If there’s one thing New Yorkers take seriously, it’s their craft beer. With close to 450 craft breweries dotting the state, New York ranks fourth in the country in terms of craft breweries. And that number isn’t just good for bragging rights: Those 450 breweries annually bring a total economic impact of $5.4 billion to the state.
Given that us New Yorkers are cray cray for our craft beer, of course someone decided to bank on that concept. Hence, Brewed in New York, a 13-episode, Emmy-winning series that premiered on PBS stations across the state on July 5, 2018, which documents the burgeoning New York craft brew scene. To produce the show, which is now periodically releasing episodes on YouTube, the Albany-based MagicWig Productions film crew traveled to a different region of the state for every episode to highlight the unique geography, agriculture and character of that targeted area. (And to sample some suds, of course.) While at home in the Capital Region, film crews stopped by Albany’s C.H. Evans Brewing Company, Troy’s Brown’s Brewing Co. and Saratoga Springs’ Druthers Brewing.
Brown’s Brewing Brand and Marketing Manager Sarah Hoffman was around for the filming at the Troy-based brewery (see above). “We had behind-the-scenes seats allowing us to experience all of the equipment, planning and precision it takes to generate a final product that appears seamless,” Hoffman says. “We’re proud to have been a small part of an award-winning series.”
While at C.H. Evans, Brewed in New York hosts Matt Archambault and Maya Contreras learned how owner Neil Evans breathed life into his families centuries-old brewery (it dates back to 1786!). At Brown’s, Archambault learned how to draw cask beer—unfiltered beer that’s transferred into casks, carbonated, sealed and re-fermented. And at Druthers, they learned about the history of the brewery started by three brothers. In the Capital-Saratoga region, the pair also learned that Albany has been brewing beer since the 19th century and was once the second largest brewing town in the world, behind London.
Obviously, craft beer is “in” right now, especially in New York State. Hoffman ventures a guess as to why that’s the case: “The simple, civilized act of drinking and appreciating a delicious pint with another human being provides an escape from a chaotic world and a glimpse toward a kinder and more respectful future.” If one beer is all it takes, count us in.