CHESTER – Senator James Skoufis (D-Hudson Valley) presented Curtis Johnson of Long Lot Farm Brewery with a Senate Empire Business Award. The Empire Award is given to successful small businesses throughout the state that makes contributions to the community.
Long Lot Farm is a fourth-generation owned farm in Chester. Curtis Johnson was an Army engineer for six years and became a home-brewer before coming back home to start Long Lot’s microbrewery. In 2013, New York State created the farm brewery license, which made it cheaper and easier for farmers to open breweries, as long as they used local ingredients. This encouraged Curtis to start Long Lot Farm Brewery.
The micro-brewery opened in February of 2018 and in May of 2019, was awarded the gold medal at TAP New York in the Pale Ale category at for their “Harvester Red.”
Skoufis said “Long Lot Farm Brewery is a success story about how the state can empower local farmers to upgrade their practices and create new businesses. Curtis, an Army veteran, is involved in the Chester community, has built this brewery from the ground up, and has continued his family’s legacy; I look forward to supporting his continued success.”
Curtis Johnson said, “New York has a long history rich in agriculture as well as does my family history. The support from the state toward the brewing industry in the form of the farm brewery law is helping farms diversify and keep up with the changing times. I am proud to continue the family tradition and to help keep New York State agriculture a viable industry.”
