Because his parents never said no. Because he found the perfect farm to cultivate his brewery. Because everybody deserves to drink good beer.
Chuck Williamson took his hard-earned expertise from a kitchen in Queens to a bucolic brewery in the heart of upstate New York, where Butternuts Beer & Ale has grown national recognition.
He was one of the first craft brewers to use aluminum, but the catch is not only his cans. Chuck and his team carefully handcraft their beers at a converted dairy farm just outside of Cooperstown.
From a converted dairy farm outside of Cooperstown, Butternuts aims to create approachable craft beer that appeals to the common man and connoisseur alike.
Charles: My name is Charles Williamson. I am the owner operator of Butternuts Beer & Ale. I’ve been in business now for eight years. We produce four brands of beer in cans. Pork Slap Pale Ale, Moo Thunder, Snapperhead and Heinnieweisse. These are our flagship beers and we aim to produce a beer that is both approachable and enjoyable. One of the thoughts about the beer was that it was for the common man. It was something that we felt was very approachable. We felt something that was very drinkable. We felt it was something people could identify with. Part of our connection to that was to marry the imagery that we have with our marketing, with our website to not only physically with the beer, but through audio as well. We felt that fanfare for the common man was the perfect translation for what we were looking to do.
It’s being on a brewery, it’s definitely a lifestyle. It’s a sense of community which kind of goes hand in hand with what we do. So one of the things with central New York is its farming history. Obviously, there was a great history in hops dating well back before the 1800s. By 1850 Otsego County was the single biggest hop producer in the world. There’s a spring fed water supply here and it’s been here ever since the farm was establish in the late 1800s. It’s a very flavorful water source. Its low mineral content, it’s got a nice sweet flavor to it which is very important for our brewing needs. When people come here, what we wanted to kind of experience is in fact that this is a very hands on, very family oriented facility. Something that expresses a personal vision. Something that we want to allow people to experience and embrace as well.
