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#Freedom Craft Brewery is the latest brewery to come out of Westchester, brewing up craft beers on Albany Post Road in Buchanan.
The brewery is all about celebrating freedom, and consists of brewmaster and managing partner Barry Hansen and ten other people making their own beer in their 600 square foot space.
"We do everything by hand," Hansen, who lives in White Plains, said. "We have three batches fermenting at once."
#Freedom got its liquor license last year and made its first sale last September. On Wednesdays, Hansen and crew bottle the beer, inviting volunteers to help sanitize, fill, cap and label its brews as they enjoy pizza and beer.
"We do quite a lot in our small space," Hansen said.
Hansen began brewing overseas when he was living in Melbourne and found his beer was quite the hit.
"I was bringing people into craft beer," Hansen said.
#Freedom's beer has a milder smoother flavor and Hansen said the taste is more palatable to the general population.
The beers include Unalienable Rights, which is made entirely from ingredients grown in the U.S. and is hopped in three stages and The Berry Amendment, which features mixed berries.
"It's real all natural fruit," Hansen said. "The fruit and aroma hit you up front. It appeals to everyone, you finish with that bitter kick beer has."
For the summer, #Freedom is offering Obsession Ale, a light beer that you can drink all day while at the beach or at a barbecue. During the winter, #Freedom has A Toast, which uses biscuit malt.
"We've gotten a great response to it," Hansen said. "We didn't even have enough last winter."
The #Freedom name is an inside joke among Hansen and his friends but it has come to symbolize what it means to enjoy a beer.
"It's about the freeing social experience of sharing a beer with someone," Hansen said.
Hansen has been working with farmer's markets in Larchmont and Croton and said he has enjoyed the response from customers.
"They love what we do and hearing our story," Hansen said. "We'll have conversations that go for 30 minutes."
For more information on #Freedom, visit http://www.freedombrew.us/
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