Join us for some perspective into the craft brewery industry at The Business of Beer Series. This installment features Yonkers Brewing Co. from….Yonkers. We’ll talk about what being a startup in the beer scene means and hear about the origins of the brewery - all while sampling some of YBC’s finest brews with a guided tasting.
BREWERY PROFILE | Yonkers Brewing Co.
Like any other great idea Yonkers Brewing Co. was thought of with a beer in hand. The concept of brewing came to John Rubbo and Nick Califano after they tirelessly helped their grandfathers make homemade wine. As they exchanged stories about crushing grapes and discussed the intricacy of fermentation, they cracked open a cold beer.
As the cap fell off the lights went on, “Why not just make the sweet nectar we enjoy so much more?” they asked. The generations-old tradition of wine making sparked a fire and they brewed up a recipe that is now known as their flagship, Yonkers Vienna Lager.
The two Yonkers natives, John and Nick spend one summer in the backyard of John’s parents’ home – yes, in Yonkers – studying the depth and breadth of the brewing process and trying their hand at creating a recipe they enjoyed.
They also created a detailed business plan through learning about the marketplace, analyzing sales statistics, current trends, and structures of craft breweries across the United States and speaking with local business professionals. This research and passion built the foundation for the business.
Located in downtown Yonkers, they want the brewery environment and culture to reflect how they see their hometown and be a place where the community can come together in a lively environment to celebrate what this city has to offer – culture, entertainment, sports and now good beer.
DID YOU KNOW?
- “Yonkers” is directly derived from Adriaen van der Donck, a lawyer, scholar, and author who had emerged as a leader of the New Netherland colony and was known locally as the Jonkheer or Jonker
- In 1853, Elisha Otis invented the first safety elevator and the first elevator factory in the world, Otis Elevator Company, in Yonkers
- Bakelite, the first completely synthetic plastic, was invented in Yonkers circa 1906 by Leo Baekeland
- In 1888, Scottish-born John Reid founded the first golf course, with just three holes, in the United States, St. Andrew’s Golf Club, in Yonkers
- Kawasaki assembly plant opened in 1986 producing the new cars for the New York City Subway and PATH trains
- In 1940, Yonkers resident Edwin Howard Armstrong transmitted the first FM radio broadcast from the Yonkers home of C.R. Runyon, a co-experimenter
- Yonkers hosts one of the nation’s oldest St. Patrick’s Day parades
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