(1) OUR EXPERIENCE
Although Sixpoint is not open to the public at all, we were able to get in contact with them to set up some time to check out their Brooklyn facility in the Red Hook neighborhood on a Friday afternoon. Most of the staff was there working away, but everyone took some time out to say hi to us, gave us samples of just about every beer they had at the time, and even offered us a slice of pizza. Most of our time was spent with Jamie who walked us through all of the areas of the brewery, including the second floor break room/ office/ kitchen/ bachelor pad area; the view of New York City from the roof is incredible. The experience there was top-notch and I cannot thank everyone we met enough for being as kind as they were. We were also told that some exciting news is on the horizon in regards to their Brooklyn facility, so make sure to look out for that!
[View from the roof]
(2) VITAL INFORMATION
Date of our visit: Friday, 4/11/14
Open since: 2004
Brewhouse size: 15 bbl at facility we visited
Owner(s): Shane Welch
Brewers: Heather McReynolds, Danny Bruckert, Fabian Beller, Shaun Carney, Keir Hamilton, and Marcus Lutter.
Packaging: Kegs & Cans
Distribution: NY, NJ, DE, VA, MD, DC, GA, FL, PA, OH, IN, KY, IL, WI, TX, CT, VT, ME, MA, RI, NH
Other things we learned:
* The location we visited is where they brew all the one-offs, seasonal, specialty beers, and barrel-aged brews, while they brew their mainline staple beers and run their canning at a separate facility.
(3) BEERS WE TASTED DURING OUR VISIT
* Bourbon Barrel Aged Otis
* Spice of Life: Pacifica
* Willet Barrel Aged 3Beans
* Spice of Life: Nugget
* Mad Scientists’ #19: Sahti
* Wheatball (Tasted later at The Meatball Shop)
* Complete listing of beers
Other notes about their beer:
* Sweet Action, The Crisp, Bengali Tiger, Righteous Ale, and Resin are their core beers
* Came out with 3beans once; it did so well they just released a barrel-aged version to the market (but this new one won’t be canned)
* Started their current barrel-aging program less than a year ago
* Have a 1 bbl test/ pilot system to play around with new recipes
* Re-create very old beer recipes in their Mad Scientists’ Series, such as Sahti
* Last year had a beer called Beljam – a Belgian Style beer made with raspberry jalapeno jam
* Brew a beer called Spontaneous Construction Ale every year for Jazz Fest, where they pick the ingredients out of a hat. This year it tasted like a tootsie roll
* They were brewing a Tripel while we visited that they are going to age on Chardonnay Oak
(4) EXPANSION PLANS
There are no expansions plans at this point.
(5) BACKGROUND OF PEOPLE WE SPOKE TO
[Haggis on bottom; L-R: Mikey, Jamie, Heather, Danny, Jack, Me]
Name: Jamie Leithead
Title: Sales Rep
Been with company since: 2013
Previous Brewing Experience: N/A
Previous Occupation(s): Worked in a Law Firm, got a Masters, managed Underground Lounge in Upper west side NY
Favorite Superhero: Hulk in Comics / Captain America in Movies
Name: Heather McReynolds
Title: Brewer
Been with company since: 2012
Previous Brewing Experience: Brewed at Brewpub in GA then at Cannon Brewpub, then at Sixpoint
Previous Occupation(s): Managed Stubbies & Steins in FL, Managed a brewpub in GA
Favorite Superhero: Wonder Woman
Name: Mikey Lenane
Title: Writer
Been with company since: November 2012
Previous Brewing Experience: N/A
Previous Occupation(s): Student, Writing Tutor
Favorite Superhero: Spiderman for his quickness, Wolverine for his toughness
Name: Danny Bruckert
Title: Brewer
Been with company since: 2012
Previous Brewing Experience:
Previous Occupation(s): Product Development at Party City specializing in clown wigs and vampire teeth.
Favorite Superhero: The Tick
Name: Jack Liakas
Title: Graphic Designer
Been with company since: 2012
Previous Brewing Experience: Homebrewing
Previous Occupation(s): Photographer, videographer
Favorite Superhero: SUCH A TOUGH QUESTION, but I’m gonna say Wolverine
(6) MORE LINKS ABOUT BREWERY
* Main Website
* Events
* Blog
(7) You can find the rest of our photos here
Author: Michael Roberts
