Talking Cursive Brewing Company is the vision of owners Andrew Brooks, Patricia Brooks and Susan Kimmel. The 2,600-square-foot space located at 301 Erie Blvd W, next to Café Kubal and across the street from the historic Niagara Mohawk building, houses both a 7 BBL brewhouse and a 52-seat tasting room with 15 taps. They serve their own beers made on premise, as well as a variety of craft beverages from other New York State farm breweries, wineries, cideries, and distilleries.
“Our vision is a brewery where you can always try something new, but where you can also count on a couple favorites to be available,” says Andrew, who will also serve as the Head Brewer. “We love breweries where you can talk to the brewers and they can tell you the stories behind the beer you are drinking. We want to be a place to share and create memories and enjoy great beer with great people.”
The Brookses have a combined 32 years in all facets of the restaurant/hospitality business, though much of it goes back to gone-but-not-forgotten Syracuse favorites such as Jack Appleseed’s Tavern, Park Circle Restaurant, Bennigan’s and Rafferty’s. After finding a common passion for brewing, they looked to get back to their roots, albeit with a whole new direction.
In preparing for opening, they visited over 175 breweries. The Brookses attended courses and seminars and got mentoring from SCORE Mentors Syracuse and the Onondaga Small Business Development Center. They traveled around the country taking courses with Cornell University’s Ag & Food Tech Park in Geneva, NY, the American Brewer’s Guild in Middlebury, Vermont, and at Big Choice Brewing northeast of Denver, Colorado.
The Brookses beers have won numerous medals and awards at competitions across New York State. The Talking Cursive name and theme was born while the Brookses and Kimmels were on a brewery-hopping tour of Dunnedin, FL in the Spring of 2017. Once the Erie Boulevard location was selected later that year, the original theme and scope were expanded upon, and Susan Kimmel joined the Company, taking on an ownership and advisory role.
Asked what sets their beers apart, Andrew says “We believe that brewing is an art, and we use life and the World around us as our palette. We’re always trying something new. We take our inspiration from all the parts of our environment, from the people we meet and the places we go and the experiences we have along the way. Just as artists explore different mediums, we like to do the same with our styles, ingredients and processes.”
Talking Cursive Brewing Company is excited to join the growing renaissance of breweries in Syracuse and the surrounding area and look forward to helping the area become a brewery destination. As part of that, they wish to not only help build that future, but to also recognize and celebrate the past and the history of brewing in Syracuse. Their location is the site of one of Syracuse’s first commercial breweries, opened in the 1820s by Davenport Morey and Ashbel Kellog. Several other landmark Syracuse breweries such as Greenway Brewery, Moore & Quinn Brewery, and Germania Brewing Company were also located right on or near the Erie Canal.