Helderberg Brewery To Further Farm-To-Glass Education At Carey Institute

$25,000 in new awards advances Helderberg Brewshed initiative already reaching more than 375 farmers, craft brewers and distillers

RENSSELAERVILLE – The Carey Institute for Global Good received $25,000 in new grant awards, furthering its Helderberg Brewshed Initiative capital campaign and the development of its Helderberg Brewery. A $15,000 grant from the Workforce Development Institute will be allocated towards the needed purchase of equipment to operate the Helderberg Brewery, making it possible for New York State’s first Model Farm Brewery and Incubator to be operational by fall 2014. The Workforce Development Institute is supported through an annual allocation from the state legislature.

An additional $10,000 grant contribution from the Bender Family Foundation was received towards the Helderberg Brewshed Initiative’s capital campaign. This brings the Institute’s Helderberg Brewshed project fundraising total to more than $260,000.

“This is a great milestone, to date we have engaged more than 375 farmers, craft brewers and distillers through the Farm-to-Glass Classroom Series and this funding allows us to develop New York State’s first Farm-to-Glass Incubator to assist start-up farm breweries,” said Carey Institute for Global Good President Carol Ash. “We would like to thank the Bender Family Foundation and the Workforce Development Institute for recognizing the importance of the Helderberg Brewshed Initiative to further the growth of New York’s newest agricultural sector.”

The equipment purchase will outfit the Helderberg Brewery with an automated half-barrel brewing system and required ventilation, washing/sanitizing station, and fermentation and refrigeration equipment. Once complete, the brewery will house the Farm-to-Glass Incubator. The program will include an educational workshop series for craft beverage producers covering business planning and marketing, brewery management, brewing science, water and wastewater management, and supply-chain development.   The Incubator will also provide brewing space for aspiring brewers who seek experience in a farm-to-glass operation.

The Carey Institute’s Helderberg Brewshed initiative was launched in step with Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Farm Brewery Bill to support New York’s farm-to-glass movement. In 2012, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the Carey Institute for Global Good was chosen as a Regional Economic Development Council Award winner, with $108,000 in funding to foster its farm brewery project in Rensselaerville. In a short time the Carey Institute for Global Good has emerged as a leader in the field, now working with more than 375 farmers, craft brewers and distillers across New York State addressing issues in the farm-to-glass supply chain and assisting start-up farm breweries.

From Schoharie to Washington Counties, through Dutchess and Ulster Counties, the Helderberg Brewshed is connecting brewers, distillers and farmers across the Hudson-Mohawk Valley. Through classroom opportunities and hands-on workshops on topics ranging from small grain production to business planning, the Helderberg Brewshed Initiative helps stakeholders across the farm-to-glass supply chain to improve the capacity of the rapidly expanding farm brewery industry.