Thousands Win, Brooklyn’s First Farm Brewery
In honor of New York City Beer Week (which promotes local beers and brewers through ten days of fun, educational, suds-soaked events), we thought we’d shine a spotlight on one of the most exciting new brew innovations to hit the borough in recent years.
Thousands Win, a Brooklyn-based startup, combines two visions into one sustainable business: to create green spaces and to brew truly local NYC beers. Founders Caleb Freese and Julian Hensarling have developed a space-efficient suspended vine growing system (1/3 the weight of traditional rooftop farms), which, in addition to providing all of the environmental benefits associated with green roofs (improved air quality, reduced storm water runoff), will help bring hops production back to Brooklyn, once a staple of the local economy.
Although there are currently 14 farm (vine to bottle) breweries operating in upstate NY, Thousands Win will be the very first to launch in the city, as well one of the first urban farm breweries in the world. So what does that actually mean for what’s in your glass?
Currently, farms must dry and package hops (the key ingredient in beer), to survive the journey to offsite breweries, which significantly diminishes quality. According to Freese, freshly picked or ‘wet’ hops provide a “full-throttle intensity, and a vibrancy, fineness, definition, and chlorophyll-driven energy that you don’t get in standard-hopped beers.”
So how to you get your hands on some?
Either contribute to Thousands Win’s IndieGoGo campaign (unsurprisingly, beer is among the rewards), or sign up for a 4 month long share in their very own CSA program, set to start in fall of 2014. Members will receive reusable, 64oz glass growlers to be filled weekly at various locations around the city, with beer that will change from week to week depending on ingredients and season. First up will be a dark and hoppy 1k Black IPA, which Freese and Hensarling describe as the “perfect Brooklyn brew.” We’ll raise a glass (and the roof) to that.
To learn more, visit thousandswin.com
To contribute, visit indiegogo.com/at/1kbeer