Coney Island Brewing Co, and The Plunge, a Belgian-style Ale, were among the sponsors of this year’s Polar Bear Plunge. Photo via Coney Island Brewing Facebook.
The Coney Island Brewing Company, whose craft beers celebrate the iconography of Coney Island, may soon have a place to call its own on Surf Avenue. Boston Beer Corporation, which applied in September for a license to open a brewery under the trade name Coney Island Brewing Company at 1904 Surf Avenue, received a conditional letter of approval from the NY State Liquor Authority last week.
The line of Coney Island beers was relaunched in 2013 after being sold to Alchemy & Science, a division of Boston’s Samuel Adams. The brewery will be located in a retail space on the outside of MCU Park formerly occupied by Danny Boy’s Pizza and adjacent to Peggy O’Neill’s and the MCU Credit Union.
Coney Island Brewing Co has applied for a brewer’s license at the 1904 Surf Ave store formerly occupied by Danny Boy’s Pizza. November 16, 2014. Photo © Tricia Vita
A conditional approval letter is issued upon completion of the license application process but prior to approval of the premises. According to the NYSLA, after a brewer’s license is granted, the permittee has the option of applying for a retail license and tasting permit.
“We’re excited about the opportunity,” Kathleen Barnes of the Coney Island Brewing Company told ATZ last year. She said they’re planning to have a tasting room, retail space, a community center, and tours of the brewing process. Draft beers will be sold in growlers. Retail items include Coney beer-themed tap handles, coolers, beach towels, T-shirts and trucker hats currently sold on the company’s online store. Asked if the brewery would be applying for a permit to operate a brew pub or restaurant at the location, Barnes said they were not.
The new brewery will mark a return to Coney for the namesake brand, which under Shmaltz Brewing ownership operated the “World’s Smallest Brewery” in a tiny storefront next to the freak show. That brewery was part of Coney Island USA’s small business incubator program from 2011 until it got washed away by Sandy.
New graphics on display at Brass Monkey Launch Party, November 18, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita
Related posts on ATZ…
November 19, 2014: Coney Island Brewing Co. Applies for License for Surf Ave Brewery
November 25, 2013: Coney Island Freak Show-Inspired Beer Takes A New Ride
January 31, 2012: Remnant of Under Boardwalk Bar Found in Coney Island
October 11, 2011: Photo of the Day: Butterflies & Beer Island by Bruce Handy
Amusing the Zillion 