Hops
Drink Up
BY ANGELA MATUA
AMATUA@QNS.COM
Though it’s been a long journey for
the founders of Fifth Hammer Brew-ing
Company, the duo will finally open
their brewery to the public this month.
Chris Cuzme and David Scharfstein
started searching for the perfect spot
to operate their 15-barrel brewery in
2015 and two years later are finally
ready to welcome beer lovers into their
brewery and taproom at 10-28 46th
Ave. in Long Island City.
“As long a road and as frustrating
as these hurdles have been, they were
probably good and important for us to
do this right,” Cuzme said.
Cuzme began home brewing in
2001, served as the president of
the New York City Home Brewers
Guild and worked at breweries in
Massachusetts and New York before
deciding to partner up with Scharfs-tein
to create their own concoctions.
They decided to open Fifth Ham-mer
in Long Island City not only be-cause
of the tight-knit community of
young people but also the growing
number of breweries in the area. Al-though
they may compete with each
other, Cuzme said, all the brewers are
friends and share ingredients like
hops and yeast.
“We love the community here and
it’s just a great place with lots of young
professionals,” Scharfstein said.
Patrons will be able to order a
variety of beers including an IPA,
Farmhouse Ale, Stout, rye IPA aged
28 OCTOBER 2017 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
in bourbon barrels, a pilsner, kettle
sour blended with fruits and a New
England IPA.
“I’m an adventurous drinker and
therefore an adventurous brewer,”
Cuzme said.
The duo will “slowly roll into” serv-ing
food but will not cook anything
on site. Instead, they will highlight
local vendors and invite food trucks
to serve their goods in front of the
brewery. Patrons will be able to snack
on nuts, cheese, crackers and pick-les
and will also be encouraged to
order out.
Cuzme and Scharfstein said they
are also proud of the brewery’s interior
and the 2,000-square-foot taproom.
“The taproom is very important to
us,” Cuzme said. “We want a place
to celebrate life and community and
individuality of people in here.”
Cuzme’s piano makes an appear-ance
at the brewery along with a bar
made of New York blue stone and a
variety of vintage hammers, some of
which act as tap handles.
The name for the brewery comes
from a folk tale that explains how Py-thagoras
discovered the mathematical
relationships between music notes.
After walking into a blacksmith shop,
Pythagoras heard five hammers, four
of which were making harmonious
sounds. The fifth one was discordant.
The owners said the story repre-sented
their “unconventional story.”
“We didn’t grow up wanting to be
brewers,” Cuzme said. “It just ended
up this way.”
Photo courtesy of Fifth Harmony Brewing Company
We didn’t
grow up
wanting to
be brewers.
It just ended
up this way.
CHRIS CUZME
Owner
