Pittsford's Copper Leaf Brewing announces closure
Four-year-old nanobrewery says it will close by the end of next month (or whenever the beer runs out)
The Rochester beer scene was dealt another blow Wednesday with the announcement of the upcoming closure of Pittsford’s Copper Leaf Brewing.
Located just off Schoen Place and on the north side of the Erie Canal, Copper Leaf, 50 State St., opened in April 2021 after a circuitous journey by nearly life-long friends. Co-owners Clay Killian and Jason Meyer met more than 35 years ago through peewee football and eventually graduated from Canandaigua Academy together.
That friendship, along with the expertise of Jason’s father Bryan, the brewery’s third co-founder, laid a foundation for Copper Leaf. “With heavy hearts,” the owners stated they “made the decision to close and sell Copper Leaf Brewing. We'll close by the end of February or whenever we run out of beer, whichever comes first. We hope you'll stop in to raise a glass to a fond farewell.”
The Copper Leaf crew deserves a rousing send-off, too.
When it opened, it became one of Rochester’s coziest and coolest breweries. The space was a bit over 1,400 square feet and featured a 3.5-barrel brewing system. But its presence felt bigger than its small footprint. Clay produces really good beers. He makes nice IPAs, a really underrated cream ale, some adventurous fruited sours, and some of the cooler barrel-aged offerings in our area. His Flanders red is particularly impressive. (He told me, via text tonight, that he’s super excited for a saison he’s about to release. You damn well know I’m gonna visit to enjoy that one.)
Starting Jan. 27, Copper Leaf will shift its hours of operation and will only be open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
These stories, despite becoming more frequent, aren’t getting easier to write. I really admire folks who have the balls to chase a dream. And the Copper Leaf crew is no exception here. They fought for more than five years before they were finally able to open in the spring of 2021.
I feel a bit of kinship to Copper Leaf after I helped expose the crap the owners had to sift through just to get approval to open. Originally, it was slated to be called Hawley Brewing. But they discovered the name was already in use by a winery. So they garnered some inspiration from a Pittsford landmark — a 200-year-old copper beech tree that was taken down in 2018. Some of the wood was even utilized in the space as the tasting room bar.
Initially, the owners presented to the village of Pittsford in March 2017 to gain the OK to start renovations and ultimately open. But village officials said the project violated its new construction moratorium. Village trustees appealed a decision from their own building inspector. But it was all so asinine. This wasn’t new construction. It was re-purposing an empty building (with no exterior work completed or planned).
“To me, the public house is what this country is built on,” Killian told me in 2019. “Everybody is coming together as a community in the pubs and the breweries. All I’m looking to do is get people together to enjoy some craft beer.”
Ultimately, common sense prevailed. And they finally gained approval in January 2019 and were about to start construction right as the pandemic halted most activities.
“But like they have done for over five years, the Copper Leaf crew pressed on,” I wrote in a 2021 D&C article.
With the pandemic, only one person was allowed in the space at a time. That slowed work considerably. They moved past their frustrations and pressed on. (I hope you’re sensing a theme here — patience and perseverance win out.)
“Thank you very much for being part of our Copper Leaf family,” Jason, Clay, and Bryan shared on social media. “We're incredibly grateful for your support over the past four years. Your patronage has meant a lot to us. We will always remember the good times we shared with you, and wish you the very best in the future.”
A final note: It’s pretty wild to think I’ve been working on this independent publication for nearly three years now. In that time, I’ve published 250 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.