Seven Story Brewing opens in Bushnell’s Basin

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Perched alongside the Erie Canal in the town of Pittsford is 13-acre Great Embankment Park. What may seem like a simple slice of greenery marks the spot of one of the most impressive engineering achievements found in the construction of the canal.

The Irondequoit Valley presented a  problem to the builders of the canal. Short of committing to building a series of up and down locks, the project was virtually at a standstill. But three ridges running along the valley created an opportunity: move a whole lot of earth to fill in the gaps between the ridges and run the canal along that. In 1822, that’s precisely what they did, creating a 5,000-foot stretch of canal perched 78 feet at its highest point above the Irondequoit Creek Valley, which is now known as the Great Embankment.

A mile away from the park, Seven Story Brewing is paying homage to that feat of pre-industrial ingenuity, drawing its name from the embankment’s height. Seven Story is a new project from Casey Dunlavey and Seth Clark, founders of Pittsford’s Lock 32 Brewing Co. , which also draws its name from historical Erie Canal architecture.

“It’s a no-brainer. This building, the location, everything is picture-perfect for a cool tasting room experience,” Dunlavey said.

Located at 604 Pittsford-Victor Road, the unassuming two-story colonial also houses Gallery 96. The fine-art photography gallery will continue to operate on the ground floor of the brewery, which will have a second-story patio deck with one of the most scenic views of the canal you’ll find in the Greater Rochester area. Down a flight of wooden steps, a boat launch will serve as both a back patio dock as well as an impromptu stage for visiting bands, and an expansive stretch of greenery will serve as a veritable adult playground with yard games and no shortage of Adirondack chairs.

“The modifications have been pretty minor since it was already such a beautiful space  when we came in—it being an existing art gallery,” Dunlavey said. “All we had to do was set up the bar and brewing system in the basement.”

The lucky number pops up quite a bit in Seven Story’s layout. Seven wood varietals adorn the walls, floor and bar, including a black walnut bar and tabletops handmade by Dunlavey’s father-in-law. Seven taps will also pour seven of their beers from the get-go. Most of Seven Story’s brewing will be contracted out to Rohrbach’s. In the basement sits the brewery’s micro-sized one-to-three barrel brew system, essentially a glorified home brew setup. That microbrewery will pump out most of the brewery’s experiments and one-offs.

Seven Story’s beers also boasts a pretty clever and unique naming scheme. Each beer is named for a movie, novel or poem which fits one of seven commonly accepted story archetypes; overcoming the monster, rags to riches, the quest, voyage, comedy, tragedy and rebirth. The first round of beers pulls inspiration from across the board, from Dumb and Dumber to Walt Whitman. The initial lineup is set with session ale “Tender Curiosity,” double IPA “For the Weekend,” IPA “Get Busy Living,” porter “Ivory Leg,” American Wheat “Zamunda,” robust brown ale “Unknown Ways” and blonde ale “There’s a Chance.”

Lock 32 brewmaster Phill MacArthur will also serve as brewmaster at Seven Story.

“We want to appeal to the craft beer enthusiasts, but also the intro to craft beer crowd as well. We want something for everybody,” Dunlavey said. “So we’re going to have an IPA and a double IPA. We’re going to have a real sessionable pale ale, we’ll have a blonde that’s really late. So if someone happens to come upon here that is maybe not in tune with craft beer or just getting into it, we’ll have some friendly approaches.”

Serving as a venue, art gallery, boat dock and mini-park all in one, Seven Story is aiming to not only be a brewery, but rather create a community hub, a place which could make Bushnell’s Basin a walkable destination. It’s a popular trend in breweries to be more than just a brewery. Three Heads in Rochester is also an incredibly active music venue, K2 Brothers in Penfield has its own yard, fire pit and outdoor venue and Roc Brewing is a regular host of business mingling, fundraising and other events.

For Dunlavey, that aspect can be even more important than the beer.

“These places are coming like a community center, in a way,” Dunlavey said. “I think almost all of these people are making really good beer, but I love all of the other things that go along with it too. I like going to a place and getting a look into the way in which they operate. I like going to Lost Borough and talking to their Mug Club, or seeing the running groups they have, or going to Roc (Brewing Co.) and seeing they have a community event or fundraiser going on—that’s what I really like.”

That’s largely due to the movement of “typical” breweries from production hubs to hyperlocal watering holes. With that comes a focus on bettering communities that they serve and providing people a reason to explore what’s in their own backyards. It’s Dunlavey’s hope that Seven Story can bring that same energy to Bushnell’s Basin.

“My favorite places in Rochester are ones where I can go to, like, say, the South Wedge, and say ‘OK, where does everybody go?'” Dunlavey said.

“I don’t think historically the Basin has been overly walkable, but we have the Basin Pub with really cool beers on tap, great food across the street; we have Abbott’s— everyone wants to go and get some ice cream; we have Steamer’s, which has become one of the best bottle shops in all of Rochester, and then you have us doing our own local thing. It’s become a pretty cool space to come down, park your car and spend the night.”

Seven Story Brewing will host their grand opening on Saturday, Aug. 4.

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