Photo: nps.gov
Over the years Brooklyn became a destination for immigrants, particularly Germans, and with them they brought aspects of their culture, including an affinity for beer. Prior to Prohibition, breweries in Brooklyn produced a large portion of the beer brewed in America with 45 breweries in the borough.
Photo: brooklynbrewery.com
But by 1984 there were no more breweries in Brooklyn. That was about to change: Steve Hindy was a foreign correspondent in the Middle East where it was illegal to buy or sell alcohol, but internationals like Hindy found a way around this by brewing their own beer. Hindy found that these home brews were some of the best beer he had ever tasted, and when he moved to Brooklyn with his family he continued home brewing. It was through a brew party he hosted that he met Tom Potter.
Steve Hindy
Photo: brooklynbrewery.com
Despite the financial risks involved, Potter and Hindy quit their day jobs and opened a brewery. They wanted to bring beer-making back to Brooklyn and make it a unique "Brooklyn" thing. They managed to convince celebrated graphic designer Milton Glaser (most famous for his I ♥ NY) to design their logo but Glaser had two conditions: that he be named a shareholder of the company and that he receive free beer for life. These terms were agreed upon and Glaser still gets free beer today.
Today Brooklyn Brewery is a tourist destination but an operating brewery as well and its beer is distributed in a number of states and overseas. Potter and Hindy's risk paid off.
Photo: Hilary Grabowska
No comments:
Post a Comment