The Staten Island Beer Company is expanding its enterprise to the delight of craft beer fans in the borough.
The family-owned and operated brewery plans to open a taproom in Mariners Harbor on Sept. 10. The Staten Island Beer Company is inviting craft beer lovers to sip on some of their classic brews from Thursdays to Sundays.
In addition to the brewery’s three mass-produced beers – the Victory Blvd American Pale Ale, Shaolin IPA and Summer Ale – patrons can also try seven new recipes. And the taproom is the only place you’ll be able to taste them for now, according to vice president Karen Schulman.
“Staten Islanders haven’t really been exposed to craft beer,” Schulman said, so the idea of a taproom became a way “to have people — especially on the island — taste beers in styles that they’ve never tasted before.”
As summer comes to a close, Shulman said her sons – the masterminds behind the seven new recipes – have been working on some fall-inspired brews, including more IPAs, stouts and a brown porter.
Located at the company’s headquarters at 20 Kinsey Pl., the taproom offers customers an intimate, family-style experience that will be “warm and welcoming.”
The brewery itself has humble beginnings. Karen’s husband, brewmaster Jonathan Schulman, started creating small batches in the basement of his home in Staten Island more than 20 years ago. In 2014, he started the Staten Island Beer Company and placed an emphasis on recipes that are both “straightforward and flavorful,” according to the brewery’s website.
The company also prides itself on being community oriented.
“Through the production of a high quality craft beer we seek to bring pride and respect to our community,” the brewery says on its website. “Furthermore, by working hand in hand with our neighbors, and doing outreach within our community, we hope to refine the way in which we live and interact together, for the better.”
Schulman said the brewery held a fundraiser last year to collect toys and pajamas for sick children and donated them to Staten Island University Hospital.
The company also hopes to move soon to a larger space on Staten Island and begin mass brewing in the borough. Currently, Schulman said, the company contracts out the mass-produced batches to Broken Bow Brewery in Tuckahoe.
Schulman said the expansion would also mean more jobs for borough residents.
