SCHUMER LAUNCHES PUSH TO HELP SYRACUSE’S EMPIRE BREWERY EXPAND & CREATE 50 GOOD-PAYING JOBS IN CENTRAL NEW YORK – CONSTRUCTION OF NEW IN-HOUSE BOTTLING PLANT & FARM IN CNY WOULD ALLOW BREWERY TO GROW OWN HOPS, BOTTLE OWN BEER & BRING IT TO GROCERY STORE SHELVES FOR FIRST TIME; NEW JOB- CREATING MODEL FOR CRAFT BREWING IN CNY
Empire Brewing Company Is Planning Construction of In-House Bottling Plant
On Farm In CNY Where Brewery Would Also Grow Its Own Hops For First Time
– Schumer Seeking USDA Funds to Get Project Moving
Schumer Launches Push To Help Empire Brewing Company Expand & Bring
on New Employees – New Bottling Plant Would Fuel Empire Brewing’s
Growth and Bring Their Craft Beer to Consumers in Bottles for the First Time
Schumer: Keep Downtown’s Empire Brewery Overflowing With Jobs
Earlier this week, at the Empire Brewing Company in Syracuse, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer launched his push to secure federal funding to allow Empire Brewing to expand its operations in Central New York. The brewery is currently looking to build out its own farm in Central New York so it can grow hops and create a bottling facility, where the brewery would bottle its own beer for the first time in the company’s 20-year history. This expansion would enable Empire to sell its craft beer at grocery stores throughout the state for the first time as well. Schumer said that this expansion would bring at least 50 jobs to Central New York and enable the craft brewery to expand its footprint even further across the state and the country. Schumer said that this expansion would allow the company to better meet demand, seize more of the craft beer market, and prepare for further expansion. Empire Brewing Company is currently seeking funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in order to make the expansion a reality, and Schumer is pledging his full support of Empire’s efforts. Schumer also said that Empire’s model of having a brew pub, hops farm and bottling plant is a new model that could help propel Central New York’s exploding craft beer industry.
“The craft brew industry is booming in Central New York, and Empire is one of the breweries leading the way,” said Schumer. “If Empire is able to begin growing its own hops and bottling its own beer, it will be a great new model for the area’s breweries, bringing increased production and new jobs to the region from ‘farm to bottle.’ Empire already is a major player in Central New York, but they have the potential to be a real economic driver, and I will fight to make sure they receive the funding they need to make this expansion a reality.”
Additionally, while at the brewing company’s facility, Schumer unveiled the design of the first ever Empire beer bottle. Schumer explained that the creation of this new bottling plant would enable Empire to bottle its beer for the first time making it a momentous occasion in their 20-year history. If Empire is able to secure the federal funds it is seeking, it would be the first Syracuse-area brewing company to be able to bring its beer through the complete supply chain—from farm to bottle. Schumer explained that this type of business model could be implemented in breweries across the region in order to increase revenue and jobs.
With funding from the USDA, Empire Brewing Company would produce a new product called Empire Farmhouse Ale (saison) using 51 percent or more ingredients grown at its new proposed Empire Farmstead Brewery. In the first year of the expansion, the company plans to plant four acres of hops, which is expected to yield 20,000 pounds of homegrown hops that will then be used to produce beer that will eventually be bottled at the Madison County facility. In addition to increasing production; providing grains and hops for Empire’s beverage products; the farm will also supply vegetables for its pickle products. The new site will also seek to be an agritourism destination, which would bring much needed tourism dollars to the Central New York region, as well as an educational facility for students of agriculture and brewing operations at Morrisville State College.
Schumer was joined by David Katleski, owner of Empire Brewing Company and President of the New York State Brewers Association, as well as many Empire employees.
“Senator Schumer’s support and advocacy on behalf of our USDA application is appreciated and applauded,” said David Katleski, Owner of Empire Brewing Company. “Becoming a first-time farmer is no small feat and to tie farming to the craft brewing industry and business is a newer model we’re confident the USDA will hold up as an example for others. These funds might just mean the difference from being able to get equipment up and running and will go a long way in allowing us to keep growing. Syracuse and Central New York will always be our home and we look forward to adding more jobs and delivering a quality product for years to come.”
Specifically, Empire is seeking $200,000 in funding from the USDA Value-Added Producer Grant Program. This program helps beginning farmers like Empire who are seeking to develop “value-added” products. In Empire’s case, the grant would ultimately help to offset the costs of third-party ingredients, packaging, inventory management software, and product marketing. As an independent producer, the $200,000 of working capital offered by this grant would provide a company like Empire with a significant leg up and opportunity to expand. It is estimated that this expansion would immediately create at least 50 skilled, well-paying jobs for Central New Yorkers at the Madison County facility, and could lead to more as the brewery expands production. To support the development and distribution of Empire’s new bottling operation, it is seeking to acquire and implement an inventory management system, called BeerRun, which has significant installation and annual costs.
Empire Brewing Company, Inc., began as a humble brewpub in Syracuse, NY, in 1994, and it has been brewing beer in Central New York ever since. In 2010, the company began, for the first time, to distribute its beer off-premise to wholesalers and retailers throughout New York State, but it has never actually bottled its own beer for sale on store shelves. The company has enjoyed so much success since beginning to distribute its beer in bulk that it has reached its production capacity at its Syracuse brewpub as well as with its contract-brewing partner, Greenpoint Beer Works, in Brooklyn, NY. In order to meet increasing demand, Empire decided to expand its operations with the launch of its Empire Farmstead Brewery, a 22-acre farm with a 28,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art brewery and packaging plant located on Route 13 in Cazenovia, NY. The new facility will expand production from 4,500 barrels per year to 20,000 barrels.