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MICROBREWERY: Southampton Ales & Lagers
Southampton Ales & Lagers is set to become the first Long Island brewery to sell its beers nationally
after forming a strategic alliance in November 2007 with Pabst Brewing. Beginning in the spring of 2008,
Southampton’s line of award-winning beers will be marketed and distributed by Pabst, the third-largest
U.S. beer company following the merger of Coors and Miller’s U.S. operations. The Pabst deal caps
a meteoric rise for Southampton Ales & Lagers, the microbrewery arm of Southampton
Publick House (SPH), which first began distributing six-packs of its flagship Secret Ale in 2004.
According to Don Sullivan, president of Southampton Ales & Lagers and co-founder of SPH in 1996, “we’ve been
interested for quite some time in finding a way to distribute our
beers to a wider customer base.” Almost since the opening of SPH,
brewmaster Phil Markowski began to bottle some of his more experimental beers. These beers were offered
for sale at the brewpub as part of its “Beer Cellar” offerings. As Markowski's reputation grew and SPH
expanded distribution of draft beer to beer bars across Long Island and New York City, the brewpub decided
to take the plunge in 2004 and become a full-fledged microbrewery. Markowski arranged to contract brew his
award-winning Southampton Secret Ale at Old Saratoga Brewing Company in Saratoga Springs, NY, and SPH began
retail distribution of Secret Ale in six-packs on Long Island, in the five boroughs and in the Hudson Valley
in the fall of 2004. Markowski followed up in 2005 with the launch of the XXII Series, which are rotating
seasonal beers (Imperial Porter, Pumpkin Ale, Triple) in 22 ounce bottles, and the 750 Series of rotating
artisinal ales (Grand Cru, Saison, Abbot 12, Biere de Garde) in 750 ml. corked bottles.
The response to SPH's bottled offerings was so strong that in 2006 a separate brand was created for the microbrewery,
Southampton Ales & Lagers. In March 2006, the brewery launched a second beer in six-packs,
Southampton IPA, followed in January 2007 by Double White Ale, which was contract brewed at Sly Fox Brewing Company
in Royersford, PA. In 2007, Southampton shipped an estimated 40,000 cases of its beers in 8 states in the
mid-Atlantic and New England. Under the new alliance with Pabst, Markowski will
continue to supervise all brewing for Southampton. Production of
Southampton’s three beers distributed in six-packs and the XXII Series of seasonal ales in 22 oz.
bottles will shift to the Lion Brewery in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where Pabst has several of
its 25 other brands contract-brewed. Southampton’s 750 Series of artisanal Belgian-style ales in
corked bottles will continue to be brewed at Sly Fox in Royersford. While some
craft beer enthusiasts are naturally skeptical that the owner of the PBR, Stroh and Schlitz brands
will not try to influence Southampton’s beer lineup, Markowski has gone on record to assure
Southampton’s loyal fans that its beers will not change or be dumbed down.
Southampton Ales & Lagers
40 Bowden Square
Southampton, NY
(631) 283-2800, ext. 306
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