Fort Orange Brewing’s Delicious Chutzpah

The creation of anything—from a painting to a porter—is inherently an act of cognitive dissonance, with a dash of chutzpah. But without that heady blend of hope, caution, fear and daring-do, the world would be a less tasty place.

Take Fort Orange Brewery, launched in 2017 by John Westcott, Jim Eaton and Craig Johnson. Now an integral part of the 518’s beer culture, the seed of it was planted through the founders’ wives’ love of running together, and could never have flourished without the certainty that hell, yes—downtown Albany did in fact need another taproom.

“We’re from Castleton and our wives enjoy running together,” Eaton says. “We all started hanging out as families—we live within a few miles of each other. One day we were all hanging around Craig’s garage and we immediately noticed how much hardcore beer-brewing equipment he had. John and I had tried our hand at home-brewing, and we all love craft beer, but we’d never seen anything like this.”

Quickly, the trio’s mutual interest in beer snowballed. First there were collaborative brews that they enjoyed together, noting how each one brought something different to the process. Then there was a big party for family and friends where they introduced three of their IPAs. They all agreed that the beers they made on their own were pretty good, but that together, the brews they made were excellent.

Then there was idle talk about actually, you know, turning this into something. Then it got real.

“People were truly enthusiastic about our beers, and they encouraged us to scale it up,” Eaton says. “Luckily, our wives and families were behind us.”

They started scouting out locations, and eventually found a 5,000-square-foot space in downtown Albany’s industrial chic Warehouse District, already home to Druthers Brewing, Nine Pin Cider and Albany Distilling Co.

While some might see that as a crowded field—and an overly large space for a nascent operation—the Fort Orange team saw it as an opportunity when they opened in 2017.

“The beer people were already there,” Eaton says. Indeed. Like Burlington, Vermont, or Portland, Maine, the Warehouse District has become one of the first places hopheads gravitate toward in the Northeast for a day of delicious, walkable abundance. “We also serve Nine Pin and Albany Distilling at the tasting room.”

Roots in the Past, Seeds for the Future

The concept for the brewery was deceptively simple. They were giving a shout-out through the name to Albany’s rich history of brewing. From the 1600s on through Prohibition, Albany was one of the country’s most prolific brewing regions. Fort Orange Brewery was one of the many breweries thriving there until its closure in 1888.

But they were also looking to the future, while staying grounded in the present.

“We want to offer classic beer styles alongside modern ones,” Eaton says. “We never want a customer to come in and not find something they’ll enjoy, which is also why we offer some of our neighbors’ drinks, and wine from Thousand Islands Winery. Most of all, we want our taproom to be welcoming to everyone, including kids and dogs. We want to be an outlet for everyone to just come and relax.”

The IPAs, Eaton says, will always be flagship beers for Fort Orange. The Electric Trail, named for the 36-mile trail from Albany to Hudson, is New York’s answer to the classic West Coast bomb: There’s a hint of pine but plenty of haze and gentle tangerine citrus. The mainstay Fort Orange IPA is a more classic IPA, a powerful, clear and linear walk between citrus and pine.

But they’ve gotten into other styles as well, sometimes pushed by their wives, who remain stalwart supporters.

“Craig’s wife Kathleen likes dark beer stouts,” Eaton says. “My wife, Jen, and I love NEIPAs [New England IPAs]. John’s wife, Sara, gravitates to the IPAs.”

There seem to be some peanut butter fiends in the mix, too. The Peanut Butter Stout tastes like sippable Reese’s Pieces, and is actually— in case you’re wondering—made with about 12 jars of smooth peanut butter.