Adirondack Brewery owner creating 'craft beverage campus'

Architect's rendering of multi-phase campus development

What is a "craft beverage campus"?

It's a project created by the owner of the Adirondack Pub & Brewery. The multi-phase development of a parcel adjacent to the existing Lake George facility would include "a winery and a beverage incubator that will serve as a regional food and beverage education center through partnerships with SUNY Adirondack, Schenectady County Community College and Paul Smiths College to coordinate and integrate craft beverage academic programs, further career opportunities and expand year-round tourism in the Village of Lake George," says a state grant announcement.

John Carr has received a $325,000 Empire State Development grant for the Route 9 project. He envisions the campus as a place to continue brewing and bottling his beer, offer college and other classes on brewing beer and cider, winemaking, and distilling, and also would have facilities to sell the beverages.

Carr has been active in efforts to help make Lake George more of a year-round visitor attraction. He sees his campus as furthering that effort, although additional funding is needed for his project. In addition, partnerships with the aforementioned colleges need to be formalized.

Ed Bartholomew, president of the Warren County EDC, told the Post-Star he and his group had been working with Carr for several years, and added he is glad the project got state grant money.

"I think John is fulfilling a life-long dream for himself, and his persistence will bring new people into Warren County and Lake George," Bartholomew said. "I think what John is creating is a destination, not only for craft brewing, but for wine and distilling."

Carr told the newspaper the first step will be to talk to various schools about the educational component. "This is a big-picture, long-term project. The important thing is the better products New York produces, the more we can sell on a national level."

---