One of the newest breweries to open in Brooklyn is the brainchild of Jesse Ferguson and Laura Dierks. They come from very different backgrounds but together have made one of the most unique beverage production businesses in the borough.
Laura has a background in business and used to be the business manager at Van Brunt Stillhouse. Jesse is a former hip hop producer who through a series of events became the head brewer at Carton Brewing in New Jersey, winning accolades for their Boat Beer among other concoctions.
Jesse met Laura because she was neighbors with his in-laws. Jesse had a dream of starting his own brewery and Laura dreamed of starting her own distillery. Jesse studied the craft of distilling in Kentucky and Laura took on the business side of things. Together, they came up with the idea of Interboro, the only joint craft brewery and distillery in the city.
The What:
The point is there is a lot of great booze being made here. They secured an old flooring warehouse in East Williamsburg and after raising funds on Kickstarter, they were able to open up the production facility and the adjacent tasting room in late 2016. Part of their mission for having the distillery and brewery together is to showcase the similarity between beer and spirits like whiskey. In many cases, spirits are made from the exact same grain, yeast, and water that you would use to make beer.
They have already won lots of accolades for their hoppy ales, which include the bold bitter Overtime IPA and the full-bodied balanced Double IPA Bass in Your Face. They also have successfully tried their hands at lagers and saisons. On the spirits side of things, they have everything from gin to whiskey to unaged brandy. At the tasting room, you can get drink beer, cocktails, or spirits neat. Or if you're feeling really adventurous, try all three.
Interboro is a quick walk from where we end both our Brewed in Brooklyn and Williamsburg Craft Beer Crawl so it's easy to keep the local drinking alive on a Saturday afternoon. They will also be a potential stop on our customized Brewery, Winery, Distillery tour.
The Why:
You can get local spirits and beer all made in one place - what else could yoou possibly want? Interboro has a lively tap room with great views of the production site. And since they are int eh growing East Williamsburg neighborhood, after hanging here for a bit, you can then walk to other producers like King's County Brewer's Collective, Noble Experiment, and even Keg & Lantern.
The Where:
Interboro Spirits and Ales,
942 Grand Street,
Brooklyn, New York 11211
(877) 843-6545