Ed Ostberg looking over a brewery blueprint at his office on County Line Road.

A new microbrewery, Upper Hudson Brewing Co., plans to make its mark in Queensbury despite a series of zoning hurdles.

If approved, Upper Hudson aims to be a wholesale brewery that contracts with small, regional breweries, to brew and can their beers for sale to restaurants or in cans on-site.

Upper Hudson will also have a tasting room with about six tables.

“We’re going to do a real cross range of beers,” Owner Ed Ostberg told The Post-Star. “I have a spruce tip ale which is my version of what they served the Revolutionary Era soldiers. We also do stouts, porters. We do some really good German and Czech-style pilsners. We can brew pretty much anything.”

The plan is to renovate an existing industrial building that sits on 22 acres of land at 639 County Line Road near the Warren County airport in Queensbury.

“The primary use will be for production, there are plans for a small tasting room, but the primary use will be to produce beer,” project engineer Erik Sandblom said at a recent Planning Board meeting.

Before brewing or renovations can begin, however, the site must first undergo site plan review and a zone change to have microbreweries as an allowable use in a Commercial Light Industrial zone.

“They’re essentially just bouncing me between zoning, planning, and the local town board,” remarked Ostberg, commenting on the tough development proceedings.

While the state of New York permits microbreweries to be situated within Industrial zones, the Town of Queensbury does not, a fact Ostberg finds especially aggravating given that Adirondack Winery operates under an industrial zone.

“It’s virtually similar when you substitute wine with beer,” stated Ostberg.

Ostberg, who has been running Design Function, Inc. for approxiamtely three decades, owns the current building on County Line Road. Design Function, Inc. is a company that designs and fabricates commercial graphics for museum exhibits and trade conventions.

According to Ostberg, Design Function plans to slightly reduce operations at a lower level of the building to accommodate a brewery on the top floor.

For several years, Ostberg has been working on his brewery project. This includes an unsuccessful attempt to set up a venue in downtown Glens Falls. Ostberg estimates that, upon approval, it would take approximately six months to transform the County Line Road building into a brewery.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ostberg purchased ten 10-barrel fermenters and two 20-barrel fermenters from Paradox Brewing in Schroon Lake.

Ostberg stated, “Paradox built a brand new brewery, and we bought their original brewery. I have all the necessary brewing equipment, including pipes, pumps, control systems, and a steam generator for the brew kettle. The only thing missing is packaging.”

Ostberg plans to work with a mobile cannery service to pack his goods onsite before distributing them to various destinations, according to him.

The size of Upper Hudson will be about half of Common Roots Brewing in South Glens Falls, which runs on a 20-barrel system and has built a reputation in the area. The production’s size implies that it will produce minimal noise and odors, says Sandblom.

Ostberg notes that the byproduct waste from the brewing process, including used grains, will be packaged in totes and transported to a nearby farm for chicken and livestock feeding.

The project received a positive review from the Queensbury Planning Board, which found no negative environmental effects. It also recommended to the Town Board a zoning change to permit microbreweries in the Commercial Light Industrial zone.

When Upper Hudson Brewing goes before the Queensbury Town Board has yet to be determined, according to Ostberg.

Luke Mosseau is a reporter who covers Queensbury, Lake George and northern Warren Coutny. His beats are Business, Planning and Housing. Contact: 518-742-3224, lmosseau@poststar.com.

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