New York’s breweries swell to 400, surpassing record

New York State is now home to 400 breweries, surpassing the previous record of 393 breweries set in 1876. New breweries—243—have obtained new licenses, and beer is brewed in 57 counties since the Wine, Beer and Spirits Summit in 2012.

Additionally, 202 new farm brewery licenses have been issued since the  farm brewery law went into effect in 2013, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office said..The new farm brewery license allows craft breweries that use ingredients grown in New York to conduct onsite tastings, open restaurants, engage in self-distribution, and open up to five no-fee off-site branch stores anywhere in the state.

According to Cuomo’s office, the farm brewery law has also led to a resurgence in New York’s hop and barley production. The acreage of hops grown in New York nearly doubled from 2014 to 2016, while the acreage of malting barley increased by 374 percent over the same two-year period, Cornell University reported. The state also has 13 malt houses.

Cornell is among other institutions like SUNY Morrisville, the Geneva Experiment Station and Hartwick College’s Center for Craft Food and Beverage that are engaged in research and offering testing of barely, malt and beer quality. Other schools in the state now have programs to train the next generation of brewers.

A list of the state’s breweries can be found here.