If you’ve been eager for something to open up in the empty space (and huge yard, by NYC standards) at 302 Metropolitan Avenue, you won’t have to wait too long—the team behind The Test Brewery, a Brooklyn-based test-kitchen-style brewing company, has been behind the scenes working towards a tasting room and beer garden in the location.
Currently operating through online sales and in-person pop-ups, The Test Brewery plans to roll out a phased opening that will focus on the location’s vast backyard space this summer while refining the indoor area, which will open later.
Brewer and founder Ben Clayton has a history with the space, as The Test Brewery had previously partnered with Strangeways. He is also friends with the folks behind Extra Fancy, and the work has definitely been a community affair, as Clayton recalled curious neighbors coming by and offering to help with their work on the space. Strangeways, the New American-Mediterranean hybrid restaurant closed in November, and The Test Brewery officially signed the lease in March. And the project’s designer, Courtney Tysell, is also a Greenpoint local.
The ultimate goal for the brewery is to a be a community-focused space where people can not just enjoy great beers (including pop-up can releases, fruit-forward flavors, wine-inspired beers, simple go-tos, and hoppy stouts made with fuller-fat oats), but also spend their time in the lush backyard among great company.
“I want this place to feel like a really welcoming house party,” Clayton explained. “I’m trying to be a community space—with prices that are fair, but not offensive.”
And said house party will eventually include chef pop-ups, a collab with artist and designer KidSuper (Colm Dillane, whose Dream Factory store opened early this year around the corner at 158 Roebling St.), natural wine pop-up with new brand Baby Sips, events featuring guest hosts, and weekend DJs. Last month, they hosted a pop-up for pickups of their new limited-batch brew, The Dawn of Man, an IPA with hand-picked hops from the Pacific Northwest.
In the future, Clayton and his partner, Jane Moriarty, would also like to be able to accommodate food trucks and on-site research and development plus a tasting room to maintain their future-forward approach to beer and biodiversity even more robustly.
“All styles excite me,” Clayton said. “Each beer has its own story to tell — even simpler beers can be experimental.”
No opening date is set in stone yet, as a liquor license is still pending with the SLA, but follow @thetestbrewery on Instagram for the latest updates.