OUR STORY
A BREWERY 10 YEARS IN THE MAKING…
Growing up in the NYC area, founders Joe Correia and John Dantzler didn’t always want to open a brewery. But one night at age 16, fate struck - both tragically had their fake IDs confiscated at a bar in the East Village. Left with no way to buy beer, the two decided they’d make it…
The first batch started with a Mr. Beer homebrew kit, two guys who hadn’t quite read the instructions, and John’s mom coming home to find that kit exploding all over her kitchen. Despite both being grounded for a month, their resolve was undeterred, and the two kept at it. By the time high school graduation rolled around, the two were winning some modest homebrew awards (which they had to send their dads to accept), and a passion had fully been born. On a trip to Ireland, Joe and John formally decided (over a toast of a pint of Guinness) that one day, they’d open their own brewery - centered around their love of three things: great beer, ambitious creations, and the amazing city of New York.
Fully aware that neither knew what the hell they were doing, they decided to divide and conquer - Joe to study chemistry and head into the brewing world, and John to enter finance in the hopes of figuring out that whole business side of things.
After 10 years, thousands of trial batches, and a few more boil-overs, John and Joe have reunited to create Torch & Crown Brewing Company.