Wayne County beer: Runaway Blue Brewing takes off in Newark

Nanobrewery in Wayne County village becomes the second craft brewery in Wayne County

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

Saturday was already gonna be a huge day for Maria and Brian Bremer — it is Coley’s second birthday. Coley is the couple’s rambunctious Australian cattle dog mix.

And she is also the namesake for the couple’s nanobrewery, Runaway Blue Brewing Company. The brewery, the first in the village of Newark at 102 S. Main St. and the second in Wayne County, officially opens at noon Saturday. It’ll also open at noon Sunday and then be open Friday through Sunday moving forward. Needless to say, the Bremers will have plenty to celebrate that day.

Brian and Maria, both 27, met in high school and then attended Niagara University together. The opportunity to plant roots in their hometown and provide another destination business near the Erie Canal was a longtime shared dream. And there was never any doubt they wanted to open in Newark.

Previous coverage (July 2022): Soon-to-open Runaway Blue Brewing in Newark taps into community.

“It’s very exciting,” Maria said. “I feel like we have been waiting so many months for this to happen. It finally feels like it is all coming to life.”

Not a bad way to celebrate a blue heeler mix’s birthday.

A community anchor

The former South Main Street office space was transformed into a cozy and inviting gathering place for the community. It occupies 800 square feet and holds both the taproom and brewery.

Brian, a former assistant brewer at Canandaigua’s Young Lion Brewing, is brewing on a 1-barrel system (with 2-barrel fermenters), making it one of the smallest breweries in the region. Beyond aiding in production, Brian produced some really cool beers on Young Lion’s pilot system.

The Bremers originally hoped to open in August but were delayed by licensing. They said the wait isn’t much compared to the years they spent daydreaming about the new venture in their hometown.

Since I last spoke to the Bremers in July, a ton of work was completed in the space. That included floor drains, bar installation, and running the tap lines. They said Newark is primed for this type of growth.

“It has definitely been fun to hear how excited people are,” Maria said. “That’s been one of the best parts. People are also excited to have something like this come to Newark. It’s not something that we’ve had before. It doesn’t seem like something we’d usually have here. But I just feel like it’s really something that people are starting to understand more.”

“Wayne County has been the last place to hit the craft beer boom,” Brian added. “So it’s nice that Wayne County is starting to get some breweries up in here.”

Smaller can be better

Brian started brewing on his new system about a month ago. The opening tap list features great variety, which means hopefully something for everyone. He’s managed to fill nine of the brewery’s 10 draft lines. (There is one cider on draft.)

The draft list includes The Process, a Buffalo Bills-themed light lager; an IPA called Bluest Sky; a rose and prickly pear hard seltzer named Rose Parade after one of Newark’s most famous traditions; a blue raspberry hard seltzer; an orange cream sour; a double IPA called Hi-Fi; a West Coast-style IPA; a vanilla bean blonde ale (this is unquestionably the one I am most excited to try and Maria said it is her favorite, too); and a sour collaboration Brian brewed with Eli Fish in Batavia, Genesee County.

“It’s a good mix to start, I think,” Brian said.

Being small is both an advantage and a strength, Brian said. It means he is producing beer roughly 60 gallons at a time (or four half-barrel kegs at once).

“You can make a 2-barrel batch of a really expensive beer that might not be practical to do on bigger scale,” Brian said. “You can play around with some crazier flavors. You’re brewing more batches, so you can keep a greater variety on.”

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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