CAZENOVIA, N.Y. –– Longtime friends and fellow NY brewers from Empire Brewing Co and Community Beer Works have joined forces to bring you New York’s latest craft collaboration, Smoke N’ Shadows, available this Groundhog Day, Friday, Feb. 2nd, 2018. Munich and Vienna malts were hand-smoked with cherry wood in Empire’s on-site smoker for three days. The smoked malts were then blended with other specialty malts to give this rich porter a smooth, subtle, smoky flavor.
Community Beer Works is NY’s first nano brewery, making (really good) beer in (very) small batches since 2012. They believe that if they build community in all the things they do, good things will happen. Good things are definitely happening for CBW and later this year they will be opening two additional NY locations. Empire Brewing Company was founded in the heart of downtown Syracuse in 1994 but has since expanded to become the largest Farm Brewery on the east coast, recently named judges’ choice for ‘Best Brewery in Upstate NY, 2017’. Far from fair-weather friends, the collaboration between Empire Brewing Co and Community Beer Works is a demonstration of the brotherhood of brewers. Hard work, perseverance and passion are industry standards.
Founder and ‘Main Instigator’ of Community Beer Works in Buffalo, NY, Ethan Cox, sheds some light on the origin of the collaboration. “Dave and I have been friends for a long time and we both serve on the NYSBA board. We have always talked about doing a collaboration together but it got serious when the Empire Farm Brewery in Cazenovia opened. I love how the idea evolved, Tim Butler stepped up to say ‘I want to smoke some malt, we have a killer smoker at the farm’, and that was the cherry on top.”
Ethan Cox and Head of Brewing Operations, Ryan Delmer, joined Empire’s founder, David Katleski, and Director of Brewing Operations, Tim Butler, at the Empire Farm Brewery mid-January for the first 50BBL batch of Smoke N’ Shadows. “It’s fun to work with these guys and get them in-house.” Tim Butler said of his buddies at Community Beer Works. “It’s been a longtime coming for us, anticipated for many years over many beers.” Demler agrees, adding that they’ve been, “Talking about opportunities and always looking forward to the collaboration. Tim and I have drunkenly joked about it for years!”
Thirsty yet? The Smoke N’ Shadows collaboration will be made available this Groundhog Day, regardless of the forecast. Look for this limited release on draft in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. Don’t miss out, the liquid won’t last long!
In the Syracuse Area? Stop by either Empire location for the official Smoke N’ Shadows release on Friday, Feb 2nd 2018, and enjoy $5 porter pints all day long.
Closer to Buffalo? Check out Community Beer Works for their Smoke N’ Shadows release at their Lafayette St. location from 3-10pm, Friday, February 9th.