Brooklyn Chamber to Present First-Ever Statewide Craft Beverage Festival in Borough

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CHEERS NY, a first-of-its-kind craft beverage festival, will kick off on October 3rd and 4th in Brooklyn. The festival is produced by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the State of New York through its Empire State Development Corporation and Taste NY. This represents the first time the State has partnered with a downstate Chamber to host an event of this capacity. The Brooklyn Chamber's host partner will be Industry City, a bastion of small-scale, high-quality manufacturing in Sunset Park.

The statewide event will bring together makers with consumers to celebrate the best of the State's vineyards, breweries, orchards and farmsteads. The weekend-long festival will present the entire array of New York State-made craft beverages -- beer, wine, cider and spirits -- with an emphasis on promoting New York State and Brooklyn as prime destinations for tourists interested in wine trails and brewery and distillery tours. The Brooklyn Chamber will also be creating original content to assist tourists in experiencing all that Brooklyn's local beverage makers have to offer.

CHEERS NY will build on the incredible success New York State's craft beverage industry has recently experienced. According to Empire State Development, the craft beer sector grew by 59% from 2013 to 2014, has a statewide economic impact estimated at $3.5 billion, and currently accounts for 6,552 direct industry jobs while supporting another 4,814 jobs in related industries. Not to be outdone, the New York State grape, grape juice and wine industry generates more than $4.8 billion in annual economic benefits, based on statistics from the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. The distillery industry has also surged in the last year, with the number of farm distilleries increasing by more than 25 percent, from 62 to 78, State reports said. Because no wine or beer is complete without a cheese or meat, CHEERS NY will also include a Brooklyn Eats Marketplace, featuring incredible food options from many of the borough's premier manufacturers, and other high quality items, such as giftware, crafts and tabletop items.

The Brooklyn Chamber expects to showcase over 100 beverage and food vendors at CHEERS NY, as well as attract a crowd of over 5,000 people in its first production year.

A special ticket price of $50 is available until September 27th. Tickets include a souvenir tasting glass; samplings from over 50 regional wineries, distilleries and breweries; and access to a beer hall and courtyard, outdoor games, and the Brooklyn Eats Marketplace. Patrons interested in visiting only the Brooklyn Eats Marketplace can purchase tickets for $10 and have access to Brooklyn-Made food samplings and the outdoor courtyard.

"CHEERS NY will be an event un­like any Brooklyn has ever seen, full of amazing drinks and food and great music," said Brooklyn Chamber President & CEO Carlo A. Scissura. "New York State and Brooklyn have so much to offer, in terms of high-quality craft beverages and food, that there's no way any attendee will be disap­pointed. Thank you to ESD and Taste NY -- it's an honor to be selected by the state as the only chamber of commerce to produce a large-scale downstate event, right here in Brooklyn -- and we look forward to CHEERS NY's lon­gevity as an annual tradition in the borough."

"The Brooklyn Chamber consistently brings the very best to Brooklyn, and this event will certainly satisfy the borough's residents and beyond," said Brooklyn Chamber Board Chair Denise Arbesu. "We are so grateful to have been chosen by the State to showcase the incredible food and beverage manufactures that stem from the great state of New York. Brooklyn has it all and there's no better place in the world to have a festival of this magnitude."

"New York's craft beverage industry is big business," said Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Howard Zemsky. "The Craft Beverage Industry Grant Program will provide support to local businesses, helping to create jobs, and bring craft beverage enthusiasts together for a weekend-long celebration to support the local marketplace."

"I could think of no better way to kick off the best of what New York has to offer than raising a glass to New York's craft beverage industry at the inaugural CHEERS NY celebration," said Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams. "I commend the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and Empire State Development for supporting this growing industry by ensuring that tourists and locals alike can discover the best they have to offer right here in Brooklyn."

"We are pleased to partner with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce to support CHEERS NY," said Patrick MacKrell, President and CEO of NYBDC. "It is a great opportunity to showcase the local and regional food and beverage manufacturers that help to create energy and excitement around a growing industry in New York State. It is also important to highlight many of the resources available to these businesses to promote their success and provide many of the tools necessary to start, sustain and grow their business."

"The resurgence of beverage and food manufacturing here in the city and across the state in recent years is cause for celebration," said Andrew Kimball, CEO of Industry City, the site of CHEERS NY and part of the culinary innovation cluster emerging in Sunset Park. "CHEERS NY gives New Yorkers and tourists alike an opportunity to discover the wide range of beers, wines, ciders and spirits being made here and in doing so, supports the continued growth of this important sector."

"Greenwich Street Equities is excited to be the joint major sponsor for both the CHEERS NY and the Brooklyn Eats event," said Alec Shtromandel, President of Greenwich Street Equities. "Both Brooklyn artisanal culinary offerings and the New York State craft brewers and wineries play an integral role in our hospitality offering at the Union Hotel, and our Brooklyn projects that are slated to open in 2016, namely Boerum Hill's Baltic Huis and the Gowanus Inn & Yard."