I visited Flagship Brewery located at 3840 Minthorne Street on Staten Island. They are the first brewery to open on the island and the day I visited, it was their 4th anniversary. I always see Flagship when I am taking the train to the Staten Island Ferry, but I have never been inside. When I arrived I spoke to Mike, and he told me that the day I visited was 4 years that they have been open, then proceeded to show me the brewery. He has been with them since day one and said that he knows all the beers like the back of his hand.

This is where they mill the grains for the beer

Where mash and mort are made, then transferred to kettle

Mike told me that their system is a 35 barrel system, which makes 70 kegs. In this machine, the mash, the mixture of water and malted grains, are combined. This then makes a wort, which is a hot sweet liquid. The wort is separated into two parts, the liquid and the grains. Here is where they add the hops, which provide flavor, aroma, and bitterness to the beer. At flagship they have some flavored beers for this summer which include their summer ale, key lime beer, jalapeño beer, and blood orange IPA. In the above picture, the kettle is connected to the Lauder Tun, the machine which separates the wort. The wort is then transferred through pipes which are on the ceiling to their appropriate tanks and this is where fermentation takes place.

Mike told me that their American ales are aged for 2 weeks and their Lager’s for 8 weeks. He said that Lager seems to be the staple beer at Flagship, and that their most popular Lager has the flavor and aroma of an ale, but the color of a lager, which I found interesting. At Flagship, their ales are kept in tanks at 65-70 degrees, and the lagers at 55 degrees. They use temperature control by using glycol which lines the tank and can change temperature through a computer system that they have. He explained glycol as an antifreeze which can manipulate the temperature of the beers.

Tanks where beer is aged and fermented

Yeast and Carbon Dioxide overflow

The bar

Something that I did not know was that a keg is considered the large wooden kegs (barrels) which are lining the bar in the above picture. He told me that the tin kegs that they sell are considered 1/2 kegs because two of them can fit into the wooden keg. Their 1/2 kegs go anywhere from $150-200, and once you return the tin you get your deposit back.

Bottling system

At Flagship, they can make 60 cases of beer to a pallet and 8 kegs to a pallet. One 6 pack of beer costs around $12 and can be found a local delis and grocery stores. Mike told me that the same union that backs Budweiser, also backs them so that they are expanding where they sell their beers and they are also opening another location at the Staten Island Mall, but it will not be a brewery. Another beer that they have is one called a Sour beer. He said that they add lacto bacillus, which in turn flips the sugar in the beer to go sour and gives it a great flavor, without being overly sour. He explained it almost as a tang of a sour patch kid.

The inside of the brewery

Beer truck, which is used for events

This was a very interesting experience and Mike’s enthusiasm made it even better. I was able to tell that he is very passionate about what he does and that he really loves his job. He said that they started with only 3 tanks and that they have a video on their website from when they first opened, which says where they hope to be in the future, and they are now at that point. Although I was unable to taste any beer because I am not 21, I learned a lot from this visit and enjoyed it very much.