Once a milk plant, this building is now a brewery that brings beer fans to small village

The storm rages outside; the power is out inside; nonetheless, the beer still flows.

Cindy and I are at the Little Valley location of the Ellicottville Brewing Co.

We drove through a storm to get here; the wind blowing hard, the rain coming down; the lightning flashing.

But we wanted to check out the brewery’s pub. After all, Little Valley, in Cattaraugus County, is my hometown, and it’s a big deal that the brewery is here.

The brewery at 202 Second St. started producing beer several years ago. The pub and pizzeria in the back of the facility was delayed by the pandemic and other issues, but it had its grand opening in February of this year.

When I grew up, there was a milk plant where the brewery is now. Then there was a window factory. Salamanca Beverage Corp., a distributor, followed.

Now they brew craft beer in the renovated building.

Little Valley was far from a craft-beer destination in the old days, though certainly beer was consumed in the village at the two hotels, perhaps, less so, at our house. My father was more of a price-point shopper when it came to beer, rather preferring the A&P’s generic beer.

Drive anywhere in western New York now, and you’ll see a small brewery.

Build a brewery and the beer fans will come. They check out the IPAs, the stouts, and any new magic mixes.

Once arrived, they talk with the other pilgrims about alcohol by weight (ABW) and alcohol by volume (ABV). They raise issues of aroma and taste. Then they text what they have learned to Will Cleveland or the other beer bloggers. They spread the news up and down the line. Try the 1818 Little Valley lager, whisper the gurus, it’s crystal clear.

And so, we do. But why 1818?

I look it up. It seems that Little Valley, which is 110 miles southwest of Rochester, was formed in 1818. Its borders were much bigger then, extending well beyond its current boundaries.

When I was a kid in the 1940s and 50s, cutlery was big in Little Valley. At least two plants made knives. That’s what drew my grandfather, a native of Sheffield in England, to Little Valley.

Eventually, the cutleries closed, done in by foreign competition.

Ellicottville, over the hills and nine miles away, transitioned from a logging town to a skiing town, starting in the 1950s.

The creation of the ski areas, Holiday Valley and then HoliMont, reinvigorated Ellicottville. People don’t just come there now to ski. The restaurants, among them the original Ellicottville Brewery location, are bustling year-round.

Little Valley didn’t seem to benefit that much from Ellicottville’s success. That may be different with the arrival of the brewery.

Thanks to Ellicottville; thanks to skiing; thanks to beer, an old building has new life.

In the half dark, I sip my 1818 Little Valley lager, happy to be back.

Remarkable Rochesterians

As suggested by Jason Muller of Rochester, let’s add this business guru to the list of Remarkable Rochesterians that can be found at: : https://data.democratandchronicle.com/remarkable-rochesterians/

Tom Keene (1952 – ): The popular and longtime co-host of Bloomberg Surveillance on Bloomberg Television and also on Bloomberg Radio, he was raised in Fairport and graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology, where he played hockey. A chartered financial analyst and a musician, he worked in the investment industry before joining Bloomberg News in 2002 as an editor-at-large and presenter. He is also the author of "Flying on One Engine: The Bloomberg Book of Master Market Economists."

From his home in Geneseo, Livingston County, retired senior editor Jim Memmott, writes Remarkable Rochester, who we were, who we are. He can be reached at jmemmott@gannett.com or write Box 274, Geneseo, NY 14454.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Ellicottville Brewing celebrates village with 1818 Little Valley Lager