Cuomo welcomes 14 licensed farm breweries in New York

Gov. Andrew Cuomo today welcomed 14 newly licensed farm breweries that have opened since the beginning of the year with a Farm Brewery license that is part of a law Cuomo signed in January.

The “Farm Brewery” license allows craft brewers that use products grown in New York to operate in a fashion similar to the state’s farm wineries, the governor’s office said in a news release.

Those brewery operations lead to increased demand for locally grown farm products and expanded economic development and tourism, Cuomo’s office contends.

The 14 licensed farm breweries include Henneberg Brewing Co. in Cazenovia, Erie Canal Brewing Co. in Canastota, Good Nature Brewing in Hamilton, and Hopshire Farm and Brewery in Freeville (Tompkins County), the governor’s office said.

The breweries use 20 percent of local products in their blends.

Additionally, Cuomo announced a nearly 100 percent increase in microbreweries across the state over the past two-plus years. New York had 51 licensed microbreweries in the first quarter of 2011, a figure that has now grown to 93, Cuomo’s office said.

In July 2012, Cuomo signed a bill to “support and strengthen” New York’s craft breweries, according to his office.

Under the new law, a farm brewer must make the beer primarily from locally grown farm products in order to qualify for the state’s Farm Brewery license.

Through the end of 2018, at least 20 percent of the hops and all other ingredients that a farm brewery uses should be grown or produced in New York.

The figure increases to 60 percent between 2018 and 2023, the governor’s office said.

After Jan. 1, 2024, no less than 90 percent of the hops and all other ingredients that a farm brewery uses must have originated in New York.

The beer manufactured under these guidelines would be designated as “New York State labeled beer,” according to the governor’s office.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com