Black Acre Brewing Plays Vital Role In Revitalizing Irvington Neighborhood

Present day Irvington remains the home of proud, organic, artistic and eclectic people who are some of the most civic-minded and community-oriented folks in the city. This is where you see dog walkers, porch sitters and neighbors talking to each other over their backyard fences.

In between the quaint shops and restaurants on E. Washington St. is where Black Acre Brewing has nestled. The five partners involved are Justin and Holly Miller, Steve Ruby, Jordan Gleason and Matt Johnson and, like a basketball team made up of five point guards, or like five lug nuts on a wheel, the partners fit perfectly together with each other.

As the brewers for Black Acre, Steve and Justin are the ultimate odd couple. One is creative and ready to go balls to the wall without any hesitation. The other is steady and measured, employing thoughtful consideration before making a decision. One is the yesterday’s t-shirt- and hoody-wearing guy while the other prefers a nice, clean, buttoned-down shirt. One is bald and bearded, with laser-sharp eyes and is the guy you are thankful to have beside when you’re about to get an ass-whoopin’. The other is clean shaven with a friendly smile and he’s the guy that will patch you up afterwards.

Whether or not this entirely or accurately describes Steve and Justin, I don’t know for sure. Whatever their apparent physical differences, there is no doubt that these two friends have a synergistic union of minds. Really smart minds. Steve says they are “hyper-function” guys and together they make the delicious brews at Black Acre.

Three of the partners (Justin, Steve, Jason) met in law school and the connection between them all was home brewing beer. While they constantly brewed, it wasn’t long before they began crafting plans to open a brewery. Black Acre carved a niche in historic Irvington sort of the grass roots way, just the way Irvington likes it. I met Holly, Steve and Justin there recently to hear their story and how they settled into Irvington.

Holly says they fell in love with the neighborhood and its people, saying, “I have never met a more loyal group of people to their neighborhood…it is actually amazing.” She further insists, “even if we don’t become some huge, hot, craft beer-whatever, we know we can survive in this neighborhood.”

Brewing out of a 3 bbl system, Black Acre enjoys the flexibility of “playing” with recipes and flavors, often changing their tap list. In addition to not wanting to drink the same things over and over again themselves, this is easily solved because the beer flies off the taps.

To hear more about the relationship between Irvington and Black Acre, I met with Margaret Banning, Executive Director of Irvington Development Organization. She says that Black Acre has been “key to helping push the neighborhood to further development.” Black Acre also brings in a younger, “hip” crowd, which is also important for the resurgence and sustainability.

Banning shares the story that when the “street-scape” was added in the center of Washington St., it was accented with period streetlamps. However, the new lighting came at an additional cost of $12,000 a year to Irvington.

Banning then says that one day, Justin Miller contacted her and said he was making a new beer called “Street Lamp Blonde,” and wanted to donate one dollar from each pint sold to this cause. She said this was “totally unsolicited” and that about every six months or so she receives a check from Black Acre. To date, Black Acre has donated several thousand dollars to the community.

Now, Banning says, Black Acre is taking their community commitment “to a whole new level” by spearheading new development just two blocks south in what is called the Coal Factory. A new restaurant, B’s Po Boy, will be moving in and the Pennsy Trail, which meanders right in front of the businesses, enhances the walkable aspect of historic Irvington.

The partners say they were quickly running out of space and expansion was inevitable, and as they looked close by they found an old abandoned warehouse. Justin soon acquired this 55,000 sq. foot warehouse, part of which will be leased for Black Acre’s production facility. They will add a much larger 15 bbl system with 30 bbl fermenters and before long, they will be able to satisfy the daily requests from bar establishments eager for their beer.

Additionally, Black Acre also has taken over the vacant property next door and they will soon be expanding the taproom. True to Irvington’s heart, the brewery obtained some old, wooden pallets for the original build-in that have been re-purposed into the taproom. Holly painstakingly cobbled together the planks on the brewery floor until she had them sized perfectly to fit into the bar area’s ceiling and wall. Now, she’ll get to do it once again for the expansion!

So how about the beer?