Other Half FLX alums launch Collage Cellars: Ontario County destination for wine, beer, and cider

Collage will begin releasing beer next month through an alternating proprietor agreement with Swiftwater.

I racked my brain a bit for this as I tried to craft a lede that comprehensively covered everything that’s gonna make Collage Cellars special.

(I almost went with a dad joke here: East Bloomfield is about to raise a glass to Collage Cellars, the only place where beer, wine, and cider walk into a bar—and somehow all get along.)

This forthcoming craft beverage producer (yes, we have to call it a “beverage,” because this one is about so much more than beer) will be among the first in this region to make beer, cider, and wine under the same roof. (Nearby Three Brothers Wineries has long made all three beverages and a whole lot more on its sprawling Seneca Lake campus.) Because in the case of Collage Cellars, coming in 2026 to East Bloomfield, Ontario County, it’s about fermentation in all its forms, including pizza.

Co-founders Felipe Higgins and Colin Ferguson have been feverishly working on this project for more than three years now. And long before the physical space is ready, they’ve already planted the seeds for this new venture through a partnership with Swiftwater Brewing. (More on that in a bit, promise.)

Photo: I dare you to find a portrait that goes harder than this! Pictured, Collage Cellars co-founders Felipe Higgins, left, and Colin Ferguson.

Higgins and Ferguson have a construction partner and will break ground on the 8,400-square-foot facility in the spring. They anticipate construction will take at least nine months. It’ll sit on three acres near the intersection of Route 64 and Routes 5 & 20 in East Bloomfield (2668 W. Park Dr., to be specific), which is super close to Murmuration Malts (and this is a reminder to myself that I really need to highlight what Emily and Judd are doing at this craft maltster).

Collage is the brainchild of two seasoned brewers, Higgins and Ferguson. Both brewers have deep roots in the craft beer industry, having honed their skills at Other Half Brewing's FLX location, where Higgins was the original head brewer and mastermind behind the brewery’s In Bloom wild ale series. Higgins, a Maine native, moved up to this area a little over five years ago after working at OH’s flagship Brooklyn location, while Ferguson, originally from Pennsylvania, completed his brewing studies at the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago. Higgins will handle head-brewing duties at Collage. Ferguson will assist and tackle the business side of the operation, ostensibly serve as CEO.

“This project has a lot longer than we expected,” Higgins said.

“But it’s part of the evolution of this project,” Ferguson added.

“We’ve been in this liminal space for so long now,” Higgins concluded. “So it’s funny that at the same time our brewing license is approved, our construction stuff is approved. It was nothing for so long, nothing tangible, and now everything is becoming real.”

Now, they are channeling their expertise and passion into creating a unique destination for beer, wine, and cider lovers in the heart of the Finger Lakes. As I began to hear more whispers and rumblings about this project, I got increasingly more excited.

The vision for Collage Cellars is to blend a variety of craft beverages, setting it apart from other local producers. The brewery will offer a mix of beer, wine, and cider—three beverages that, though distinct, share a focus on quality ingredients, terroir, and craftsmanship. The brewery is poised to become a hub for innovation and experimentation.

The decision to include wine and cider is a nod to the Finger Lakes’ rich agricultural heritage. Both Higgins and Ferguson are truly nerdy about fermentation. Known for its wineries and orchards, the region has seen tremendous growth in its craft cider scene, and Collage Cellars is keen to tap into this local tradition.

Until construction of its permanent brewery is completed, Collage Cellars will operate under an alternating proprietorship agreement with Swiftwater Brewing, a well-established brewery located in the South Wedge neighborhood of Rochester. This arrangement will allow Higgins and Ferguson to get their products out into the market while their East Bloomfield location is under construction. At Swiftwater, Collage Cellars will rent tank space, allowing them to brew and can their beers.

Collage, once completed, will feature 6,400 square feet of production space, another 2,000 for the tasting room/restaurant, and 2,000 square feet outside for its beer garden. Acknowledging the current state of the beer industry, Higgins and Ferguson said Collage will also have a full kitchen with a pizza oven and will hire someone to head the food side of the operation.

“We’re building things exactly how we want to build them,” Higgins said.

“We’re trying to make it the brewer’s dream to work in,” Ferguson added.

(In the process of gaining approvals from the town of East Bloomfield, Collage Cellars lobbied to get the zoning for its parcel and those surrounding it changed from industrial to commercial. There is hope the removal of this hurdle will spark other businesses to join.)

When Higgins moved up to Rochester from Brooklyn to help open what was then known as Other Half Roc and became Other Half FLX, Ferguson was one of Higgins’ first hires.

“I kept showing up with a resume,” Ferguson said. “At those can sales, those can pop-ups, I kept showing up with a resume. The first time I showed up in just a flannel, not realizing how cold it would be. I sat there for an hour. It was brutal.”

“He kept showing up and sent a couple emails,” Higgins added. “I was like, ‘Ah, this guy kind of seems like a suck-up.’ Then he just kept showing up and ultimately, I was like, ‘Fuck it, let’s just give him an interview.’ He interviewed really well and he obviously has great experience (Ferguson worked at Ithaca Beer before making the transition to OH FLX).”

Higgins, continuing to poke at Ferguson, ‘He’s got some college boy brew experience.”

Higgins, who has a background as a visual artist, started from the bottom as a keg washer as the now shuttered Greenpoint Beer in Brooklyn before he became a brewer there and then made the jump to Flagship Brewing in Staten Island. Before all of this, he helped his brother produce mead in Portland, Maine.

Photo: Collage Cellars co-founders Colin Ferguson, center, and Felipe Higgins, right, bottle their first beer, a collaborative effort with Strangebird earlier this week. On the left, Strangebird co-founder and wood-aging manager Eric Salazar lends a helping hand.

Planning for this new venture started more than three years ago, they noted. What started out as, “Hey, I’d like to put some beer in barrels in a warehouse, bottle stuff, and then maybe do some bottle drops here and there,” Higgins said. “Then we were looking for warehouse spaces and leasing was expensive, unless we wanted to drive all the way out to a place like Newark from Rochester. We were like, ‘Hey, let’s invest a little bit, find a piece of land, and put up a pole barn or something. And then we can own that and build a little bit of a better space.

And from there, the vision for the project kept expanding. Higgins continued, “We didn’t need it to be anything fancy, right?’”

“And we have to do food, right?” Ferguson added, even though it’s not something that they envisioned at first or even wanted to tackle. But the way the beer industry is right now, you have to give people a reason to stick around and experience, especially if it’s friendly for families, is paramount.

“The more we’ve been in the business, the more we’ve seen that the experience is a huge part of it,” Higgins said. “I’ve worked for a few places that didn’t have food and it’s important. From there, it has just grown into a pretty awesome concept.”

Tapping into his artist roots, Higgins said the name reflects his work and his chosen medium. He often utilized found objects to create intricate collages. That mentality is reflected in his brewing style, too.

“Bringing together different techniques, different traditions, and different mediums, we plan to be multi-licensed,” Higgins said. “We’re gonna make beer, wine, and cider in house. Blends and hybrids of all those as well.”

“Especially with sour beers, there are so many elements that are so similar,” Ferguson added. “The materials themselves, the ingredients, we can really try to blend some of those styles and categories.”

Higgins said he encountered a lot of frustration while working on OH’s In Bloom wild ale series, because he couldn’t ferment apple juice or grapes on their own and then blend that with beer. But he could put grapes in beer. He hopes to break down some of those technical and legal barriers with this new project.

“Our foundations will always be rooted in tradition,” Higgins said. “But that’s the basis of the name, we want to blend tradition, blend mediums, and just push the boundaries of what drinking experiences can be.”

Strangebird and Swiftwater are two major influences for Collage Cellars, they said.

Collage Cellars now has all the necessary government approvals to start brewing. That’s where Swiftwater comes in. The alternating proprietorship agreement (essentially taking “ownership” of a brewery on days they’ll brew there) is a smart move for the brewers, enabling them to hit the ground running without having to wait for their new facility to be completed. Higgins envisions producing one or two 7-barrel batches per month. And then Collage will sell beer at various pop-up sales. Later, Higgins said Collage will also have mixed fermentation creations available. Cider and wine will follow in the future. (Aside: Get excited, the first two beers planned for the December can sale are very intriguing and fun. I won’t spoil the surprise. But make sure to follow Collage on Instagram for details.)

“The idea is to get our name out there, start getting our beers in bars, start getting cans into people’s hands,” Higgins said. “Getting merch out there, building the brand, that’s the aim of this partnership. And all of that will kind of be parallel to our construction project.”

Swiftwater owner/brewer Andy Cook said his brewery has excess capacity as it faces the realities of the current craft beer climate. Distribution, long one of the driving sources of revenue for the brewery, has slowed considerably. The brewery isn’t moving the same amount of product it was before the pandemic. Instead, taproom sales have picked up a bunch, meaning most of Swiftwater’s beer (and food through its excellent kitchen) is sold directly over the bar inside its taproom.

“We’re making less beer to make the same revenue,” he explained. “Since we’re making less beer, we have the extra tank space to work with someone like Collage Cellars. And it was really easy to say yes to this one, because I’ve known Flip (Higgins) since he moved to Bloomfield, through the brewers guild, and we’ve done a collab before. So he’s super fun and super easy to work with.”

The availability of Collage Cellars cans will give folks another reason to visit one of the area’s best breweries. Win-win, really. (We’ve already seen a local example of a partnership like this — Sager and Stoneyard teaming up for a joint taproom. And it wouldn’t shock me if we see more of this.)

And as someone who is instrumental in the New York State Brewers Association, particularly its competition committee, Cook said this is also another way to give back to the craft beer community and help friends pursue their dream. Right before we talked, he actually lent a couple half-barrel kegs to Strangebird co-founder Eric Salazar to aid in the bottling of the Strangebird-Collage Cellars barrel-aged wild ale collab. (I tried a splash of that before it will condition for a bit in bottles and it was fabulous.)

“We have the alternating proprietorship, so we can make their beer but we can also make collabs as well,” Cook said. “Down the road, I would envision some collaborative ventures that are equal parts input from Felipe and I. As long as it works out for them and their volume, I would anticipate buying from them and selling them at Swiftwater. So to have something new and exciting here at Swiftwater is never a bad thing.”

A final note: It’s pretty wild to think I’ve been working on this independent publication for over two years now. In that time, I’ve published 200 newsletters, highlighted some of my favorite people in the industry, curated two beers festivals (that featured 150 participants and 4,600 attendees), and continued to break all the biggest news in the region (closures, consolidations, openings, etc.).

The Cleveland Prost remains the preeminent source for regional beer news. If you own a brewery, bar, or beer-adjacent business, this is the best place to reach the nerds you wanna be in front of. So I remain open to sponsorships, advertisements, and sponsored content. Feel free to reach out to me at clevelandprost@gmail.com for more. And more than anything, thanks for all the support. None of this would be possible without the devoted (and thirsty) audience.