Seven years after opening in Bay Shore, Destination Unknown Beer Company (better known as DUBCO) has opened a second taproom on a historic 50-acre farm in the Hudson Valley. The new taproom in Warwick, N.Y., called DUBCO Acres, opened on Memorial Day weekend and a grand opening and ribbon cutting was held on June 10.
DUBCO Acres is located in a converted dairy barn on the Thankful Acres Farm, which dates back to ownership by the Demarest family around 1752. Chris Candiano, DUBCO’s owner and head brewer, said, “my wife Jenn’s family has lived in the Warwick area for 20 years and it was our dream to find a space there that matches the beauty and integrity of our products.”
DUBCO plans to grow its own malting barley, wheat, rye and hops on the farm to create a series of unique estate-grown beers. For the opening of DUBCO Acres, the brewery introduced a new beer, Four Corners Farmhouse Ale, a French-style saison in tribute to the French immigrants who settled in the Warwick area and began farming it over 250 years ago.
The brewery was founded by Candiano and Brad Finn, natives of West Islip who were classmates in high school and reconnected a decade later over a shared passion for homebrewing. After several years of brewing together they decided to take the leap to start a brewery and in 2014 signed a lease for a 2,000-square-foot Bay Shore location. They raised over $24,000 through a Kickstarter campaign to build out a 1-barrel brewhouse and soon after receiving their New York State farm brewery license, opened the taproom in May 2015.
DUBCO gained an immediate strong following for its wide range of quality beers, including gold medal winners at the 2016 and 2017 TAP New York Craft Beer & Food Festivals. The brewery quickly expanded to a 3-barrel brewing system and then in 2018 added a 10-barrel system while keeping the 3-barrel system for test batches and to brew sours. DUBCO also took over additional space in its building, expanding to 7,000 square feet, providing room for more fermenting tanks, barrel aging and a canning line.
Candiano, who previously had his own construction business, took over sole ownership of DUBCO in 2019 and continues to serve as head brewer, assisted by Production Manager John Fraioli and Assistant Brewer Jimmy Carlin. DUBCO is currently keeping all its production in Bay Shore and its canning operations are overseen by Packaging Manager Bill Nardone. The brewery recently signed on with Clare Rose for distribution of its beers in Nassau and Suffolk counties and has 250 accounts serving its beers across the island.
Jenn Candiano is the brewery’s general manager, with Larissa Clifford serving as assistant general manager and John Kavanagh as Bay Shore taproom manager. DUBCO’s Bay Shore taproom, which is dog and family friendly, is the site of popular annual festivals including Dubtoberfest and the Pina Colada Pig Roast.
DUBCO continues to brew a wide variety of beers including its flagship DUBCO IPA made with Cascade hops and dry hopped with Citra and Mosaic. Other IPAs include For Science 7.0 Double IPA and Water Taxi, a drinkable 11.3% alcohol by volume (ABV) IPA that is triple dry-hopped with kveik, a Norwegian yeast with tropical flavors. Cosmic Continuum, a New England hazy double IPA brewed and dry hopped with a Cryo Pop Hop blend, took home a gold medal from this year’s TAP New York festival and a bronze medal from the New York State Craft Beer Competition.
Seasonal beers are also a priority and for the summer DUBCO is featuring Dub Light, an American light lager at 4.5% ABV, Waikiki Wheat ale brewed with hibiscus and guava, and Gilgo Gose brewed with Himalayan pink salt, pink guava and passion fruit.
The brewery loves to collaborate with other craft breweries and recently brewed a two-part collaboration with Two Villains Brewing, located near Warwick in Nyack, N.Y. Two Villains brewed an IPA that can be combined with a sour brewed at DUBCO in Bay Shore to drink as a cuvée.
For Long Islanders looking to experience the Hudson Valley craft beer scene, DUBCO will run bus trips to visit DUBCO Acres and neighboring breweries, with the first trip planned for June 25. Candiano said, “We are so excited to have a new space and a new audience for our beers and look forward to continuing to grow our brewery.”
DUBCO has two locations: 1 South Chicago Ave. in Bay Shore and 65 Four Corners Rd. in Warwick, N.Y. For more info visit destinationunknownbeercompany.com.
Bernie Kilkelly is the editor and publisher of LIBeerGuide.com.
For more food and drink coverage, visit longislandpress.com/category/food-drink.
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