Prost Profiles: Iron Tug head brewer Zachary Allard

The new series kicks off with a profile of Allard, the new head brewer at the Rochester brewery

Note: This newsletter is supported by Rohrbach Brewing Co., a pioneering craft brewery in the city of Rochester.

You’re not likely to encounter a drum set sitting next to fermentation tanks in most places. But Zachary Allard, head brewer/co-owner at Iron Tug Brewing, likes to mix two of his passions — beer and music.

And during down time in the brewery, Allard, who works alone on the brewery’s 5-barrel brewing system, likes to get some drum practice in. (Plus, the kit doesn’t fit in his apartment.)

Allard took over brewing operations at ITB six months ago after spending the previous three years as head brewer at Geneva-based Twisted Rail Brewing. That followed nearly five years at CB Craft Brewers (Custom Brewcrafters) in Honeoye Falls, where Allard started at the bottom and eventually became head brewer.

Allard is the first person to be highlighted in my new Cleveland Prost series, Prost Profiles, which will introduce readers to the people behind the beer, the folks who make the local beer industry special. If you have friends or employees you’d like to see profiled, feel free to send me an email at clevelandprost@gmail.com.

Iron Tug opened in August 2016 at its original location on West Ridge Road in the city. It moved its brewing operations to a larger off-site warehouse later and then moved its taproom to its current location on Park Avenue, near Oxford Street, during the pandemic. The brewery, despite being one of the smallest in Monroe County, has always had a well-earned reputation for its hazy India pale ales (particularly the Sea Dweller, Armada, and East vs. West series) and creative sours (especially its Shore Leave beers).

Here’s more about Zach:

Q: Birthplace/age: Buffalo/36. I’ve pretty much lived everywhere in western New York.

Q: Current residence: Downtown Rochester.

Q: How long have you been in the beer industry? Since 2014.

Q: How did you get involved with beer and brewing?

A: I initially started at Custom Brewcrafters in 2014. Honestly, I just randomly applied. I saw an ad in the Pennysaver and just went for it. I started from the ground level — bottling beer, canning beer, delivering beer, and just worked my way up.

Q: What always amazed me about Custom Brewcrafters is that it was such a foundational place for both local beer drinkers and also for the people who worked there. It was the place where I first learned about the difference between an ale and a lager. It served as a brewing university where people got educated and where employers learned about the industry before moving to new places or careers.

A: Exactly.

Photo: A can of Iron Tug’s Sea Dweller series triple IPA Cthulhu.

Q: How did you end up working at Twisted Rail?

A: When Custom Brewcrafters closed, we had already been brewing all the Twisted Rail recipes through a contract agreement, so they called me up and were like, ‘Hey, you already know all of our recipes, you’ve brewed all of our beers for a few years, why not move down here? You’re single, no kids. Why not?’ It was a great opportunity and I went for it.

Q: How’d you find out about the Iron Tug opportunity?

A: Honestly, from a few of the other local brewers — Nick (Mesrobian) and Chris (Spinelli) at Roc and Geoff Dale at Three Heads. I go into those places regularly and each of them gave me the elbow nudge and said I should look into the job at Iron Tug. After a month or two of them nudging me in the ribs, I thought, ‘To hell with it, I’ll throw my hat in the ring.’ If it works out, cool. If not, I’m still in a good spot.

Editorial interjection: He’s in a good spot.

Q: What drew you to Iron Tug?

A: It was a bit of a better opportunity to spread my wings in terms of creativity and freedom. I had a lot of freedom at Twisted Rail, but there had to be more consistency with four locations and just keeping up with all the taprooms. There was room for a few new beers per year, but we had a portfolio we had to keep up with. Here, it’s just the opportunity to take over a brewery with a really big fan base and really quality portfolio. Frankly, I just love brewing sours. We’re primarily an IPA and a sour brewery. So it’s nice to experiment with some new yeasts and procedures to make some interesting stuff.

Q: Why do you love beer so much?

A: I don’t know. It just speaks to me. I never knew I loved it so much. I bartended for a bunch of years. I always found myself into craft beer. Then I started making it and learning about, understanding there is this whole process behind the scenes. I love working with my hands and it just felt right almost immediately. I want to do this, I want to pursue this. I’ve got great people who, from the beginning, knew about my motivations and what I wanted. Instead of competing with you in an unhealthy way, they competed with you in a healthy way and helped you grow and brought you up with them.

Q: Outside of beer, what are some of your hobbies?

A: I’m a big outdoors guy and love going to the Adirondacks. I’m trying to hit the 46 (high peaks). Drumming, obviously [pointing to the drum kit set up next to us]. Big into live music. Love going to concerts. You’ll catch me at a show at least two or three times a week. And going to other breweries. I go to as many New York breweries as possible. I’m at about 200 right now.

Lightning round

Favorite Iron Tug beer(s): Barley One bourbon barrel-aged barleywine and Shore Leave sour series.

Gateway beer and all-time favorites: Sam Adams was my gateway, but my all-time favorite is probably Rodenbach Alexander. Soooo good!

Favorite local beer (non-Iron Tug division): Locally, that’s just unfair, hahaha. Probably Roc Brewing Lagerithm Lager. Always a go-to classic!

Title sponsor: Rohrbach Brewing Co.

This work is made possible through support from Rohrbach Brewing Co. Rohrbach features two locations — its Beer Hall at 97 Railroad St. in the city of Rochester and its brewpub at 3859 Buffalo Road in the town of Ogden. Since 1991, Rohrbach has been producing classics and influencing the Rochester beer scene, including its iconic Scotch Ale.

The brewery’s support allows this work to remain free for this audience. So make sure to get out to Rohrbach and support one of the best establishments in our area.

I remain open to sponsorships, sponsored content, and advertisements, especially if it’ll keep the newsletter free for readers. And if you have information about upcoming releases, events, or happenings, don’t hesitate to reach out. For more information, feel free to drop me a line at clevelandprost@gmail.com.

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