Unlike its cousin DUMBO to the south, the area “Down Under the Pulaski Bridge” currently has no acronym. Which is just fine, because lately the area has something better: its very own nanobrewery—Transmitter Brewing, a 3-barrel brewery located just under the LIC access stairs.
The brainchild of Anthony Accardi and Rob Kolb, Transmitter was born the way you’d hope all breweries were born: from talented homebrewers who like to drink good beer, then decided to make a go of it.
The good folks at Transmitter brew focus on traditional and farmhouse ale and hold a vast brewhouse library of Belgian, French, English and American yeasts. For all you beer nerds out there, they’ve secured over 20 isolated strains of Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus—so think classic saisons, belgian goldens and funky farmhouse ambers. As passionate students of the craft, their knowledge is encyclopedic, though, so the beers change pretty quickly. (Half a dozen visits later and I haven’t even seen the same beer twice.)
Some might call this innate passion serendipitous, as the beer public’s demand for funkier, more interesting “brett” and sour beers is back in a big way.
“We’re lucky to be in the right place at the right time,” says Accardi. “Though, to be honest, we’re also glad to still be alive.”
The duo freely admits it hasn’t all been glamorous. Owning and operating a brewery is a ton of work—hot, heavy and physical—involving a near-constant amount of planning and attention to detail. And though they currently brew 2-3 times a week, one or both members of the band are there to check on operations at least once a day.
“There are a million small steps,” according to Kolb, whose wife Tanya currently (wo)mans Transmitter’s delicious tasting room.
Thankfully, the labor in this love has paid off. In just 18 months from inception, Transmitter has shown huge signs of growth: they continually sell out of their brews, and have begun to supply to specialty shops in Manhattan.
Perhaps most exciting is the fact that they’re pioneers in the art of the Community Supported Brewery, or CSB. $175 gets you two 750-ml bottles of limited edition Transmitter beer, every month, for 6 months, along with 2 Transmitter Brewing glasses and a Transmitter T-shirt. (You’ll also get 10% off any additional bottles and growler fills, at any time.)
Transmitter Brewing can be conveniently found under the Pulaski Bridge, directly across from the LIC access stairs, at 53-02 11th St, in Long Island City.
They are open for tours, tastings and bottle sales on Fridays from 5 to 7:30pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 12 to 4:00pm.
Stop by and introduce yourself.
I recommend “DUPA” – Down under the Pulaski Area.
It would be a nod to its Polish namesake as well as the polish population of Greenpoint.