New York State’s relationship with beer — and what’s in it — runs deep.
From Buffalo to Montauk, the production of beer and cultivation of its ingredients has long been part of New York’s agricultural history. During the 19th century, New York farmland billowed with barley and hops, with the latter becoming a commercial crop in 1808. In fact, for more than a century, New York farmers outpaced every other state in the country in hop production. In New York City, before clean water arrived via the Croton Aqueduct in 1842, beer was considered safer to drink than water.
Production peaked at nearly 400 breweries statewide before crop disease and Prohibition disrupted it. The craft beer resurgence of the mid-1980s reintroduced beer production to New York and a new chapter in the state’s brewing history began. But it wasn’t until 2012, when Governor Cuomo signed a farm brewing law fostering a more symbiotic relationship between local farmers and brewers, that industry growth took off. Since the law passed, the number of New York State breweries has grown from 60 to more than 370.
