Spliffffttt!!! Hear that? That’s the new sound coming out of The Bronx Brewery.
The two-year start-up, awakening a lost era in Bronx ale history, has introduced canned beer for libation lovers, a signal of the brewery’s expansion.
And its founders hope the next sound will be ka-ching!
“People were averse to cans, they equate it to cheap beer,” said Chris Gallant, company founder. “But now, there’s a bunch of places that really blazed that path ahead of us and made cans acceptable for craft beer.”
Preferring a can to a beer bottle was a matter of being eco-friendly and economical, according to Gallant.
“Cans are easier to recycle than bottles,” said Gallant. “They’re cheaper to make and cheaper to ship.”
Another selling point for canned beer was its long lasting protection for its beer.
Gallant, once an employee for Heineken, owns the beer business with north Bronx locals Steve O’Sullivan, Nile Henry. A fourth co-founder, Damian Brown, doubles as its head brewer, dividing his time from the Bronx to Wisconsin or Connecticut where he crafts the beer.
Gallant himself has been on a road trip of sorts, taking the metallic-style six-pack products to various mom and pop operations along the eastern portion of New York running all the way to the Canadian border.
“The first week we launched our can–280 stores bought it,” said Gallant. “It was crazy.”
The road to prosperity has been a marathon of 12-hour days for Gallant, overseeing the day-to-day operations of his business, often including personal delivery stops to barkeeps in Throggs Neck, Mott Haven and City Island.
They’ve been promoting their products at regional festivals and even Bronx Week, where they’re one of a dozen vendors offering samples of their product during the launch of the borough’s large venue.
On top of a can, Gallant was equally glad of his other milestone—the leasing of a warehouse on East 136th Street in the industrial section of Port Morris.
Drums of beer lay stacked inside his new digs for now, as Gallant looks to turn the cavernous headquarters into a beer factory.
“We’re building out the brewery here. We’re in the midst of architectural drawings,” said Gallant, now joining a list of other past Bronx brewers including Haffen Brewery and Ebling’s Brewery.
David Cruz can be reach via e-mail at DCruz@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 742-3383
