Brindle Haus Brewing opens its doors in Spencerport

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There’s little not to love about Spencerport’s first brewery, Brindle Haus Brewing Co.

Dog friendly, with a set of stainless steel bowls set up in a bar-side corner to keep the pups fed, and kid friendly, with a tucked-away corner fitted with a TV set, the warm, wood-lined pub exudes down-home comfort from the first step through the door of its South Union Street storefront.

It’s a labor of love for husband and wife owners John and Kristine Boothe, building off of John’s 10-year passion for home-brewing classic, unfiltered and unfettered ales.

“He started off with a home brew kit and just immediately took over our kitchen, making the floor all sticky,” Kristine said. “I still remember spending hours popping each top onto those first few batches.”

John eventually moved his love of craft brewing to the barn of their Spencerport home, mulling over the idea of opening a brewery while continuing to work at Eastman Kodak Co., where he and Kristine first met. As the craft industry took off, the possibility of opening their own space came closer and closer to reality.

“At first it was a plan for retirement, but after seeing all of the breweries popping up in the area, it seemed like the right time,” Kristine said. “It was really like, why wait? We have young kids, and we know this is something the area needs, and I think that really was proven by the turnout so far.” Indeed, Brindle Haus turned into somewhat of a Mad Haus during their grand opening on Saturday, Nov. 25.

Opened with partners and friends Tom and Sarah DiPetrio, the site at 377 S. Union St. is a former doctor’s office. Purchased in April, the building “was pretty nasty in the beginning,” John said. “There were some leftover medical specimens left behind.”

There’s little to see of the building’s past in the brewery. From cozy, hanging neo-industrial light fixtures to wall-to-wall hardwood, upscale ski lodge comes to mind more than doctor’s office. The Brindle Haus name is a link to the couple’s former endeavor rescuing dogs, particularly brindle pit bulls.

Of course, a nice storefront doesn’t make a brewery. Brindle Haus opened with six offerings; an amber ale, an East Coast IPA, a West Coast Double IPA, an Imperial Porter, and two nitrogenated Milk Stouts, one plain and one with a dash of vanilla. More styles, including a Pilsner and Saison, are on the way.

Without ruminating ad nauseam on the notes and tones of each five-ounce pour, we can sum it up succinctly: John makes spectacular beer. Sitting behind the bar criticizing his work, he points to a lack of haziness in the East Coast IPA and lackluster nitrogenation in the stouts. Those faults certainly don’t shine through. The stouts are roasty, full-bodied and finish smoothly and crisply, while the porter hides its nearly 9 percent alcohol content seamlessly behind a curtain of caramel, toffee and chocolate notes. As the adage goes, you’re always your worst critic.

However, for the unseasoned beer drinker, be wary, John’s brews are all unfiltered, with floaty bits of yeast abounding. Don’t worry, they’re meant to be there.

“That’s always just sort of been my style,” John said. “Unfiltered, straight to the tap. I also am not a huge fan of putting a ton of things into my beer like you’ll see a lot of breweries do nowadays. There’s nothing wrong with that, but these are classic styles, these are how beers have been done for centuries, simple and straightforward.”

Along with some truly remarkable brews, Brindle Haus fills a gap in the Rochester beer marketplace. Despite a plethora of breweries in the region, the west side has been left behind.

“I think this fills a real need in the community,” Kristine said. “We don’t really have many brewpubs out this way. We could drive to Iron Tug (Brewing, 360 W. Ridge Road), but parking is awful, and the big ones like Rohrbach are always so packed, a lot of times it’s not even worth the drive. We love those breweries, but (Brindle Haus) is something for the people who live out here to call their own.”

Just as much as it is for thirsty west-siders, it’s a dream come true for the couple less than a week after the official opening.

“It still doesn’t feel real,” Kristine said. “The support of the community has just been so amazing. Everyone seems to love the beer, the location, the building, everything we’ve put so much work into.”

Another old adage speaks to whether work is really work if it’s doing something you love.

“This is what I want to do, I want to brew beer,” John said. “That’s really it. I just love brewing good beer.”

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