Try the new brew!
Brooklyn’s newest brewery and taproom will throw open its doors to the public this weekend in Sunset Park. One of the co-founders of Five Boroughs Brewing Company said he is eager for the Aug. 5 party, which will welcome visitors with a day of games and food — as well as plenty of beer!
“We’ve been waiting a really long time for New York City to enjoy our beer, so we can’t wait to open our doors in a big way,” said Kevin O’Donnell, who lives in Bay Ridge.
The opening party will take place all over the massive Sunset Park space, with games of cornhole and giant tic-tac-toe boards set up among the gleaming silver tanks. Food vendors will also set up outside, and kids can play with bubbles and sidewalk chalk while adults sample the suds.
The taproom, which can hold up to 140 people, is light and airy, with 35-foot ceilings, a wall of large windows looking onto the street, and an elevated stage where bands can play. After the opening party, it will be open to drinkers Thursdays through Sundays.
The Five Boroughs signature brews — an India Pale Ale, a Gose, and a Pilsner — will soon be available at bars and restaurants around the city, but some of its more experimental styles will only be available at the taproom. The bar currently pours 10 different styles of beer, each $5–$7, including a mango saison, a raspberry gose, and a “tiny IPA” with just 3.5 percent alcohol, created to provide a low-potency alternative for hop-heads, said the brewery’s other co-founder.
“There’s a double IPA craze right now — and we’ll do that — but we wanted to do something different,” said Blake Tomnitz.
The head brewer said he wants the brewery to appeal to all kinds of beer fans.
“Our primary focus has always been to brew beers with New York City’s tastes in mind. That means we needed to include a range of styles and make our products approachable, but also keep things interesting,” said Nick Griffin.
Five Boroughs Brewing searched across the city for a manufacturing space, and settled on Sunset Park location because the former steel plant offered enough space to expand in future years — and not because Brooklyn is the best of the five boroughs, said O’Donnell.
“We love our home in Sunset Park, and Brooklyn is a fantastic place to open a brewery and a business,” he said. “We looked at spaces across several boroughs and chose this 15,000 square-foot space in Sunset Park that we completely refurbished. We’re so happy we’re here — but don’t ask us to choose a favorite borough!”
Five Boroughs Brewing [215 47th St. between Second and Third avenues in Sunset Park, (718) 355–8575, www.fiveb
