Rochester's Heroes Brewing announces July closure
Atlantic Ave. brewery embraced community by raising funds for 85 different organizations over five years.
Even before opening, Heroes Brewing Co. marketed itself as something a bit different. Using the tagline, “Heroes don’t look like they used to — they look like you do,” the brewery embraced community and the everyday folks who made up this community.
Heroes, which opened in late 2020 at the height of the pandemic in the former home of Lost Borough Brewing, partnered with organizations and nonprofits to craft beers that honored those groups. On the cans, those groups were celebrated and a portion of the sales were donated back to those causes. In total, Heroes teamed up with 85 organizations and sold 60,000 cans of beer.
That’s why it’s particularly sad to see the Atlantic Avenue brewery announce it will close its doors for good on July 12. On the same front, it’s also wonderful and remarkable to celebrate the brewery’s community-driven ethos and legacy. And with another brewery closure, the tapestry of Rochester craft beer becomes a little duller. (And sadly, these are the stories — and remembrances — I can’t stop writing. The scene has changed, consumers have changed.)
Founder Greg Fagen and the Heroes team made the announcement Monday evening on social media, stating the news came with a “heavy but peaceful heart.”
As Fagen shared with me in 2020, heroes could be anyone. “…We looked at it as the everyday hero. Grandparents who raise grandkids. People who adopt pets. People who spend their Saturdays cleaning their community. Teachers. Doctors. Nurses. They all have the ability to be a hero. That’s who we want our brands to stand for.”
“We’ve spent every day of this journey trying to build more than just a place to enjoy a beer—we wanted to build something that mattered. Thanks to your support, we did just that,” the brewery shared, noting that it still has three open mic nights, mug club members to toast, and kegs to empty before the doors close.
The statement continued, “Together with our amazing staff, we made a real impact in our community—one pint, one cause, one connection at a time.”
From the start, Heroes, with its wide assortment of beers done exceptionally well, showcased how a business can also be a good community partner and steward. Sure, the beer was important, but the community (I feel like I’m gonna use that word a million times in this newsletter, but that’s what it boils down to and there is no better way to put it) was always central to the mission. Without the community, there was no Heroes.
One of Heroes (and this community’s) finest moments came in May 2021 when the brewery teamed with Triphammer Bierwerks, Brindle Haus Brewing, and Rising Storm Brewing to release a mixed four pack to honor the lives of three New York National Guard soldiers killed earlier in the year in a Mendon helicopter crash. Chief warrant officers Steven Skoda, Daniel Prial, and Christian Koch died on Jan. 20, 2021, when their UH-60 medical evacuation helicopter crashed during a training mission.
Heroes and the three breweries crafted different beers to celebrate the lives of the three fallen soldiers. (On a personal note, covering the massive and moving remembrance soldier for Koch, Prial, and Skoda was still one of the starkest journalism memories I have from my 14-year tenure at the Democrat and Chronicle. The memorial at the National Guard 642 Aviation Support Battalion ceremony is one I can still see with crystal clarity. Stories like that demonstrated how small this community really is and how events like this can bring all of us together.)
“All too often, it seems these tragedies happen and we reflect and then we forget,” Fagen told me at the time. “I wanted to do something that showed Rochester didn’t forget.”
Proceeds from the sales were donated to charities selected by the families.
“By showing up, bringing friends, supporting our events, and believing in our mission—you’ve been the heroes behind it all,” the social media statement continued. “Your loyalty, kindness, and community spirit kept us going through the highs and the hard times. While this chapter is coming to a close, we want you to know; we will always carry the memories, gratitude, and pride of what we built together.”
The brewery is promising to go out in style and will announce more details about events as it inches closer to its closing. I am really looking forward to that. And I really hope we get a third quality brewery to open in that little space.
Concluding that story about the Mendon helicopter crash, Fagen gave me one of my all-time favorite local beer quotes: “Beer is all about community. We wanted to create a place where people wanted to have a community. I think most breweries are operating that way. That just goes with our culture as an industry. We’re the ‘dig in and get it done’ group of people.”
And with another closure, we lose another piece of what makes this community special. But at least we still have a little more time to share together at Heroes, where we can toast each other and remember all the groups and people who were impacted by the beers released there.
