Think globally, drink locally
Ithaca Beer Co. practices an ancient art
Written by Carly Chamberlin
Posted April 28, 2005
Ithaca Beer Co. is one of the only workplaces where drinking on the job is not only allowed — it’s encouraged. For quality control purposes only, of course.
Recently recovering from its 6th birthday celebration, the company is still in its very successful childhood. But the employees all dream of what it could become when Ithaca Beer Co. grows up.
“We’re already struggling to keep up with demand,” says Head Brewer Jeff Conuel. “It seems like we can never stay fully stocked. But I guess that’s a good thing.” Recent expansions should double production in the coming year, making Ithaca Beer Co. a force in upstate New York, and if things go as planned, in New York City as well.
Eric Vanzile, recently appointed head of promotions and marketing in the Manhattan area and the boroughs, credits the company’s success to its product. “We make good beer, and people appreciate that. It’s that simple,” he affirms.
Taped to the wall of the bathroom in the brewery is a sign advising: “To brew bad beer is a sin against Christian love. German law, 13th century.” Reminded daily of this mantra, the employees abide by the letter and spirit of the law, ensuring every bottle, growler or keg that leaves their doors meets their high standards.
Offering a beer for every palate, Ithaca beer provides a local alternative for the wine-soaked Finger Lakes region. A large part of the company’s success, according to retail sales manager Ken Taber, is the amount it values it customers. “Unlike the big corporations, we’re small enough to listen to what the customers want and like and to provide it,” he says. The company has the privilege of being the only microbrewery in Ithaca and one of the favorites in the region.
A reason for the favoritism, suggests Chief Brewer Jeff O’Neil, is that Ithaca beer is “local beer, brewed by local boys, all working toward the same goal.” Like the popular bumper sticker says, residents like the idea of “thinking globally, but drinking locally,” he adds.
A far cry from its beginnings as a “local” beer brewed on contract by a company in Chicago, for the last six years Ithaca beer has been brewed on site at the 606 Elmira Rd. location. The beer is indigenous right down to its humble beginnings as malt, hops, yeast and water: the company uses large quantities of hops produced in upstate New York, a special strain of yeast developed at Cornell University specifically for the company and water straight from Six Mile Creek.
In February 2004 the company released its first beer to be made with 100% New York grown hops. After the first half of the 20th century, the once thriving New York hop production business faltered. Ithaca Beer’s Double IPA, produced through a partnership between Ithaca Beer Co., Pederson Farms, Cornell University agricultural researchers, and the Northeast Hops Alliance, brought back memories of that time. The company continues to use as much locally grown grain as possible to keep its products tied to their roots.
Moving away from the typical lager generally thought of as the quintessential “American beer,” Ithaca Beer brews varieties of ales which differ greatly in both process and taste from lagers. Ales are fermented warm, with top-fermenting yeast: yeast that rises to the top of the brew mixture during fermentation. Ales are generally stronger, and more assertive due to their warmer and quicker fermentation, as opposed to the slower, colder lagering process. In producing ales, Ithaca Beer Co. joins the oldest brewing tradition in the world—ales predate lagers by thousands of years and date back to the Sumerians and ancient Egyptians.
Continuing this ancient tradition and bettering it with every batch, Ithaca Beer Co. has big dreams. Eventually, the company would like to open a location closer to the Ithaca Commons complete with a full restaurant and microbrewery. But, having just recovered from months of construction and expansion to the current location, the boys at the brewery are now content to ensure their supply can meet the ever-heavy demands of the market.
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A look in pictures of the Ithaca Beer Company.
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