USA, NY: Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing moving to larger facility in Weedsport

A small Cayuga County brewery that recently won a stack of medals for its beers has some big expansion plans this spring and summer, Syracuse.com reported on April 5.

Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing is moving from its home at 8920 N. Seneca St. (Route 24) in Weedsport to a new and larger spot just down the street. The new location, at 8931 N. Seneca, will have double the space, to accomodate a larger brewhouse area and tasting room, and the addition of a wood-fired pizza oven.

Derric Slocum, who co-owns the brewery with his wife, Kristin Lunkenheimer Slocum, said he hopes to have the new space open in June. The brewery may be able to expand its hours and add a canning line for its beers, Slocum said.

It will continue to operate a relatively small 5-barrel brewhouse, but will add fermentation tanks to expand its production. It’s also planning to expand distribution in Onondaga County, through the Party Source Beverage Center in Syracuse, Slocum said. (Beers including a Blood Orange Kolsch shoukld be showing up in the Syracuse market next week, Slocum said.)

The Slocums have been working on the expansion for some time. It was important for them to find space in Weedsport, Derric Slocum said.

“We’re kind of small brewery, in a small town, but the community here has always supported us and we want to support them,” he said. “Weedsport has been a major part of our success.”

That’s not all: Lunkenheimer also plans to open a second taproom at the south end of Sodus Bay by Memorial Day. That space is at 9648 Ridge Road in Huron, Wayne County, near the Sodus Bay Bridge. It will serve Lunkenheimer’s beer, along with other New York state craft beverages, but will not have its own brewhouse.

Wayne County currently is one of just four counties in the state with no breweries.

The Slocums opened Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing in 2014.

In March, Lunkenheimer was one of three breweries to take home three medals in the 2019 New York State Beer Competition, which judged 813 separate beers entered by 160 different New York state breweries.

Lunkenheimer’s medals were gold in the non-Belgian Strong Ale category for its Barleywine 2018; bronze in the non-sour Fruit and Spice Beer category for its Toasted Coconut Porter, and gold in the category for New York State Beer. The criteria for that category was beer that uses at least 20 percent New York state-grown or produced hops, malt and other ingredients. That category had 353 entries.

Lunkenheimer was joined in winning three medals by another Cayuga County brewery -- Prison City Pub & Brewery in Auburn. Prison City, which won the Governor’s Cup for the best beer in New York, a sweet Imperial Stout made with toasted coconut, is also undertaking an expansion. It will open a larger production brewing facility, with a tap room and kitchen, at 197-199 North St., near the corner of Standart Ave.

07 April, 2019