lost borough

New York State’s craft beer industry grew by an impressive 60%, generating $3.5 billion, between 2012 and 2013.

13WHAM ABC Rochester reports that since the state government loosened brewing regulations in 2012, New York has seen a tremendous increase in craft beer brewing, nearly doubling the number of these breweries in the state.

The changes “gives us more freedom to let us do what we love to do and it just brings people in the doors,” said Zack Hill, a brewer at Lost Borough Brewing Company in Rochester. “We get to make great beer and people love to drink great beers.”

Hill is proud of the fact that Lost Borough’s beer is made exclusively with local ingredients. The brewery gets its hops and malt from local farms in Spencerport, a town 10 miles west of the city (interestingly, the majority of Americans live within 10 miles of a brewery). Following recipes personally created by Hill and others, their brews are made from scratch and served directly to the customer.

“From farm to pint — that’s what we say,” he said.

Carl Langsenkamp, one of the three owners of the Lost Borough Brewing Company, feels the craft brewing industry purposely strives to be “different.”

“I think you’re finding that with a lot of craft breweries in the area, people want to experience something different,” Langsenkamp said. “They want something good and they want something local so that brings it all together.”

Langsenkamp’s brewery is indeed different. The brewery originally opened its doors last November but had to partially shut down just two weeks into the operation because its stock “was almost completely dry,” according to the Democrat and Chronicle.

“We couldn’t keep up with the demand, we just didn’t have enough beer,” Hill said.

Though the brewery has been open four days a week since then, it plans on having a grand re-opening on May 2nd in which it will be in full operation again. Fortunately, the brewery received help from a local competitor who provided equipment to help them keep afloat, illustrating a unique aspect of the craft brewing industry.

“That wouldn’t happen in another business,” Langsenkamp said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard of a business group that is so noncompetitive.”

“The better I do, the better probably they are going to do,” he added.