It takes a Hudson Valley Village to have a Brewing Company its Main Street Attraction
CrushBrew Editorial · Beer · 7 min read
Key Takeaways
The Brewery — Chatham Brewing is a Main Street craft brewery in Chatham, New York, and was Columbia County’s first brewery.
Founded 2006 — Home brewers Jake Cunningham and Tom Crowell started it in a tiny carriage house, later adding head brewer Matt Perry.
The System — The brewery now runs a 20-barrel brewhouse with a 650-gallon capacity, brewing one to two batches a day.
The Beer — More than a dozen styles, led by the Farmer’s Daughter Rye IPA, made with locally sourced rye malt.
Local Sourcing — Many ingredients come from Columbia County farms, including rye from the nearby Hillrock Estate Distillery; barley is harder to source in New York.
In This Article
Main Street Brewery
What is Chatham Brewing?
Chatham Brewing sits in the center of the village of Chatham, New York, on Main Street next to the municipal parking lot. Large picture windows give shoppers and strollers a look at the brewing in progress, and a reason to step in for a tasting or a pint. It was Columbia County’s first brewery, and it has grown from a tiny carriage house into a full production brewery and taproom.
The most important thing in brewing, the team will tell you, is staying organized and pristine clean so the flavor of the beer is not altered. In the current facility, head brewer Matt Perry brews one to two batches a day, depending on which tanks are open, on a 20-barrel system with a 650-gallon capacity.
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How It Started
How did Chatham Brewing get started?
Chatham Brewing was founded in 2006 by Jake Cunningham and Tom Crowell, two home brewers who met through their wives. Both had spent time around breweries; Jake had worked on the restaurant side and at a brewery in England. After a stretch of home brewing, both wanted an operation of their own.
A third home brewer, Matt Perry, sought them out. Matt had been home brewing for about five years, taste-testing his beers on friends during Sunday football games, a fair audience for a true test. Recognizing his natural feel for brewing and wanting to brew at a larger scale, Jake and Tom brought him on as head brewer. Tom describes Matt as intuitive about hops and barley, the way a chef knows what makes a recipe come together. The early setup was tiny, what Matt called a glorified home brewing rig, though it still turned out about 100 gallons of finished beer per batch, against the roughly five gallons a home brewer makes.
“Because beer is 95 percent water, they wanted to stay in the village of Chatham, where the water would be the same.”
The three men quickly outgrew the little carriage house, but they stayed put in Chatham for that reason. After two years of building a business plan, securing financing and licensing, they found the right space in the center of the village. In January 2014 they moved in, and Jake’s brother Chris Cunningham joined the company.
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On Tap
What beers does Chatham Brewing make?
Chatham makes more than a dozen styles, spanning IPAs, pale ale, stout, porter, and a pilsner. The IPAs are aromatic, built on citrusy hops that throw off tropical-fruit notes like mango and grapefruit. The Hop Crop IPA is made with hops from the brewery’s own hop yard and a local farm. Its two best-known beers are the Farmer’s Daughter Rye IPA and the Czech’rd Past, a crisp Bohemian-style pilsner.
Rye IPA
A rye IPA is an India pale ale brewed with rye malt, which adds a spicy, slightly sweet character alongside the hops. Chatham’s Farmer’s Daughter Rye IPA, its most popular beer, is made with rye malt sourced locally.
A Sampling of the Lineup
| Beer | Style | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Farmer’s Daughter | Rye IPA | The brewery’s most popular beer; made with locally sourced rye malt. |
| Czech’rd Past | Pilsner | A crisp, easy-drinking Bohemian-style pilsner; a current flagship. |
| Hop Crop | IPA | Aromatic and citrusy; uses hops from the brewery’s hop yard and a local farm. |
| Pale Ale | Pale Ale | Fewer hops and less aromatic; light and sweet. |
| Dry Irish Stout | Stout | Low in alcohol; chocolate malt, roasted barley, and Midnight Wheat malt. |
| Imperial Stout | Imperial Stout | Coffee flavor blended with bittersweet and Baker’s chocolate. |
| Porter | Porter | Crystal (caramel) malt and roasted barley make it darker and sweeter. |
| Go Long | Session IPA | A traditional ale lower in alcohol. |
Session IPA
A session IPA is a traditional India pale ale brewed lower in alcohol, so it stays lighter and more drinkable over a longer sitting. Chatham’s Go Long is brewed in this style.
Crystal Malt
Crystal malt is a caramel malt, a kilned malt that adds color and sweetness to beer. Chatham uses it in its Porter, along with roasted barley, to make the beer darker and sweeter.
Many of the beers lean on local ingredients. The Farmer’s Daughter is made with rye malt from the nearby Hillrock Estate Distillery, and other beers draw on farms around the county. Barley is the harder ingredient to source: little is grown in New York, where the lack of crop insurance makes it a risky bet for farmers facing uncertain weather.
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Beer Meets Food
What food does Chatham Brewing serve?
When you crave beer, you tend to crave a bratwurst or a burger. Chatham serves food to go with the taps: burgers, bratwurst, pretzels, and mac and cheese, with the meats sourced from local farms and the mustards and sauces made using the brewery’s own beer.
Craft-beer pairing dinners have been gaining on the traditional wine dinner, and Chatham has leaned in. The brewery teamed up with the kitchen at Local 111 in neighboring Philmont for a five-course beer pairing dinner created by Chef Jo Proul. Appetizers came with the Local Hero Cream Ale as a light starter; the entrée paired Broiled Sirloin with Cheddar Ale Sauce against the Spike Devil Porter; and the finale was a Charred Sweet Potato Tart with the Dry Irish Stout to soften the sweetness.
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Visiting
Can you visit Chatham Brewing?
Yes. The taproom is on Main Street in Chatham, where you can taste the beers, drink a pint, and fill 32-ounce or 64-ounce growlers to take home and bring back for refills. The brewery also cans select styles, and its beer is distributed across the Hudson Valley, from Saratoga down to Manhattan.
As of 2026, the taproom is generally open Monday afternoon and Wednesday through Sunday, with the latest hours on Friday and Saturday and a closure on Tuesday. Hours shift with the season, so it is worth confirming the current schedule with the brewery before a visit.
Frequently Asked Questions About Chatham Brewing
🍺 Chatham Brewing at a Glance
Key facts about the brewery, its beer, and how to visit.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Location | 59 Main Street, Chatham, New York (Columbia County). |
| Founded | 2006, by Jake Cunningham and Tom Crowell; Columbia County’s first brewery. |
| Head Brewer | Matt Perry (also a partner). |
| System | 20-barrel brewhouse, 650-gallon capacity. |
| Flagship Beers | Farmer’s Daughter Rye IPA and Czech’rd Past pilsner. |
| Styles | More than a dozen, spanning IPAs, pale ale, stout, porter, and pilsner. |
| Local Sourcing | Columbia County farms; rye malt from the nearby Hillrock Estate Distillery. |
| Food | Burgers, bratwurst, pretzels, and mac and cheese, with sauces made from the brewery’s beer. |
| To Go | 32 oz and 64 oz growlers, plus canned beer; distributed from Saratoga to Manhattan. |
| Hours | Mon 4–8, Wed–Thu 12–9, Fri–Sat 12–10, Sun 12–8; closed Tue (as of 2026 — confirm with the brewery). |
