This past weekend, I attended the grand opening for Craft Beer Cellar (CBC), a craft beer bottle shop focused on supporting local breweries, in addition to beers imported on a national and international level. CBC, which officially opened in Port Washington two weeks ago, the first of the franchise on Long Island.
I met with owners and Port Washington residents Erin and Trish Molyneux, who gave me a tour of the shop, which included the store floor plan of the beers (organized geographically), the beer book corner (including beginner guides for beer enthusiasts and recipes for home brewers), the beer snack section (full stocked with nuts, chips, popcorn, and more), and CBC’s Crowler station (equipped to pour nine beers on tap and tightly seal them into 32 oz. cans).
I was quite impressed with the organized layout of the shop, the variety of new beers and ciders available, and the eagerness of the owners and the “Beer Geeks” employed by CBC (who are all Cicerone Certified Beer Servers or BJCP Recognized Judges, at the very least).
Although it was a busy opening weekend for the Molyneux’s, I managed to snag some time to talk more about their background and their vision for CBC Port Washington.
What is your background in the craft beer industry?
Erin: This is all new to us. We are craft beer enthusiasts. I was working as a teacher and it wasn’t quite working out for me. I needed something new. We figured we wanted to own a business of our own, but we weren’t sure what it would be so we spent several months looking into franchise opportunities to see what would fit. We [Trish and I] were drinking beer and sitting at our kitchen table, brainstorming what we could do, and Trish says, “What about craft beer? Is there a craft beer franchise?” We found Craft Beer Cellar and said, “That’s the ticket,” and we ran with it.
How many types of beers are sold at CBC Port Washington and from how many breweries?
Erin: We have over 600 labels from about 180 breweries. Over time we hope to grown to over 800 beers on the shelf.
How do you choose what craft beers to sell at the shop?
Trish: Some of it is by request, others is by the franchise recommendation. We have “Beer Geeks” who work here so they also know the industry as do we. We also take a lot of guidance from our distributors, what’s selling, what’s popular, etc.
Erin: Ultimately we want to be responsive to the community and what they’re after. That’s first and foremost. Beyond that, we want to bring in highly rated beers. When there are new wild, crazy beers, we want to experiment. We want to bring new beers to the market. We’ll take a chance and see how new products do
What upcoming events do you have plans?
Trish: We just paired with a cheesemonger so we hope to have some beer and cheese pairing events.
Can you tell me more about the Crowler station?
Erin: Currently there are nine beers and one cider on tap:
- Barrier Atypical IPA (7.2%)
- Oyster Bay Honey Ale (5.0%)
- Oyster Bay Pumpkin Ale (5.0%)
- Empire White Aphro (5.6%)
- Ithaca Cranbretty (5.0%)
- Evil Twin Molotov Lite Double IPA (8.0%)
- Two Roads Via Cordis Abbey Blonde (5.2%)
- Boulevard The Calling Double IPA (8.5%)
- Naked Flock Draft Cider (6.8%)
We are definitely going to be rotating the beers. We always want to have local representation. Our idea is to have 2-3 local, if not Long Island, at least New York state beers. With the rest, we would like to have a well-rounded selection of styles.
Do you offer loyalty cards or special promotions?
Erin: We have a loyalty card. For every dollar you spend, you accumulate a point. When you reach 250 points, you receive a $5 gift card.
What are some goals you hope to reach?
Trish: We would like to pair with people who do private events. We would love to get in that niche and provide beers to parties. We would also love to organize after hour private events.
What are your favorite beers or ciders at the moment?
Trish: They’re [beer] is like our babies, we can’t love any one more than the other. I’m a big Belgium lover. I love stouts and dark beers as well. If it’s along those lines and rich, and has that full body that I’m looking for, I’m in love. I love the 21st Amendment beers, Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin.
Erin: All summer we [Trish and I] were drinking the Great South Bay Blood Orange, so popular. Because we are in this business now, we are in an exploration phase to see what’s out there. My favorite is probably my next one.
