For beer lovers the Hudson Valley over, June 18 was a sad day. After a 27-year tenure, last weekend the Hyde Park Brewing Company poured beers from their location on Route 9 across from the historic home of Franklin D. Roosevelt for the last time.
Founded in 1996 by Tony LoBianco and his children, Angela and Joey, Hyde Park Brewing was a pioneer, championing the craft beer movement in the Hudson Valley long before “hop head” was a term and breweries were a dime a dozen. On Facebook, LoBianco wrote, “back then, we had to convince people to try handcrafted ‘real’ beer.” My, how much has changed.
In New York State, there are now over 450 breweries, second highest out of any state in the country. The craft beer industry has a $5.4 billion economic impact. And the Hyde Park institution was a key player in putting New York State—and the Hudson Valley—on the map, ushering in a new era of beer culture and prosperity.
LoBianco immigrated to New York City from Sicily in the 1950s and worked in auto repair before moving upstate in the ‘70s with his wife Angela and going into the food industry. From the beginning Hyde Park Brewing Company offered a tasty menu of pub fare in addition to its draft beers. LoBianco also opened Angela’s restaurant in Catskill, named for his wife. In 2014, they added a brewing system to the restaurant and transformed the business into the award-winning Rip Van Winkle Brewing Company, which is run by LoBianco’s son Joey.
While Rip Van Winkle remains open, Hyde Park Brewing could not stay afloat after two years of pandemic-imposed financial hardship. On social media, Angela and her husband Richard, who were running the brewery, said of the closure: “Our time in the Hyde Park community has been a wonderful journey. We have always been proud to provide friendly service and hospitality to our customers throughout the years…What was also unimaginable was the last two years, the business environment is a very different one and for that, sadly, it was unsustainable.”
But LoBianco and Hyde Park Brewing Company’s legacy lives on in Rip Van Winkle and the dozens of other craft breweries and beer pubs in the area that uphold their original tenets of “good friends, great food, exceptional beer.” Let’s raise a glass.
This article appears in June 2022.
