Because Beer Helps. . .

Welcome to Kelso of Brooklyn!

Thank you for taking an interest in fresh, locally made beers.

We feel that brewing is an art, and take great pride in our beers. We do not spend a lot of time trying to come up with innovative advertising strategies (clearly), new, fancy logos, or crazy soundbites. We brew beer. Good beer. We hope you have a chance to try one (or two) at your favorite neighborhood bar. Maybe we'll even see you there.

Remember, Beer Helps. . .

Message from the Brewer 

We are taking part in a number of fundraisers and sponsorhips in the next few months. Our goal is to help, as much as we can, organizations that share our hope for improving the world in which we live one small step at a time. Fortunately, beer helps raise money. Please take a look at Dec 9th particularly, and consider attending this worthwhile event. Every little bit helps.

Why "Kelso"?

The name "Kelso" is an amalgamation of the Brewmaster's name, Kelly Taylor,  and that of his wife, Sonya Giacobbe. It was their goal to create flavorful, fresh, and easy drinking beers for the people of Brooklyn and greater New York City. Since inception, we have met scores of people who have an association with the name Kelso. Whether a hometown (both Washington State and Scotland have towns named Kelso), or a friend's last name, or a character on a TV show, we've been happy to note that those associations have been markedly positive.

Environmental Stewardship  

We believe strongly in doing our part to limit our impact on the environment. Since day one at Kelso, we have viewed the world in which we live as part of our business. (Not much of a stretch, really).

Some key points:

Kegged beer is inherently better, as packaging is kept to a minimum and reused regularly. Less waste.

We use ingredients that are cultivated in an environmentally sustainable manner.

-All of our suppliers are required to submit a Environmental Statement (either official or unofficial) that they recycle waste and minimize energy usage or use alternative forms of energy. 

-We are actively lobbying the State Legislature to give incentives for local farms to grow and harvest barley and hops. They'll probably need incentives, as the infrastrucure is not adequate at this point to grow raw materials and get to market.  We're working with the New York State Brewers Association on this project.

-We consolidate our raw material orders to maximize deliveries, reducing their frequency (and saving money/fuel in the process)

-We use biodegradable sanitizer.

-We monitor our cleaning chemical to insure it meets with NYC standards before disposal, and do not put into sewer without proper treatment.

-We recycle all office paper and mixed cardboard

-We recycle all plastic drums/bags/stretch /cups/other plastic

-We recycle all scrap metal

-We take part in energy conservation programs during peak demand periods (see www.ecsgrid.com for more info).

-The brewery stays rather cold in the winter (60F inside), and rather warm in the summer (93F).

-Kelso offices are powered by ConEd Solutions, a combo of wind energy and hydroelectric power. The brewery will follow shortly.

We by no means think this is enough. Every day we try to improve. We challenge others to do the same, at home and at work.

Last Updated 2/07/09

Upcoming Events:

• Feb 6-8 Brazen Head Cask Festival, Brooklyn 
• March 1-31, "Pint for Pint" program. Donate a pint of blood at any NY Blood Center location, get a pint of beer from participating pubs/restaurants. Offical coupons for donation will be posted on this site soon. 
• May 3rd, Brewery open house/BBQ/Art show. Come for the Kelso 3rd anniversary and celebration of great local beer. In conjunction with Clinton Hill Tour. 
  
   

   

  Please check back for updates, or sign our guestbook to get on our email list.

In the news:

• Daily News, 8/29/2006
• Brooklyn Record, 11/21/06
• Daily News, 3/13/2007
• Clinton Hill Blog, 3/29/07
• NY Times "Food Stuff", 8/29/07
• NY Post, 4/22/08
• NY Times "Dining & Wine", 8/26/08
• NY Times "Dining & Wine", 10/29/08
• Hey, we're now on Facebook. Join the "Kelso of Brooklyn" Group.

• blog at http://beerhelps.blogspot.com

Brewery News:

We have some small batch, bourbon barrel aged Chocolate Lager coming available. Look for it at the Brazen Head Cask Festival Feb 6-8, Whole Foods on Bowery and Sputyen Duyvil in Williamsburg by the end of February.

We are also going to be switching a couple beers around. The Hoplager is going to become a summer seasonal selection, while the St. Gowanus, by popular demand, will become a full time, regular selection.  

"Beer Helps" shirts are still available, and selling well. Made in Honduras from 100% organic cotton, we stock both men's and women's sizes. Plus, and this is a great deal, buy a shirt this month, get a FREE BUMPERSTICKER! Yeah! See the "Store" tab if interested.

We are continuing our brewing in small batch specialty fermentation tanks. By using these tanks, we can produce beer on a small scale and with ingredients we would not normally use in our larger 30BBL tanks (shown below), like wild yeast, fresh fruit,  and certain strains of bacteria.

In the small tanks now:

3 are Flemish Red (sneak preview at Bierkraft last week)

1 is wild yeast fermented golden ale

1 is Gueze or Lambic (patience is key, here)

Lastly, please visit our "Beers of Kelso" page for a collaborative project in the works with Blue Hill at Stone Barns.