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Queens' First Big Brewery in Decades Set to Open Next Week

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | November 26, 2012 8:45am

DITMARS — If all goes according to plan, Queens will welcome its first large brewery since the 1950s next week.

SingleCut Beersmiths, at 19-33 37th St., which had originally been slated to open this fall, is now scheduled to open next week.

“We’ve triumphed past a myriad of inspections, NYC red-tape delays, a complex build-out, and even a hurricane, but we are finally operational and will open the doors to our tap room on Saturday, Dec. 8th,” Rich Buceta, the company’s president and head brewer, said in a statement.

The brewery, which plans to produce lots of lagers, is launching five new beers that will be available year-round — including 19-33 Lagrrr!, Bob Sunburst Finish Lagrrr!, Dean Pacific NW Mahogany Ale, Billy 18-Watt India Pale Ale, and Billy Half-Stack India Pale Ale, according to a release.

SingleCut will also be releasing seasonal beers throughout the year.

The brewery’s tap room will be open starting Dec. 8, providing tastes of PNW Mahogany Ale and selling 1-liter growlers during the grand opening.

SingleCut will also feature live music performances at the 5,000-square-foot space, which is located near 20th Avenue.

Buceta, who lives on the Upper East Side, worked in advertising for many years but said "his whole life was really revolving around beer."

Five years ago, Buceta, who has been brewing beer at home for many years, quit his advertising job and went to work for Greenpoint Beer Works.

"When I felt I had enough experience, I decided to open my own brewery," he said earlier this year.

SingleCut will be the first large brewery in Queens in decades.

Several breweries operated in Ridgewood and College Point before Prohibition, which lasted from 1920 until 1933, according to the Queens Historical Society.

After Prohibition, Burke Brewery opened in Long Island City, producing its own beer and later Guinness until 1954.

In June, a new microbrewery Rockaway Brewing Company opened in Hunters Point.