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Micro brew masters Anthony Accardi, left, and Rob Kolb, right, show off their brewing systems in this basement in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
A pair of beer-loving buddies is joining a bevy of Queens-based businessmen who offer one-of-a-kind brews.
Transmitter Brewing signed a lease in Long Island City this month — becoming the seventh brewery to call the borough home. They hope to open by March, at 52-03 11th St., and sell bottles and growlers there.
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“We feel strongly and passionately about making a beer people will love,” said Rob Kolb, 44, of Greenpoint, a creative director of an ad agency who is one half of the Transmitter Brewing team. “I love to experiment with different yeasts, different tastes.”
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The Transmitter Brewery operates out of the basement of 1154 Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, Brooklyn until the duo moves into their newly-leased Long Island City digs.
Kolb and his brew partner Anthony Accardi, 49, are using about 30 strains of yeast to create a line of farmhouse ales.
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The brews, mainly pale ales called saisons, were served — often in place of water — to farmhands in 18th-Century Europe.
“It’s a favorite of craft brewers,” said Accardi, the father of two teenagers who also lives in Greenpoint and owns a photo lab. “It’s delicious.”
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Each new brew is tested for content, carbonation and quality.
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The pals — who met as members of a road bike racing team — have been making beer together on weekends for two years.
They set up a mad-scientist-style brewing lab in Accardi’s basement — replete with giant, glass bleakers, 50-pound grain bins with names like “best heidelberg,” and a remote-controlled electric panel to heat the water used in the ale-making process.
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Todd Maisel, New York Daily News/New York Daily News
Kolb and his brew partner Anthony Accardi, 49, are using about 30 strains of yeast to create a line of farmhouse ales. The brews, mainly pale ales called saisons, were served — often in place of water — to farmhands in 18th-Century Europe.
“Brewing scratches the itch to make something,” said Accardi. “Then a month later, you get to crack open a corked bottle of beer.”
A craft brewing explosion in recent years has led small brewers to experiment with unorthodox techniques and flavors.
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“People started seeing that beer doesn’t have to be a very light, blue-collar beverage,” said Jessica Daynor, managing editor of the beer-centric DRAFT Magazine. “[Brewers] are adding fruit to beer, and interesting hops.”
Todd Maisel, New York Daily News/New York Daily News
The Transmitter Brewery created a bottle that they will move to legalize for sale at some point.
She’s also seen a renewed interest in yeast strains — which can dramatically alter the flavor in the alcoholic beverage — and in farmhouse ales. “Saisons are blowing up right now,” Daynor said.
Astoria brewer Matt Schaefer, author of “The Illustrated Guide to Brewing Beer,” said it’s easy to experiment on a small scale, making it easier for so-called nano-breweries to take risks.
“You can take more chances,” he said. “There’s a desire to try and brew things that are not readily available to you.”
Queens has become a popular destination for libation lovers, he said, because the commercial space is still comparitively affordable and the market for locally made products, still growing.
“Most of these [new] breweries are very small, with limited distribution,” Schaefer said. “So by themselves, they can’t saturate the market.”
