Several years ago I was introduced to a group of guys who got together every week for a “beer share.” Everyone invited would bring several craft beers that were often hard to get and we would pass the cans around and try each beer together. It was a lot of fun and a great opportunity to be introduced to new breweries and styles of beer. This is where I first learned of Hudson Valley Brewery with it’s bright and beautiful can designs by Evan Cohen and unique brew styles. These guys told stories of beer release days where they would line up hours before the brewery opened to ensure they were able to get the new cans which would sell out within hours of opening. In the beer community people from all over the country were in search of each new style Hudson Valley Brewery was coming out with.
During this time I used this as an opportunity to connect with people in LA, Chicago, and beyond to trade beers. I would send them local Hudson Valley beers including HVB and they would send me beers from their local breweries. The hype around each beer release was one most breweries can only dream of and a lot of my curiosity around how local breweries build community stemmed during this time. Some things have changed since (you’ll find out why below) and we are fortunate to have Hudson Valley Brewery now available at Homespun Foods, no waiting necessary.
Founder and President John-Anthony Gargiulo was nice enough to answer some questions we had for him that will hopefully give you all a better understanding of what they’re doing less than a mile down Main Street from us.
Heather: What made you move from LA to Beacon and what was the dream that pushed you to open up your own brewery?
John-Anthony: I was working in LA in the movie business and after a few work injuries and a future that was going to be a lot of the same I didn’t really see a future in that business. So I decided to move back home to Highland to be closer to family, but needed to come up with an idea of what I was going to do for work. So I decided to move back to the Hudson Valley to open a brewery. I was exploring craft beer in southern California and wanted to bring some of that back to NY. I moved to Beacon when I started working at The Hop on Main St. During this time I was looking for locations to house the brewery and it’s when I was living here, I found the building that we are in now.
H: What does the creation process look like for your more innovative styles of beer?
JA: My Partners Micheal Renganeschi and Jason Synan are the creators of all of our products and their innovation comes from trying to take their favorite nuances from their favorite styles and combining them into an enjoyable drinkable product.
H: Sour IPAs started becoming popularized after Hudson Valley Brewery's conception. What inspired you to start brewing this style and had you seen anything like it prior to brewing it yourself?
JA: HVB didn’t invent the Sour IPA, but we did create our own process and put our own creativity towards this new style. The inspiration came from playing with fresh IPA and tart sour beer. What Mike and Jason started to play with was how the fruitiest and sweetness of the hops worked with the tartness of the sour beer. This allowed them to form the base concepts for our catalog of sour IPA’s.
H: How is your brewery supporting local agriculture and the community?
JA: This is a big question. Our sour farmhouse program that is housed in our barrel warehouse in Poughkeepsie is almost 100% made up with NY ingredients. A lot of our malt and wheat comes from Hudson Valley Malt in Germantown that locally sources all of their grains. HVB is supporting our community in a bunch of ways by helping out local non profits like Common Ground Farms and Fareground to raise money and awareness. We have also set up a mini recycling center at our building and are currently collecting all the clear plastic film for Beacon and bringing to be recycled.
H: How has your brewery been affected by COVID and how have you managed your way through the pandemic?
JA: Of course we have been affected by COVID. The brewery is a meeting place for people to explore and experience what products that we produce. A lot of that was taken away from us in 2020 and unfortunately we lost almost half our staff. Our sales had dropped but a lot of our bills didn’t and without the government’s PPP loans we would of had a much harder time and not sure we could of weathered the storm. Lucky, our customers bailed us out and we switched over to direct mail order and were able to sell beer that way. We also signed with more distributors in states like Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Florida and North Carolina to send them some wholesale pallets. Because of Covid, we are reaching more customers than just the ones that come to the brewery.
H: With so much interest in craft breweries within the states, where do you see the industry as a broad whole moving in the next 5-10 years?
JA: It's hard to tell, but I have always seen the craft beer moving more and more local. Only a few years ago we were all drinking a lot of beer from California and Colorado. But that is all changed, we much rather drink something from Obercreek, Saurez, Newburgh, Sloop or Industrial Arts.
H: Is there anything you wish you could change or influence about the beer industry?
JA: Yes, there is a lot we would love to influence and help change in the craft beer industry. We would love to see more respect and opportunities for women and minorities in our industry. More diversity will always foster more creativity and creativity is the backbone of craft brewing. We also strive to create a supportive and inclusive environment for our employees. We employ our front of house employees to work in the factory during the week so they can work more hours and qualify for full time benefits. Front of house workers need more stability and assurance of income in this for ever changing world.
H: Of all the many types of beer you've made, which has been the brew you've been most proud of?
JA: This is hard. I remember trying Ultrasphere for the first time and saying that it was a game changer for us and was going to propel us to the top of the list of sour IPA producers at the time. I was so proud of the team, it was a magical time. I am also really proud of our lager program. Feel No Way and Say No More are in my opinion the best lagers made in NY.
John-Anthony, thank you for taking the time to answer these questions! We are fortunate to have many great breweries within the Hudson Valley region and Hudson Valley Brewery is one worthy of admiration and respect. We look forward to seeing what’s to come.
The styles we have available for sale in our shop are currently—
‘Amulet’ Sour IPA with Blueberries and Hibiscus
‘Confetti’ Sour IPA with Grapefruit & Lime
‘Holocene’ Sour IPA with Mango and Vanilla
‘Silhouette’ Sour IPA with Lemon & Lime
‘Soleil’ Sour IPA with Pineapple
Hudson Valley Brewery is located at 7 E Main St in Beacon, NY and their hours are currently Thursday 3pm-8pm, Friday 3pm-10pm, Saturday 12pm-10pm, and Sunday 12pm-8pm if you are looking to try more of their selection.
Holocene, from Hudson Valley Brewery
