USA, NY: New York brewing industry veterans create Return Brewing

A New York-based team of brewing industry veterans just announced the creation of Return Brewing, to debut in fall 2021, the Craft Brewing Business reported on June 22.

Returning to old-world craftsmanship while looking ahead toward paradigm-shifting innovation, Return Brewing represents the intersection of refined technical expertise and infinite exploration. The new concept is cofounded by Mikey Lenane, Jack Liakas and JD Linderman, who bring over two decades of collective experience at Brooklyn’s nationally lauded Sixpoint Brewery where they respectively led innovation, design and brewing.

The friends will each contribute their individual areas of expertise to all aspects of Return, with Lenane focusing on innovation and quality, Liakas on creative and design and Linderman heading up brewing. They are joined by Eric Bachli, formerly of Sixpoint and Boston’s destination Trillium Brewing Co., who is lending his expertise to the project as a strategic advisor.

Taking inspiration from traditional brewing techniques, global and historical fermentation methods, the experimental ingredient treatments coming out of the world’s leading kitchens, and the seasonal availability of the bounties of the Hudson Valley, Return’s offerings will comprise a number of distinct identities, including:

“TAVERN” beers which encompass:

• Accessible, quality-forward styles centering best-in-class ingredient sourcing and brewing technique

“GARDEN” beers which will:

• Feature in-house fruit and herb processing to create farm-direct local Hudson Valley beers
• Feature country and primitive style mixed ferments with foraged ingredients
• Comprise a line of Eastern European raw ales

“ARCHIVE” which is a line of strong ales featuring:

• Blending from an extensive barrel-aging fleet
• An exploration into Whole Hive Mead
• Components and blends heat-aged in a Maderization chamber to create new flavors

The range will be highly localized and largely focus on the bounties of the Hudson Valley, with the notable exception of Return’s hoppy ales which will feature specific farms from across the globe to center the unique terroir and characteristics in those exceptional hops.

Return will open a Hudson, N.Y., brewery and taproom next year — a true return home for co-founder Mikey Lenane who grew up in nearby Coxsackie. They look forward to working with the region’s farms, businesses, and the community at large to make a positive impact in Hudson. The first offerings will be available in the Hudson Valley and New York City beginning fall 2021 through select distribution, to be announced.

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