Hochul campaigns, tours microbrewery
Promoting state legislation that helped spawn a booming industry in craft spirits, lieutenant governor candidate Kathy Hochul stopped at a pair of Railroad Street businesses on Monday that benefit from the 2012 law.
"The upstate economy is seeing a resurgence, and there are a lot of great things happening," she said, standing near the stills in the Rohrbach Brewing Company microbrewery. "And this is an exciting place to be."
She noted that Rohrbach and Black Button Distilling, which shares space in the renovated Railroad Street space, together employ more than 80 people and are not only part of the state's burgeoning craft brew industry, but are also a signal of an urban resurgence in Rochester.
"There really is a transformation in our urban areas," said Hochul, a Democrat running in November as Gov. Andrew Cuomo's reelection ticketmate. "And we need to credit that to a better business climate. This is what happens when the policies are changed."
Cuomo selected Hochul, a former congresswoman from Amherst, Erie County, to replace current Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy, who announced in the spring that he would not pursue a second term with Cuomo.
The Cuomo-Hochul slate is seeking to run in November against Republicans Rob Astorino, the Westchester County executive, and Christopher Moss, the sheriff of Chemung County.
Cuomo is facing a Democratic primary challenge from Zephyr Teachout, a law professor.
There is also a Green Party candidate, Howie Hawkins, in the mix for the governor's office.
During Monday's visit to Rochester, Hochul said Cuomo brought spirits business owners together, asked them what needed to be done, and made changes happen.
"If government is in the way, then we need to get government out of the way," she said.
To do that, legislators in 2012 passed laws to boost tax breaks for small breweries, exempt them from some Liquor Authority fees and lift a host of other tax filing requirements.
Those changes and others sparked a spurt of growth in small-batch booze makers, with the biz expanding from just two distillers when the law was enacted to more than 70 state-wide now, said state Sen. Ted O'Brien, D-Irondequoit, who joined Monday's tour.
"The governor had the foresight to make these changes, and the result is more industry," he said, noting that many of the small outfits source their grains and hops from local farms, providing a shot in the arm for the state's agriculture businesses too. "It's a win-win."
O'Brien is facing a challenge in November from Republican Rich Funke, a former news anchor.
Jason Barrett, president of Black Button Distilling — which opened in January — said the changes in the laws made it possible for his startup to take off and begin producing small batch bourbon, gin and vodka. Since opening, Black Button has gotten its spirits into more than 150 local bars, liquor stores and restaurants and now employs seven full-time workers and 14 part-timers.
Black Button's signature small-batch bourbon is aging now in barrels, and won't be ready for market until December 2015, but other products are coming out of the stills with regularity.
John Urlaub, owner of Rohrbach Brewing Company, said Black Button is a perfect complement to his production brewery and tasting room next door.
He said he also sees an urban resurgence, sparked in part by the growing popularity of the nearby Rochester Public Market, that has brought significant positive changes to the brewery neighborhood since 2008.
MCDERMOT@DemocratandChronicle.com