Return Brewing had humble beginnings, starting their production out of the Crossroads Brewing Company facility in Catskill while waiting for pandemic-delayed construction on their own Hudson facility to be completed. With the Hudson taproom and brewery now fully complete and open as of March, Return is coming full circle. This summer, the brewing company will be expanding to begin operating a second taproom and brewery in their former partner’s Catskill space.
Return Brewing was born in 2021 from the minds of co-founders Mikey Lenane, JD Linderman, and Jack Liakas, who met working in the industry at Brooklyn’s Sixpoint Brewery. Lenane’s friend Robert Wise, who joined the brewers as a co-founder and the head of finance and operations, had just moved back to the US from London, and it seemed like the perfect time to start production of their specialty craft beers.
The group scouted a former tire factory in Hudson with aims to transform it into a full brewery and taproom space. When rising costs during COVID extended build-out timelines, a partnership with Crossroads allowed them to begin brewing and distributing their products, earning them a following ahead of the opening of their own Hudson taproom.
They opened their beer garden in Hudson in May 2023. The launch, albeit minimal, was hugely successful, and money they earned through the endeavor made it possible to open their indoor taproom in March of this year. While they’ve continued their wholesale production in Catskill, Return has been brewing nano batches of more experimental beers in Hudson for over a year—innovating products such as their latest Pastel Palace beer-wine hybrid.
With full reign of the Catskill production facility going forward, the brewers will have more freedom to experiment than ever. Rather than scheduling the production of a few beers at a time, they will be able to bring their ideas to fruition on their terms. “This was the completion of the original vision,” co-founder Mikey Lenane says. “Things haven’t necessarily gone to plan, but they’ve really started to fall into place for us.”
The Obvious Choice
When the Crossroads Brewing Company space on 201 Water Street became available for purchase earlier this year, Lenane says expanding was “an obvious decision.” With the help of a local group of family and friends, they were able to secure the space that their small brewing company had already grown into under Crossroads’s ownership. Keeping the taproom and brewery within the local community was important to them, and under Return’s ownership, things won’t be all that different for customers that got accustomed to the rustic spot with its creekside beer garden.
Return is making the space theirs with some small aesthetic changes—new paint, wallpaper, locally made picnic tables, and likely a mural painted by creative director Liakas. The new space will feature a garden aesthetic, with some new plants brought into the space and a cleared view of Catskill Creek.
“We wouldn't want to come in and totally change something that people really enjoy,” Lenane says. “If you liked it before, you're going to come back.”
Catskill’s taproom is smaller than their Hudson location—with a 53-person capacity versus 150—but with 12 draft lines as opposed to Hudson’s eight, they’re looking to bring in more beer from other local brewers and expand the wine and spirits selection. Now operating the brewery themselves, Return will have the opportunity to actualize ideas they’ve been working on since the beginning.
Since 2021, they’ve been able to develop their archive line of beers—a group of beers blended from various barrels—however, they’re looking to diversify with their expanded production capabilities. New archive releases are expected by winter, where the brewers will change the flavor of local fruits and infuse them into different beers. Many other new ideas are inspired by Europe: classic German-style brews, old-school English beers like bitters and milds, and Norwegian beers. They currently have about five different types of beer they’ve brewed in the last few months, but with a more flexible brewing schedule and the ability to make smaller, more curated batches, they’re looking to brew 10 to 15 styles of beer.
“It's going to be well-made beers at reasonable prices, and then eventually we're going to have a full bar as well,” Lenane says. Just as Crossroads did, they hope to partner with food trucks for onsite eats and get involved in community events. Besides their mission of local community involvement, Return has always prioritized accessibility.
“I think a lot of the craft beer space is hypermasculine, and we look to avoid that,” Lenane says. “We want to make accessible beers that are not pretentious and easy for an expert or someone new to craft to enjoy.”
Return Brewing's Catskill location will be open to the public later this summer. Follow their Instagram for more details.
