A nautical-themed, underground brewpub is setting out to become Brooklyn’s latest beer haven. Located below Seamore’s restaurant in DUMBO, the under-construction venue is slated to open to the public as The Hull this fall.
It’ll mark Blue Point Brewing Co.’s first step outside of its 54,000-square-foot brewery in Patchogue, Long Island.
“This is our first attempt to break out of our shell and expand from home,” says Mark Burford, the brewery’s co-founder and president. The brewery opened on Long Island in 1998.
Inside its new venue, white brick lines the walls and an exposed ceiling (surprisingly high for a basement) is decorated by metal slabs resembling the curved bottom of a ship. “I just loved the space so much and it’s a block off the water,” says Burford.
Near the back of the venue are large, silver fermenters which will soon create some of Blue Point Brewing Co.’s signature beers, like the "toasted lager" or the "shore thing lager." The fermenters will be the site of experimentation for the brewery’s 30-person production team, according to Rob Capitelli, Blue Point’s brewmaster.
“I’m really excited about getting on the system with my team and making some creative beers,” Capitelli says. “It’s going to be a center of innovation.”
The new, underground space is smaller than Blue Point’s Long Island location, with a two-barrel brewing system. It’s tiny compared to Blue Point’s 60-barrel system out East, But with the ability to produce smaller batches of beer comes the freedom to experiment.
A new brew is expected to be added to the menu at least once a week.
The Hull will also serve up bar eats. It has teamed up with Seamore’s restaurant to supply a dining menu featuring mac and cheese, oysters, tuna poke, burgers and more.
Blue Point Chef Charley Sinden recommends pairing the spice of the "good reef ale" with the crab-baked oysters. The Blue Point burger, which comes topped with melted blue cheese, bacon rémoulade and crispy fried oysters, pairs well with the "toasted lager."
“I want everybody to try the Blue Point burger,” Sinden says. “You throw oysters on a burger and it gets a little buttery, a crispiness, and adds a nice seafood flavor.”
In partnership with Seamore’s, The Hull plans to donate a portion of sales from the Parmesan crab baked oysters ordered and five cents from every can of Blue Point’s "good reef ale" to the Billion Oyster Project, which looks to restore one billion live oysters to New York Harbor by 2035. The brewery will also collect and donate its oyster shells, so the project can return them to the harbor to act as natural filters.
But, it’s not all about the food and beer.
The Hull also houses a small stage which will host both musicians local to Brooklyn and Long Island. The stage will also be open for seminars, talks, and a slate of programming that’s still in the works.
Burford also wants The Hull to be a place for brewers to engage with the community.
“I really believe in having the brewers accessible to the customers, whether they’re just having a beer at the bar and talking to people,” Burford says. “We want people to not just look at the equipment, but know there’s a human being behind it.”
The Hull is expected to open to the public on Oct. 17, at 66 Water St., Brooklyn.
