Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Cheesemongers to Open 19th Century Brewery Tunnel for Weekend Fundraiser

By Rachel Holliday Smith | March 27, 2017 2:04pm | Updated on March 28, 2017 5:04pm
 Old lagering tunnels underneath the former Nassau Brewery serve as a cheese aging facility, Crown Finish Caves, in Crown Heights.
Old lagering tunnels underneath the former Nassau Brewery serve as a cheese aging facility, Crown Finish Caves, in Crown Heights.
View Full Caption
Courtesy of Susan Boyle

Underneath a 19th century brewery in Crown Heights, 26,000 pounds of cheese are stored to age in 15-foot-high brick tunnels rarely seen by the public.

But this weekend, you have a chance to taste some of that cheese and get a glimpse of the subterranean "caves" once used for lagering beer — while raising money for a local preschool.

The Crown Finish Caves, a cheese-aging facility run by owner Susan Boyle and her husband, Benton Brown, has occupied the space since 2014 underneath the old Nassau Brewery site on Bergen Street.

The arched tunnels, Boyle says, are hardly ever seen by anyone outside the company. For health reasons, only staff are allowed where the hundreds of wheels of cheese are stored, she said.

 

A post shared by CFC (@crownfinishcaves) on

But this weekend, the couple is opening up one of their unused tunnels — identical to the one used for cheese — for a cheese-and-wine tasting to benefit an expansion of the Prospect-Lefferts Gardens cooperative preschool, the Maple Street School.

The event, held Saturday for $70 a ticket, will feature lots of cheeses from New York, Vermont and Georgia, wine and catered food, an auction from local artists and live music. The best part of the evening, however, may be its subterranean venue.

“You can really see the history when you look at the space,” Boyle said, adding that the unfinished tunnel is “maybe a little more romantic” than the 1,000-square-foot cheese-aging room, anyway.

“It’s a really great place to gather,” she said.

The fundraiser will take place from 5:30 to 8 p.m. this Saturday, April 1, at 925 Bergen St. in Crown Heights. Tickets are available online here.