The Flagship Brewery

We all know or should’ve heard by now some of the great legendary businesses that began in a garage. 

Then there are also the legendary beer companies like Laguintas, Samuel Adams, and BELL’S breweries who all started their brews on a stove top or in a home kitchen. 

Like these legends, Flagship Brewery started their humble beginnings in a home kitchen. In time, what began as a little passion project by Jay Sykes and Matt McGinley, has now grown into a full-fledged brewing operation in Staten Island over 9 years ago. 

In May of 2014 The Flagship Brewery was born in Tompkinsville, Staten Island. Matt and Jay, the company’s Co-founders and childhood friends, alongside local entrepreneurs Gary and Sam Angiuli, built a brewery that was based on quality and creativity. 

In the years since, Flagship Brewery is always brewing something special in collaboration with other local businesses, as well as hosting community-focused events.

“Over months, my friends and I were drinking all the beer. My wife was going nuts. She told me I was taking over her kitchen. She wanted her kitchen back.”    — Jay Sykes 

I’m paraphrasing what I remember Jay Sykes said.

In 2014, in the opening days at 40 Minthorne Street, they had just three 930 gallon fermenters. They also initially fermented only three brews: American Pale Ale (APA), a witte beer _______(name needed)_____ and a dark ______(name needed)_____. 

In a brief conversation I had with Mr. Sykes back in 2018. I asked: “What was the initial aim of choosing ‘Flagship Brewery’ as a name?” He responded with “A flagship, like a main part of fleet or main thing.” 

I also asked: “What about the main purpose of the brewery and the thing that you do different than everyone else?”

Without missing a beat, He said: “We don’t cheat.”

He continued: “If it takes 6 weeks to brew a proper IPA, then we leave it in the fermenter for 6 weeks. Even if we sell out of a beer and need to produce more, we won’t do it until the hops are ready. We don’t cheat.”

This is pretty remarkable, imho. I don’t know of any other brewer who says this and holds firm in that belief. 

I said: “Wow. That’s amazing. I didn’t even know that there was such a thing about cheating in the brewing process. That is a great ideal of integrity you have here.” [ No Cheating. ] 

As an Ad and Brand Marketer, I thought that  [ No Cheating ] was the perfect tagline and even told him so. It speaks a great deal about the integrity and core values that are important to the creators and founders of Flagship. 

Moreover, it is important for customers to know. 

• A suggested tagline, ‘No Cheating’ was DOA (dead on arrival). By the time Jay and I had finished this conversation, he did tell me that a film production company has already helped them come up with #BeerEarned and #DemandFlagship.
• I thought a tagline like “No Cheating” would raise some questions—WoMA—an onslaught and flurry of conversation among first-time customers, innovators, and early-adopters. Brands become a culture built upon a deep emotional attachment to their purpose, beliefs, and persona. — (8grape.com)

Here we are today. Post-Protests and Post-Pandemic, in 2023, and Flagship Brewery remains as strong as ever. The brewery is doing well.

PARTNERSHIPS

Today, they have developed partnerships with some epic and well- established S.I. brands such as Ralph’s Ices and Holtermann’s Bakery. 

They’ve created a number of seltzers with Ralph’s Ices and a great chocolate stout with Holtermann’s Bakery (both legendary Staten Island brands). But, in all honestly these strategic partnerships pale in comparison to the next one. 

One of NYCs oldest watering
holes is a revolutionary classic
called Fraunces Tavern.

It is located in Manhattan between the Staten Island Ferry (aka South Ferry) and Wall Street. It is a pretty famous place that attracts many NYers, locals, visitors and tourist, both nationally and internationally. 

Five years later they have stayed true to keeping their taglines, #BeerEarned and #DemandFlagship, firmly in place. For a company it is very important to use the same hashtags and taglines over a long-term period of time (2-5 years at least). This enables Flagship to embrace their brand in both definition and how they want to be remembered (Legacy).

In 1762, Samuel Fraunces opened a tavern under the sign of Queen Charlotte (Queen’s Head Tavern), named for England’s Queen Charlotte, at 54 Pearl Street. In 1765, Fraunces leased management of the Tavern. He resumed proprietorship of the Tavern in 1770 and this location headquartered important meetings with American founding fathers and figures, before, during and after the Revolutionary War.  

Fraunces Tavern History

Well, the reason to mention Fraunces Tavern is due to the fact that Flagship Brewery has been brewing Fraunces in-house ale here in Staten Island for many years. I suspect the reason for Fraunces trusting Flagship to produce their brew for a legendary NYC establishment is primarily due to the consistency value Jay and Matt have in their brewing process. Their integrity emanates from each of their personalities right into the beer. 

Their main value is that all their brews are extraordinarily consistent in the year-over-year brewing process. 

You can’t get Fraunces ale on tap here in S.I. You can only get it at 54 Pearl Street in Manhattan. It’s exclusive. It’s also delicious. 

The Flagship brewers have been doing such an amazing job in keeping the ale consistent over the years that the owners of Frances Tavern asked them to work with Porterhouse Brewing Co. in Ireland. 

This giant leap forward aimed to create a brew that can be locally manufactured in NYC in partnership with both Frances Tavern and Porterhouse brewery located in Ireland. 

So, Jay Sykes and Matt McGinley both flew to Ireland for a week to get a good handle and meet the men to produce a stout with The Porterhouse Group. They produced a stout called “WOLFHOUND”. And, It is a hit in both the Flagship’ taproom and in Fraunces Tavern. 

_{I go to Frances often when in Manhattan for either a patron meeting, catching up
with an old friend, or when I miss the ferry by a minute or two.} 

WOLFHOUND IRISH DRY STOUT is a well-rounded, full-bodied stout which won’t fill you up as many other name brand stouts will do. It is a nitro making it not only smoother but, also means that the pour needs a minute or two to unfold. These nitros are the type of stouts that have been made famous with a cascading effect after they are poured directly from a tap. And as most bar owners already know, most nitros additionally have a spout at the end of these faucets are specially designed. 

Because of the additional nitrogen (replacing the CO2) in this faucet, you’ll have a to wait a few second for the stout to settle and become ready to drink. While WOLFHOUND is lighter on the full-bodied side, it is way more complex in its flavor profile. 

Surprisingly, there is a slight minty flavor when it first hits your tongue which happens in the center, toward the back of your mouth. It’s more of a slight peppermint rather than spearmint and yes, it is very subtle. Then, as it settles back there is a pleasant toasted, woodsy-oat flavor followed by a smooth, warming stout feeling. This is synonymous with the  smoothness of most classic stouts but with WOLFHOUND, you can subtract the over-powering aftertaste. 

Nitros generally have a lower calorie count than regular beer and is also low in carbohydrates. Nitros has been shown to have health benefits, such as reducing the risk of heart disease and cancer. Nitros are also high in antioxidants. This means that they can help to protect the body from free radical damage. 

This means that the WOLFHOUND stout’s flavor is never going to do a loop-de-loop in your mouth all night. Far from it. That minty nick is the beginning that tastes great also doesn’t repeat. 

WOLFHOUND Irish Dry Stout 
Nitro Stout — Irish Dry 4.2% ABV. 
16oz Draft is $8. In the taproom. 

WOLFHOUND IRISH RED ALE is a completely different story from the dry stout. For one, despite its reddish-amber colour, it starts off a warm woody flavour with an ever-so-slight bittery nip before the true flavor unfolds into classic red ale but one that is better than you may expect. 

So, under closer examination, it goes like this: 1. Woody and slightly sweet, 2. Disappearing Emptiness, 3. Then, as if floating up from an abyss, a small symphony of flavors magically appear with a slight earthy/peppery/woody/cherry cordial feeling which sits in your mouth like a classic 1970s rock song might sit in your ears—and it’s feeling pretty good. 

WOLFHOUND Irish Red Ale 
Nitro Red Ale — Irish 4.2% ABV. 
16oz Draft is $8. In the taproom. 

Smithwick’s and Kilkenny are of the historic and well-known Irish Red Ales by lineage. So if brand x leaves a two-note wonder in its aftertaste, WOLFHOUND gives you a five-note wonder and seems to change and unfold with each new pour with a low 4.5%abv. It’s delightful. 

Even more recently, with the success of the WOLFHOUND Red Ale (a personal favorite) the flavor profile is even more notable. The Porterhouse Group: Plain Porter, (5% abv*) was a gold metal Winner at the Brewing Industry International Awards. They were named the best stout in the world in 1998 and again in 2011. 

For anyone, beer drinker or not, these awards are an excellent stamp of approval even if you could care less about what beer you drink. What I’m really saying is that you should care. All beer matters. 

There is a huge difference between costume jewelry and a handcrafted diamond ring just as there is a difference between you preparing pasta on your home stove and ordering the same pasta dish at a Michelin-rated restaurant.

You won’t be sorry for traveling to the Northshore in S.I. to try a proper ale, bier, pilsner, or stout from Flagship Brewery. 

Besides the flavor profiles of the WOLFHOUND ale and stout mentioned above, you might be able to detect the subtle notes of WARMTH and deep INTEGRITY in all of the Flagship brews. It’s in there. 

FLAGSHIP BREWERY
40 Minthorne Street
Staten Island, N.Y. 10301
Phone: (718) 448-5284

Flagship Brewery
Check out their annual OYSTERFEST coming in September.

by Breuk Iversen
8grape.com

— A profile agency