Empire State Brewery Trail

Industry News by ROBINOFGA

Copied and pasted by RobinofGA@aol.com from Record on Line June 15, 2005 Legislature brewing beer trail promotion By John Milgrim Ottaway News Service jmottaway@aol.com Albany – If you like beer, you might have something to look forward to under the new "I Love New York Beer" proposal brewing in the state Legislature. The Senate has passed and the Assembly is now considering a bill that would create the to promote tourism among beer lovers and boost brewery businesses in the state. Assemblyman Joe Lentol, a Brooklyn Democrat, said he expects the bill to move out of the Assembly Tourism Committee today. "I don't know anybody who would object to it," said Lentol, citing the state's rich beer-brewing history, dating back to 1633. The Brooklyn Brewery, maker of Brooklyn Lager, and home to the original Schaeffer brewery, is in his district. The bill would create a tourism mechanism similar to the New York State Wine Trail, a state program promoting tourism and marketing at state wineries. "We have over 50 breweries in New York state making great beers and diverse beers, and for the state to recognize that and promote that is an honor and a very tangible business benefit to us," said Chris Ericson, board member of the New York State Craft Brewers Association and owner of the Lake Placid Pub and Brewery. Many of the state's smaller breweries depend on tourism. The brewing industry contributes nearly $10 billion to the state's economy, according to the bill's memo. "The wine trails have been phenomenally successful" for wineries, said Larry Bennett, marketing director for Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, adding that a similar program for breweries would work in kind. "There are two breweries here and we both depend pretty heavily on tourism," Bennett said. Under the bill, the brewery trails program would be administered through the state Department of Economic Development through an "I Love New York Beer" promotion program. It would include vacation itineraries with brewery visits and highlight the re-emergence of microbreweries in the state.

19 years ago