Jeff O'Neil, Chief, leaving Peekskill Brewery

He should move to Brooklyn...

 

So the guy goes to a brewery, gives them a massive name by making kickass beers, then leaves, rinse, repeat.

 

Wow, the fact that they'll be putting them in cans really, really sucks. That means FedEx will likely be getting more money, and I'll be left with less.

 

I'm pretty tickled about this. I'm pretty sure Chief had plenty of creative license at Peekskill, but I also wonder what he'll be doing differently when it's his own baby.

 

I wish Peekskill would distribute some of the great beers you find at the brewery in city bars. You always find the same 3 (sour, eastern standard & hop common) in bars. Would love to see higher standard, vaporizer, shotgun willie....etc. downstate more often... seems like a missed opportunity but maybe they have production limitations?

I'll be very happy to get some of the Chiefs IPA's in cans. Higher Standard is one of my favorites

 

Read the article in the today's Journal News. Believe it or not, you're the first person who I thought of who would be extremely pleased with this development. I'm speculating that it will either be north or west of Peekskill for financial reasons since Westchester can be pretty pricey when it comes to real estate. Putnam, Dutchess or Orange would be ideal. What do you think?

 

Would help their business for sure, most people in city probably dont know Peekskill makes an awesome beer like Higher Standard, those 3 beers are good, but not certainly not their best. So many potential customers in NYC who could jump on the train and head to the brewery for a great experience.

 

We'll never know but I can tell you that non-compete agreements cannot be too onerous in order to be enforceable, both in distance and duration. I believe the article stated there would be no food, at least at the start, so it seems Gilded Otter is not on the radar. But as you know, there are many towns begging for a brewery these days so it may come down to whomever comes up with the best deal.

 

Ithaca just bumps along. not like the old days. not even close really. not even close.
cough... did i say that?

best of luck to Chief.

 

Do we think Peekskill's quality will remain the same? I don't know much about Matt Levy, but he seems to be well-regarded by Chief in the article @cavedave posted.

 

They have been. In the last few months Amazeballs has been all over the city (this past week in particular) whereas before, for the last year or two, it would only come down for special tap takeover nights. Lifting limit on growler fills would be the real sea change.

 

It would be "amazeballs," but no way does he come back to Ithaca.

 

I thought I remembered when they built the new brewery that
they had a coolship? I was also told that they would be doing some limited bottles? Anyone know what happened?

 

Yeah, there's a coolship. It's a thing of beauty. They bottle a little bit, but it's just for their "library." Capacity was never going to be enough for bottling or canning.

I agree. I don't know everything about the business, but haven't people other than Chief been brewing these beers as well? He formulates the recipes, but he hasn't been the sole person working the kettles.

 

Has anyone had any of the beers they brewed with the coolship?