Beer Brewing Shop Comes to Washington Avenue

While Prospect Heights is already steadily becoming a destination for foodies (see ,  and , for example), local friends Douglas Amport and John LaPolla are hoping to make it a haven for beer aficionados, too.

The two business partners are set to debut Bitter and Esters, which will be both a supply shop for beer brewing as well as an on-premise brewery with a soft opening set for July 2.

The store, at 700 Washington Ave. between Prospect Place and St. Mark's Avenue, will sell everything for novice and experienced brewers, as well as host classes and tasting sessions. But what the owners hope sets them apart form other local brewing supply stores is the opportunity for customers to brew their own beer at the store.

The name Bitter and Esters comes from “the two flavors and aromas in a beer,” said Amport. “If one is out of whack, it makes the beer taste weird.”

“It represents the balance and craftsmanship of beer,” he added.

Amport said that while there are other brewshops in the area, like Brooklyn Homebrew in Gowanus, none so far offer the ability for customers to brew their own beer at the store.

LaPolla has been brewing beer for 15 years, while Amport made his own wine for seven years and beer for the past three. Both looking for a new challenge, they started dreaming up an idea for a “brewing hacker space,” much like NYC Resistor.

“But we couldn’t figure out how to make that profitable,” said Amport.

The pair tweaked the idea into creating a brew on premises space, along with a retail store for brewing supplies and an area for classes and tastings.

Amport said he knows there are risks involved in opening a specialty shop in a shaky economy–especially when he has a new 18-month-old baby girl at home. Amport also recently left a career in digital marketing to focus on the store full-time. LaPolla stills works as an offset printer, but hopes to make the jump to full-time entrepreneurship soon.

“It’s a tricky time to take risks,” Amport said, “But the opportunity (for the store) presented itself. We’ve been seeing a craft brew renaissance.”

As Prospect Heights residents themselves–Amport lives on Eastern Parkway at Washington and LaPolla on Park Place and Washington–Amport said it was a no-brainer to open their store locally.

“We could have opened it anywhere, really, but we just think this is such a vibrant neighborhood,” he said. “There’s that blend of community and cool things happening.”

“And there’s foot traffic, with all of the tourists that visit the park and the museum,” he added. “That’s a sound economic reason right there.”

Amport said he and LaPolla hope to create a space that has all of the equipment that an experienced brewer would need, but is welcoming to beginners, too.

“We just want to get people brewing, and know what goes into their beer. If you’re a novice, we’ll give you a recipe and show you the steps,” said Amport.

For about $150-175, depending on ingredients, a brewer (or a group) can schedule time at the shop to brew six cases of their own custom batch of beer. The whole process takes about a month, between fermenting, chilling and bottling.

For those that are more into the science of brewing, Bitter and Esters plans to host classes and workshops, on topics like grains, malts and hops, DIY equipment-making, tastings, and possibly even a winemaking class.

“And when people aren’t in class, they can come here and mess around (with recipes). There will be tables out back where you can just have a beer and talk homebrewing with other people,” said Amport, on his hopes for the evolution of the space.

For now, soft opening of Bitter and Esters is planned for July 2, when the retail store will be stocked and operational. The brew-on-premises option will take some time to set up, but the pair have already tipped their Kickstarter funding goal of at least $4,000 (as of the last day, they were up to $4,445).

“When everything’s set up, we’ll have a big brewing event,” said Amport.

In the meantime, he remains confident that the store will have a successful opening, and attract Brooklyn’s homebrewers.

“If even a third of the people on the street come in, we’ll be fine,” he said.

Bitter and Esters, 700 Washington Ave. between St. Marks and Prospect Place, will be open Tuesday through Sunday noon to 8 p.m. 917-596-7261