Local Thirst: Hank Hudson’s Epic Journey
Names don’t always mean much. But the name that Darren Van Heusen and Chris Crounse chose for their brewery—Hank Hudson—speaks volumes about their business.
When most of us think of Henry (“Hank”) Hudson, we probably picture some mustachioed dude with a fancy white collar parading up the river that now bears his name in a creaky vessel. While that did happen (fancy white collar notwithstanding), there’s a lot more to the man.
Thought to have been born around 1565 in England, Hudson embarked on two ill-fated voyages before successfully making his way to the New World in 1609. He wasn’t looking for what has come to be known as America, though; he was seeking an ice-free route to Asia from Europe. In other words, en route to one place, he found something bigger and better than anything he could have envisioned when setting sail.
Van Heusen and Crounse, both teachers in the history department at Scotia-Glenville High School, would of course have been familiar with his backstory, and their wink and nod at his circuitous route from England to upstate New York echoes their own.
“We were invited to escort high schoolers to England together in 2001, and while we knew each other before then, this was the first time where we were thrown together for a week,” says Crounse, who is in his 22nd year of teaching at Scotia. Van Heusen has been a teacher at the high school for 26 years.
“It was an incredible trip, and a fantastic experience, and we had a blast exploring the English countryside towns together,” Van Heusen says. “We couldn’t drink, of course, because we were there with high schoolers, but because pub culture in England is a part of everyday life, we were able to experience it. It blew me away, and Chris had spent a lot more time in England over the years than I had, and when we returned to the U.S., our friendship continued to grow.”
Their mutual regard for British pub culture and English ales also continued to grow as they were asked to bring more kids over in subsequent years, further cementing their bond and interest in classic brown ales, bitters and milds.
Somehow between teaching, raising families and coaching (Crounse coached volleyball and softball and Van Heusen coached lacrosse), they found time to compare notes on great English imports and began experimenting with home beer-brewing projects.
They also, in 2007, pooled their cash with five other friends and casual investors in a stock-picking club.
“We thought we were going to make big bucks and have a blast, and that was really all we had in mind,” says Van Heusen. Checkmark on fun, but while the big, big bucks never happened, still, in 2013, they all had a small hoard.
“We decided to cash out,” says Crounse. At that point, they’d both given up coaching so they could “go see our kids play their high school sports. And we had this money.”
Meanwhile, American craft culture was blowing up, and in a completely different direction than the toasty-roasty, mild caramel and relaxed and subtle hops of English brews, with CRANKED UP TO HERE pine-soaked IPAs, pastry stouts thick enough to stick a fork into, lip-puckering oak-aged sours—sippable James Bond versus chuggable flavor-country à la Guy Fieri.
Both delightful, but worlds apart. They were convinced that, given the opportunity, more beer enthusiasts here would gravitate toward the subtle stylings of 007.
In 2013, Crounse and Van Heusen decided they wanted to use their small windfall to deliver authentic English beer to upstate New York, at, of all places, a golf club in Mechanicville. The club is tucked unobtrusively amid family farms and quiet rural streets in a peaceful corner of the Capital District.
“We had this idea that we could set up a brew area in the basement of Fairways of Half-moon Golf Club,” Van Heusen explains. “We figured out that all they would have to do is amend their liquor license and turn it into a restaurant brewery license. It wouldn’t cost money, it would just require paperwork. And if we did it in partnership with them, we wouldn’t have to get a brewery license ourselves.”
Because Crounse and Van Heusen were willing to do the leg work, set up the system in the basement and invest in a half-barrel system, Fairways signed off.
As anyone who has filed for a permit anywhere knows, the process of “just getting the state to sign off” can, well, take up more time than one might expect. In 2016, all of the approvals were finally in. Hank Hudson was in business.
And business was good.
“By 2017, we started discussing expanding,” Crounse says. “We realized that we could really turn this into something, and we were open to leaving, but Fairways decided to expand for us; owner Bruce Tanksi has been immensely financially and professionally supportive of us, and we wouldn’t be where we are without him.”
Fairways funded a massive 1,000-squarefoot addition, installed a 10-barrel system and created an entire restaurant around the 16-tap brewery. While they were thrilled to grow, they both agreed that it couldn’t be untrammeled, thoughtless growth for growth’s sake.
“We wanted the space to reflect who we were and our vision for the space,” says Van Heusen. “One of my friends from high school is Brett Balzer, founder of Balzer & Tuck Architecture in Saratoga. The first time I saw his own house, I was blown away. It was built from a deconstructed barn, and it was so warm and full of character. We decided we wanted to have him bring that same spirit to the pub.”
About a mile as the crow flies from Hank Hudson is the old Leggett Farm, no longer in use. They were able to deconstruct the barn and use all of it to build out their own space, which opened in 2018 and does feel— as they’d hoped—both English and upstate. The vibe is welcoming, sunny and warm, with views of the golf course and Saratoga County’s rolling hills; in the backdrop, the industrial-chic barrels, taps and the gleaming business of beer shine.
And for those who think American craft beer is better off without the mild, malty British invasion, there’s still plenty of flavor country on the menu.
“We have created a range of beers—there are always 16 different ones on tap—that reflect the seasons, and offer inventive spins on classic recipes along with traditional English beers,” Van Heusen explains.
Joe DiCarlo, Hank Hudson’s chef, has created a menu that plays well with the upstate spirit and global, inclusive flavors of the beer. (Try to resist the Beef on Weck, with New York strip sliced thin as paper, au jus dipped caraway salted roll, grated horseradish, and don’t leave without sampling the Action Bronson brick oven pizza, with Calabrian chili oil, mozz and ricotta, caramelized onion and sesame-sprinkled crust.)
“Our most underappreciated and personally my favorite beer is our ESB,” says Van Heusen. “It’s a classic English pale ale, with Maris Otter Malt, Crystal 77 and Flaked Maize. It’s mellow, nutty, malty.”
The Hank-O-Lantern, their take on the pumpkin, brings upstate farm flavor, by way of England. Waves of pumpkin, surfing on vanilla malt, with lashings of hops.
Surprisingly, despite the challenges COVID-19 brought, their success has continued unabated through this raging pandemic, which put a pause on so many of our routines and threatened so many beloved food and drink businesses here and across the world.
“Timing is everything,” Crounse says. “We just happened to have been planning a line of cans when the pandemic hit.”
While they can only sell them on-site, sales have been brisk. Their first run of Yo Mama’s So Pale (light-bodied session IPA), 2 If By Sea (a NEIPA), Clifton Common (classic amber steam) and Two Buttons Deep Blueberry Ale (golden ale with blueberry notes) sold as fast as they could can them, and now, they can about half of their run at a time, with seasonals thrown in and several others on rotation.
Whether you want a wee bit o’ London or a whole harvest of New England farm flavor, Hank’s got your number, and the welcome will be as warm as a cozy English tea.
Visit Hank Hudson at the Fairways of Halfmoon Golf Course at 17 Johnson Road and online at HankHudsonBrewing.com.
