FOOD

Sloop Brewing Co. to return to Dutchess, plans increased canning

Geoffrey Wilson
Poughkeepsie Journal
Adam Watson, left, sales and business manager, and Justin Taylor, head brewer and product manager, stand behind the bar of Sloop Brewing Co. in Elizaville in this file photo.

Though fans of Sloop Brewing Co. may be most familiar with its tasting room in Elizaville, the craft brewery got its start as a nanobrewery in a Poughkeepsie garage.

And soon, the craft brewery will return home.

Three years after leaving Dutchess County, Sloop is planning to open a second location at the former IBM East Fishkill campus.

Sloop co-founder Adam Watson said he plans to open the brewery and tasting room in May. The site will include a kitchen with a brick pizza oven.

STATE OF DINING:Farm-to-table and local choices: The state of dining in Dutchess

WAPPINGERS FALLS BREWERY:Cousins Revolution Ale Works brings new brewery to Hudson Valley

With the new location, Watson said he wants to increase canning operations.

"We've been doing draft only for a long time, and we wanted to get more into canning for distribution," said Watson, head of sales with the brewery.

Construction for the site is scheduled to begin in March. The brewery announced its plans on Tuesday.

Sloop specializes in a variety of India Pale Ales and sour ales, such as Juice Bomb and Sauer Peach. Craft beer drinkers will be able to enjoy the brewery's seasonal rotation as well as new food options.

The food menu will highlight dishes ranging from shawarma to the Garbage Plate, a Rochester staple featuring ground beef, home fries, macaroni salad, baked beans and other toppings.

"We wanted to highlight the street foods you would find all across New York," Watson said.

The inside of the microbrewery at Sloop Brewing Company’s location in Elizaville.

In October, development group National Resources announced a $300 million project to covert the former IBM campus in East Fishkill into i.Park City, the  "workspace of the future."

Operations will continue at the Elizaville site, but much of the brewing equipment will be moved to the East Fishkill location.

To celebrate the return to the area, Sloop will host a tap takeover at Schatzi's Pub in Poughkeepsie on Feb. 3. The event will include the premiere of the brewery's Double Dry Hopped Green Islands IPA.

"It's great that we have this opportunity to expand, and it's nice to be making a return to Dutchess County," Watson said.

Geoffrey Wilson: gwilson@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4882, Twitter: Geoff_LW