by Ken Carmen
Old Forge: a great Adirondack town that since I was a kid has gone from sleepy most of the time, to busy more than not. In recalling days past, I said to Chip Kiefer—a fellow Town of Webb grad—“Some days you could toss an asteroid down Main Street and hit nothing.”
“It’s still like that sometimes,” he said.
Maybe that’s why craft brewers have hardly touched the Adirondacks, other than at Saranac Lake and Lake Placid.
That didn’t stop Justin Staskiewicz and Richard Mathy from taking the plunge with gusto.
Staskiewicz and Mathy co-own the new Fulton Chain Craft Brewery in Old Forge, a refreshing local addition to my taste.
In 1977, at my Adirondack wedding down the road in Big Moose, my father-in-law brought a seemingly endless supply of Heineken Dark for everyone at the reception.
In the Adirondacks, at the time, getting any beer beyond American Lager—essentially Bud or Miller-like products—was like finding a skyscraper in downtown Old Forge filled with wookies.
After that moment I am proud to say dark beer, and other unusual brews (for the time), slowly started to appear in the Central Adirondacks.
Yes, you can blame me, Old Forge.
Full disclosure, I have actually tried to get my own small brewery or brewpub started in the Old Forge area over the past few years.
For various reasons I failed in that beery quest, so kudos to Richard Mathy and Justin Staskiewicz.
The FCC Brewery is in what Old Forge kids of the ’60s and early ’70s knew as the old North Street bowling alley. Personally, I have never been inside—a ’60s surgical procedure meant I couldn’t bowl worth an emptied bottle of Michelob Ultra. Long story.
The building has been home to several businesses since, and Justin Staskiewicz did much to transform their present-day establishment.
“It’s been 14-hour days, but I love it. My lady is VERY understanding,” Justin said.
Justin and Richard had checked many locations, including Utica and Syracuse and found market saturation a problem. But one area stood out as having nothing, craft-brew wise (yet long overdue, if I might hop in and add my own two grains of barley’s worth).
As a plus it was somewhere they loved, having canoed through many times. Hence their slogan, “Take a chance on life and find your adventure canoe.”
What a great, woodsy, etched wooden plaque that would make, hung over the bar!
Justin said the slogan refers to a trail-trek to a distant Adirondack pond, where he and Richard Mathy found and enjoyed an unexpected canoe.
These brewers try to use as close to 100 percent local crop as possible, they said; right now they’re at 85 percent.
They use local service providers too, including Jim Kiefer, younger brother to my old Town of Webb school friend, Chip Kiefer.
It’s a small, close-knit town, and keeping it local is important.
Mr. Staskiewicz is a self-trained brewer, a graduate of University of Buffalo who majored in mechanical engineering. He, like so many brewers I have interviewed, is bringing his own, unique, perspective to the craft.
Richard, Justin and the rest at FCC Brewery eagerly greet and meet everyone who comes in the door, as they become part of the community.
I was especially impressed with Master Brewer Staskiewicz, who made himself available from the very first moment, answering my questions completely.
Breweries like FCC have helped to ferment more than just new brewing jobs in New York, and the country… Small businesses have popped up to grow hops, malt barley, and provide new equipment—only a few of the mom and pops that serve craft beer breweries like FCCB.
While I sampled their brews, Justin finished off his brew duties. My favorite was their Adventure Canoe: tad aggressive for a “lighter” IPA. Not quite a gateway/lighter brew for the hop shy, but that’s what I like: more, always more.
As I have said many times, “I have taste buds that need beating.”
Still, FCC Brewery offers flavors to nearly every preference.
And recipes tend to get better and better with time, I find, so Old Forge has a lot of brew goodness to look forward to.
As a homebrewer, and a columnist who has interviewed many pro-brewers, I was impressed with all the forethought that went into building Justin and Richard’s brewery.
They use 1056 yeast: American Yeast, a yeast very familiar to homebrewers. Future recipes include a sour cherry Stout—someone’s “adventure canoe” possibly.
The brewery room itself houses a two-barrel system that’s beautiful in its simplicity… Boil at 210 then off the wort heads to their plate chiller. Two weeks in the fermenter, three for an Imperial.
That’s fast.
Once served, they try to keep five on tap, the others they rotate.
I enjoyed it all.
Before I left I looked all around me at the massive serving bar, the wood siding, glasses hanging…
Then there’s the “adventure” canoe hanging from the ceiling: homage to their slogan at Fulton Chain.
All seemed very comfortable; I felt at home.
Another nice touch: coasters fashioned from bar creation remnants, locally cut. This room, this place, speaks Central Adirondack-ese very well.
Outside, again, I thought about how much had changed in Old Forge, yet how familiar it all looked.
That’s the magic I love that seems to be the very essence, the very spirit, of Old Forge.
Unlike many tourist towns I’ve traveled, Old Forge doesn’t keep reinventing itself, washing away what was. All that was the Enchanted Forest when we were kids is still there. The restaurants have simply multiplied or have new owners.
The quaint downtown is still there, though a bit busier, and the beach we used to swim at is very much like I left it.
It all looks so familiar, with a few changes like giant water slides. Old Forge simply takes the familiar and adds on, improving what was, making the magic that is Old Forge more magical. Brewing up even more fun for all.
Exactly what I was thinking when I experienced the Fulton Chain Craft Brewery.
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Editor’s Note: This full version of this article appears online in Ken Carman’s “Brew Biz: Werts and All,” a column dedicated to reviewing, discussing and commenting on all things beer.