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In Orange County, 24 craft beverage makers are participating in a tourism initiative launched in 2022.
In Orange County, 24 craft beverage makers are participating in a tourism initiative launched in 2022.
In Orange County, 24 craft beverage makers are participating in a tourism initiative launched in 2022.
In Orange County, 24 craft beverage makers are participating in a tourism initiative launched in 2022.
In Orange County, 24 craft beverage makers are participating in a tourism initiative launched in 2022.
In Orange County, 24 craft beverage makers are participating in a tourism initiative launched in 2022.
In Orange County, 24 craft beverage makers are participating in a tourism initiative launched in 2022.
Craft beverages are a $20 billion industry in New York. The state currently has 1,559 producers — a 9 percent increase over 2021 — and ranks first in hard cider production, second in craft brewing and distilling, and fourth in winemaking.
A variety of beverage trails now highlight many of these producers, including in Orange County, which debuted its own craft beverage trail this spring to showcase most of its 29 different makers. Between now and April 2023, if you tipple along the Orange County Craft Beverage Trail, you can take home some fun swag.
“Craft beverage is a real entity in our county,” said Amanda Dana, Orange County Tourism’s director of tourism and film. “It’s one of our top industries. It’s not just about the beverages, it’s about the entertainment. You can go for a tasting, have a snack, listen to live music. It’s about having a really great time.”
To generate buzz for the new sipping trail, the tourism department created the mobile, no-app-required Orange County Craft Beverage Trail Pass. Fill in your information on the website and you’ll be sent, via text or email, a pass you can save to the home screen of your phone. A link in the message opens a mobile site that breaks down the producers by breweries, cideries, distilleries and wineries. Opening hours, contact information and a link to Google Maps are included for each.
Many of Orange County’s 24 participating producers offer discounts to customers who present the trail pass. Visit five or more venues — your phone’s location services must be turned on and you must check in via GPS for your visit to be logged — and you’ll get a “Taste the Craft Tour” T-shirt, to go along with bragging rights.
For John Glebocki, owner of Orange County Distillery and Brewery, participating in the trail and passport program was an obvious choice to help support the marketing efforts of a county that has worked hard to promote small businesses. His is the first farm-to-bottle combination brewery and distillery. Glebocki grows the corn, barley, wheat and rye use to create the beer and spirits, as well as smaller crops like grapes and peaches for ultra-small-batch grappa and brandy. All are on display at the on-premises Brown Barn Farms cocktail tasting room.
The passport program, says Glebocki, helps create exposure to new audiences. “There could be a person who lives a mile down the road and doesn’t know about us, but with social media, they find out about the program,” he said. “These things really shake people out of the woodwork.”
Dana notes that visitors can do any part of the trail without using the passport. Orange County Tourism’s website provides detailed information about the different producers and their upcoming events, from concerts to trivia nights and a “Clam & Jam” at Pennings Farm and Orchard, the brewery and cidery’s signature weekend of seafood, craft beverages, and live music.
The website also lists suggested beverage-crawl itineraries, such as the Black Dirt Craft Tour, which highlights producers in the Black Dirt Region, home to some of the world’s most fertile soils; the Catch the Spirit route, which focuses on distilleries and craft cocktails; and Supercool Historical Restorations, featuring beverage producers who have spearheaded unique, and often stunning adaptive-reuse projects. The most unusual of the latter: The Drowned Lands, a farm brewery based in a portion of the former Mid-Orange Correctional Facility.
“People tell us, ‘I never realized I could be on a farm, then within 15 minutes I’m in an urban brewery in a renovated factory building,’” Dana said.
The trail pass and itineraries also show off the wide range of beverage styles in Orange County, from elegant Brotherhood Winery, the country’s oldest continuously operating winery, to rustic-meets-industrial Shepherd’s Eye Brewing Company, which will celebrate its one-year anniversary in October. Several producers are also engaged in sustainable practices, including City Winery Hudson Valley, a net-zero facility that uses hydroelectric energy.
While it might seem like the Hudson Valley craft beverage scene is becoming crowded, Glebocki believes it’s indicative of a trend toward recognizing the region for its products, much like the Finger Lakes have become synonymous with wine. He envisions a future where visitors travel to the region specifically to sample craft beverages.
If what’s happening along the Orange County Beverage Trail is any indication, that vision might not be so far off.