Monthly Archives: April 2013

Craft brewing industry defender award goes to Empire’s David Katleski

David Katletski at the award presentation.

David Katletski at the award presentation.

David Katleski, owner of Syracuse’s Empire Brewing Co. and the president of the New York State Brewers Association, received the Brewers Association’s F.X. Matt Defender of the Industry award the annual Craft Brewers Conference in Washington, D.C.

The award, presented March 27 by Dick Cantwell, president of Elysian Brewing in Seattle, Wash., is named for the late F.X. Matt of Utica’s F.X. Matt Brewing Co., producer of Saranac beer.

Named in honor of F.X. Matt, the late president and chairman of the Utica-based maker of Saranc beers,  F.X. Matt Brewing Co. – a champion of small brewers until his death in 2001 – the award is given annually by the Brewers Association, a Boulder, Colo.-based industry group, to someone in the beer industry who has championed small brewers.

Katleski founded Empire as a brewpub in Syracuse in 1994 and in 2010 also began producing beer in Brooklyn.

He also founded and is president of the New York State Brewers Association, a trade group representing about 100 craft brewers in the state. Last year, Katleski figure prominently in winning several brewer-friendly New York state laws, including a measure that gives tax breaks to brewers using ingredients grown in the state, another that protects small brewers in their contracts with distributors and a roll-back of some tax increases brought about by a court decision.

Katleski also represented the New York brewing industry at Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Wine, Beer and Spirits Summit in October, where he voiced brewers’ concerns directly to the governor

“This star of brewing shows what it takes to survive and flourish in a crowded field,” Cantwell told the audience of about 6,000 brewers and allied industry people at the presentation. He cited the excellent quality of Empire’s beers, its use of locally produced ingredients in the brewpub’s food and its use of renewable energy.

 

 

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Tickets to SAVOR beer and food event in NYC go on sale next month

Tickets to SAVOR 2013, the Brewers Association’s annual craft beer and food showcase to be held in New York City June 14-15, go on sale to the public April 17, the craft beer industry group announced.

Members of the American Homebrewers Association and the Brewers Association, however, can get a one-day head start for a limited number of tickets for the two sessions, both of which run from 7:30-11 p.m.

savor_1_postThe event, which features beer and food pairings, will take place at the Altman Building, an event space, and the adjoining Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th St., Manhattan. For the past five years the event was held in Washington, D.C.

Attendees will be able to sample beers from 76 small and independent U.S. breweries, hailing from 31 states and a diverse array of food pairings designed by Chef Adam Dulye, co-owner/chef of San Francisco’s The Monk’s Kettle and James Beard Award-semifinalist Abbot’s Cellar. Brewers will participate in private salons during the two evenings.

Tickets for the grand tasting are $170, while tickets for the grand tasting and private salons are $195. The brewers group said tickets in the past have sold out in a matter of minutes.

“With the craft beer industry continuing to expand at an extraordinary rate, SAVOR takes the opportunity to showcase the contribution America’s small and independent craft brewers have made to the advancing food arts world,” the Brewers Association, based in Boulder, Colo., said in a press release. “This unique experience allows beer lovers to gain a better understanding of the diverse offerings from today’s brewers and why craft beer is gaining a place at restaurants and homes across the country”

The list of beers to be served is available on the event web site.

The pre-sale tickets can be purchased beginning at Noon (EDT) on April 16 via the web sites for the American Homebrewers Association  and the Brewers Association.

Tickets will be available to the general public beginning at Noon (EDT) on April 17 through Ticketmaster.

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