By Matt Urtz
(Madison County, NY
) My last article summarized the importance of distilleries in the development of Madison County’s economy. This article will discuss the presence of brewing in Madison County.
The earliest known brewing establishment was operated by Talcott Backus. Backus was a judge in the county who operated the brewery one-and-a-half miles south of the village of Cazenovia during the 1820s. The date he started is unknown, but in a letter to his daughter in 1837, he mentioned that he sold the brewery and was tearing down the buildings associated with it.
In other letters, he complained about the cost of hops and barley. Backus sold his equipment to Robert Quiafe and his son, who had built a brewery on what would today be Riverside Drive, south of Albany Street in the village of Cazenovia. Quaife and his son produced and sold large quantities of “Celebrated Cazenovia Ale.”
According to the 1835 census, Quiafe was the only brewery operating and realized a little over $7,400 in sales. In today’s dollars, that would be just under $200,000. Quaife operated the brewery until around 1841, when he sold it to a group of men including John Hearsey, the distiller.
The property is referred to as the “brewery lot,” and it carries that name through future transactions, as well.
According to the 1845 census, business declined during this time period, as their sales dropped to $2,800. Five years after purchasing the brewery, the group sold it to Austin Van Riper who operated it successfully for three years. Van Riper (who had a nephew by the same name who was a jeweler and tower clock maker) sold his shares to Salem Twist.
Salem Twist purchased the operations in 1849 and by 1855 was producing 2,000 barrels of beer valued at $13,000 (a little over $315,000 today). In an 1852 Village of Cazenovia map Salem Twist is listed as the owner of the “Cazenovia Brewery” located on Chittenango Creek.
On the 1859 Madison County map, Twist is still operating the property as a brewery and, in the 1860 census, he is listed as a Master Brewer operating out of Cazenovia, but by 1865 he has moved out of Cazenovia.
It does not appear the brewery was continued after Twist moved on.
In the 1875 Madison County Gazetteer of the Village, the structures were now listed as other companies. Twist appears in the 1880 Michigan census operating a boarding house, out of the brewing industry.
About 140 years later, a new micro-brewery opened in Hamilton, and at least two more appear on the horizon. In 2012, 17 of the 70 acres of hops (24 percent) that were grown in New York state, were grown in Madison County.
The industries are growing as we return to our roots and attempt to rekindle a bygone era.
As we move forward in this new era of production, I hope we learn from prior endeavors.
Matthew Urtz is Madison County historian. He can be reached at 315.366.2453 or email matthew.urtz@madisoncounty.ny.gov. Like “Madison County, NY History” on Facebook and visit madisoncountynyhistory.com. Sources Cited: 1835, 1845, and 1855 Madison County Census. Marshall, J. Rush. Scrapbook of Local Historical Collections, courtesy of the Cazenovia Public Library. Talcott Backus Letters Collection at the Cazenovia Public Library. Cornell Cooperative Extension 2012 Annual Report.