Tapping Into A Family’s History
The Hyde Park Brewing Company was one of the original breweries in the Hudson Valley when they opened up shop in 1996. A family owned business has been teaching locals and visitors about craft beers for over 20 years.
Now carrying on the family legacy practically on her own is Angela LoBianco-Barone, the current owner of the Hyde Park Brewing Company.
“I currently have the responsibility of management and ownership, which is very tough,” Barone said.
Barone is also the mother of four children from ages 19–25, “I don’t recommend that to many.”
Being in this business and being busy is in Barone’s blood going back to her family’s roots in Sicily. Her father came to America in 1954 when he was 17 with the goal of making enough money to bring his whole family here.
Now 81 years old, her father is still a source for her inspiration, “When I get tired or depressed about the same stuff, I go and visit my dad, and the passion just comes out of his pores,” Barone said “After 10 minutes of talking to him, I’m ready to go again.”
Her father did many ‘handy-man’ jobs throughout his life, but one thing he always loved doing was feeding people and that left a mark on those around him.
“He raised us with good work ethic, he taught us the right way to treat people and the gratitude he gets from feeding people, it was inspiring,” said Barone.
Barone is one of four siblings who were raised in the restaurant business. In Brooklyn they made primarily Italian food because that’s what they were good at.
Around 1993, the family attended a pizza convention, which would happen on occasion. Her father started to see vats that said “make your own beer” and of course, that peaked his interest.
“When he saw that, his eyes lit up and said ‘oh my god we have to do this’ and we grew up with wine, so we didn’t know anything about beer” Barone said “After that convention he said we weren’t going to buy beer anymore and we were going to make it, my dad was all about making things from scratch.”
Insert John Eccles, the Brewmaster and Director of Brewery Operations for the Hyde Park Brewing Company. He is the grandson of a prohibition era Brewmaster and moved his family up from Ossining to Dutchess County not long after the Brewery opened its doors.
After they set out to find a Brewmaster, the connection with Mr. Eccles was almost imminent.
“It’s something he’s always been passionate about and from the moment we met him, he was like our brother from another mother,” said Barone.
They only started with three beers but now have six on tap at all times, they make two seasonal beers and in a year’s time they’ll make 16 styles.
“He makes all the suds, he does it all,” said Barone “He makes incredible beer.”
One batch of beer takes eight to nine hours to brew and they will brew two to three times a week, sometimes they don’t brew at all. “It all depends on consumption,” Barone said.
At Hyde Park, they have a seven barrel system that holds 31 gallons of beer for each barrel. Eccles takes care of day-to-day operations, cleans all the machines and does a lot of tours.
“I’m proud to say that only one batch of beer in 21 years was bad,” said Barone “You have to watch for fermentation and that’s his job.”
For the last 20 years, Eccles has been the Brewmaster and has practically done it by himself, “He’s had helpers in the past but this location in particular is his baby,” Barone said.
October is one their busiest months because of their Octoberfest beer and events, Barone is on the Board of Dutchess Tourism as well.
“We are, and the Hudson Valley is a very popular place in the fall,” Barone said.
Poughkeepsie and the surrounding areas are very German influenced, which is why Barone wanted to make their specials German themed in October.
“This area is and was very influential with German folks,” Barone said “There is a solid significant German population in the Hyde Park area.”
During Octoberfest, they do all German fare which is one of Eccles specialties because of his German background. This month allows Eccles to practice the German method of brewing known as Reinheitsgebot more than he would any other month.
“When you come in you won’t see any fruit beer,” said Barone “That’s foreign, Johnny doesn’t believe in that.”
They go through more beer in the month of October than any other month.
“We go through three batches of Octoberfest in the month of October,” Barone said “In the fall, you’ll see buses around here like crazy; it’s a beautiful place to be.”
Barone and her staff often try and hire people who are local because they are familiar with the area and can act as a tour guide to the tourists the Hudson Valley attracts.
Tourists are often easily noticeable because of how many samplers they buy.
“Everybody wants to try everything,” said Barone “You can tell by the questions they ask.”
Whether they’re asking about the Vanderbilt Mansion, the FDR Museum and Library or where the best place for a hike is, Barone always has the answer and is happy to inform them while serving them their favorite lager.
“I do love doing this, it’s hard and exhausting to do all of this, but I love it,” said Barone.
Why does she love it? Well there are a few different reasons:
1. “Being from an old school Italian family, being that I am a girl and my partner is my brother, it was tough for people to know and accept that ‘she’ was the boss.”
2. “I’ve definitely helped my dad’s legacy and I’ve put forth to my kids the mindset that we can do anything.”
3. “They’ve all already picked up leadership qualities that they’ve been told about from their professors and peers and they come back to me and thank me for being who I am which gave them those qualities,” she said regarding he children.
Doing what Barone does leaves much to be desired from her kids, but now that they’re older, they’re appreciative of their mother’s work ethic.
Barone said, “For a 25-year-old to come home and say, ‘you know what mom, thank you for everything’ means a lot to me.”
