracy Pub open (our turn of the century British Pub, just up the road from our existing tap room) which we are targeting for the latter part of the summer.

Do you have a personal favorite beer that you brew? If so, what is it and why?

To say I have a favorite brew is hard and unfair on all the others (Ales have feelings too!) To be honest it really depends on a variety of factors as to which of our ales you will find in my hand at any given point in time – Weather, what i’m doing, time of year etc…I think if I had to name one it would probably have to be our Baker Street – Best Bitter! Why? Well its just a great solid pint, some great flavor, low ABV and reminds me so much of Blighty as you could probably call a Best Bitter the national pint of the UK……Like I say though, that changes daily and will continue to even more so over the coming months as George has been doing some amazing things and we will be releasing a number of one off casks, new styles and flavors and more to really help emphasize that we are the best cask ale brewery in the region.

Is there a favorite beer that your customers like?

This really depends on the demographic of the customers. A lot of our locals love the SLB52 – Golden Ale and the Baker Street – Best Bitter. A lot of the tourists coming in really like our Merri Man – English IPA and now our newly released American IPA and being able to sample the two side by side and really understanding the differences between the two styles. Steamship – Foreign Extra Stout is also a hugely popular one for us, however coming into the summer that will probably slow down a bit because of the time of year, that is to say with the exception of one of our most regular regulars who very rarely drinks anything else other than our Steamship Stout, but alas he is now relocating to the UK for a year!

What would you say to someone who is about to try a British style ale for the first time? What should they expect?

Don’t come into this with blinkers on, have an open mind and you might find yourself pleasantly surprised! Many people are used to drinking a beer that they have grabbed from the fridge that is force carbonated. Our ales aren’t like that and they are designed that way, the temperature is there to allow for a much more flavorful pint, the natural carbonation allows for a smoother pint, but also prevents that gassy buildup that is commonly associated with keg beers. Also they will note that most of our ales (with the exception of the Old Cranleigh – Old Ale) are relatively low in alcohol which transcribes into being able to enjoy a couple of pints versus a high ABV beer.

Ultimately, we love to educate and this whole thing is built around not only great ales but education as well. Come into our tap room and you will not only enjoy a great pint but you’ll also receive an education about the style and everything that goes with it.

I understand that Seneca Lake Brewing company is big on hosting live music. What is it about craft beer and listening to live music that is so special?

Absolutely, we love live music and currently host live bands on Saturday’s (7 – 9pm) and Sunday’s (5 – 7pm) as well as throwing sporadic one off events where bands always have a big presences (like our 1 year anniversary party coming up on the 8th July where we have 3 bands lined up throughout the afternoon). Let me put it into layman’s terms, what could be better than listening to some great, local, live musicians outside on a patio with a pint of delicious ale in hand, a spectacular view of Seneca Lake, some freshly grilled seafood from our grill kitchen, great company and awesome socialization. I don’t know about you but that’s heaven to me!!!

What’s the one piece of advice that you would give to someone who is considering setting up there own brew pub?

To name just one is tough, as there are so many components that go into setting up a craft brewery (or any business for that matter), however a major thing would have to be have and create a solid business plan (not in your head, on paper) this is probably the most valuable tool you will ever create as defines your business not only for the immediate short term but for the future too and will guide you as your business begins, grows, continues to build etc.. Any good business plan needs to be constantly maintained and updated as you will find that your business constantly changes, new things come on, other things become less of a priority keeping it updated keeps you on track always. Specifically for creating a craft brewery, get a good qualifies attorney and start the paperwork/license process early, this is by far the longest part of the process and is a minefield of things, hence get a good attorney to work though all of that so that you can be free’d up to build the business.

If you could have anyone (alive or dead) walk through your doors and ask to drink a pint of your beer with you, who would it be?

Easy question – My Dad!   He is my mentor and I have so much to thank him for as he pretty much taught me everything I know. He is back in the UK with the rest of my family (mother, 7 sisters & 5 brothers) all of whom I miss dearly, and has never tried our ales…..I am excited however, as was able of send over a bottle of each our ales which is going to be given to him on fathers day (i cant wait to see his face over skype). Still, it would be phenomenal to see him sitting at my bar, enjoying a pint with me and admiring everything that not only I, but the rest of my team has built… One day, one day.

Why should people stop by Seneca Lake Brewing and buy a drink?

Hopefully the above responses are enticing people to stop in, but bottom line is it comes down to the fact that we are truly unique in what we do and have crafted not only great ales and education but an experience. We want you to come in and relax, stay a while, learn something, enjoy some great conversations over a flight or pint and feel like you are drinking in a good old British pub……. Our door is always open.