THE EMPIRE (BREWING CO.) STRIKES BACK

The Post-Standard
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
EDITION: Final SECTION: CNY PAGE: E1 LENGTH:
TYPE: COLUMN COLUMN: BEER

BYLINE: DON CAZENTRE STAFF WRITER
It sounds like a movie title: The Empire Returns!
Yes, beer fans, the award-winning Empire Brewing Co. brewpub in Armory Square is coming back (as soon as the state signs off the on the liquor license). The anticipated opening is June 5.
If you liked the old Empire, which opened in 1994 and closed in 2003, you're going to like this one. The interior looks nearly identical and the menu will feature all the popular favorites from the past, topped off by the Big Easy Gumbo.
As for the beer, there's a new brewer, but one who is familiar to Central New Yorkers who are afficionados of good craft beer: Tim Butler, former head brewer at Syracuse Middle Ages Brewing Co., takes over the tanks at the Empire.
He'll return four of the old Empire's traditional favorites without much tweaking: Amber Ale, Irish Stout, Hefe-weizen and Skinny Atlas Light (a form of German kolsch). Over the years, those beers won prizes at such contests as the World Beer Cup and the Great American Beer Fest. Other beers that will be on tap soon include Pale Ale, Golden Ale, Downtown Brown Ale, and Blueberry Wheat.
But look for Butler to spread his wings as time goes on into any and all styles you can imagine, from Belgians and fruit beers to wits and wheats and weizens, browns and bocks and American-style hopped and doubled-hopped ales.
It's one benefit of moving from a microbrewery such as Middle Ages, which makes relatively large batches of a few dozen different beers, to a brewpub, which produces much smaller batches but can make many more styles.At a brewpub, the possibilities are nearly endless. "Tim has worked very closely with all three of our former brewers ... the goal being to be consistent with a lot of our award-winning beers and our award-winning standards," said Empire owner David Katleski. "He's also been given the latitude to create some of his own signature beers." One difference beer lovers will notice at the new Empire are the taps designated for "guest" beers. In the past, the brewpub sold only its own beers. But Katleski, one of the driving forces behind the New York State Brewers Association, wants to give space to other beers from across the state. The initial line-up of guest beers will include Middle Ages Swallow Wit, Brewery Ommegang's Hennepin, Ithaca Beer Co.'s Double Hop IPA and Brooklyn Lager. Meanwhile, Empire general manager Adam Eagan will keep his eyes on a rotation of about 30 different wines, again with some emphasis on New York products. With the Empire's reopening, combined with the recent reopening of the Bull & Bear Pub in Hanover Square and the re-emergence earlier this year of Al's Wine & Whiskey Bar (formerly Awful Al's), the downtown beer scene is looking, like, so three years ago.

And that's a good thing.

Don Cazentre is regional editor for The Post-Standard. He is a homebrewer and a member of the Salt City Brew Club. He can be reached at 470-2297 or send e-mail to dcazentre@syracuse.com

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