Governor Cuomo Gets His Own Beer at Rochester Brewery

Swiftwater Brewing Company in Rochester just dropped a new beer that pays homage to the current New York Governor.

The company named their beer after Cuomo for his role in passing the farm brewery law in 2012 that has since helped the beer industry grow. According to Syracuse.com, the farm brewery law gives tax breaks and reduces regulations on breweries that use a certain amount of ingredients from New York in their beers.

Because of this, the Governor's IPA features all New York-grown and processed ingredients. It's 6.6% alcohol and has hints of pine oil, apricot, grass and pineapple jam.

It's no big shock that Cuomo is a controversial person across some parts of New York, especially if those parts lie outside of the city. But Swiftwater's owner and brewmaster, Andy Cook, took that into consideration when they decided to name their new beer in Cuomo's honor.

"I was a little worried about that because I’ve got friends on all sides of the political spectrum,” Cook told Syracuse.com. "But we’re just trying to say, no matter where you come down on politics, we can all agree that the New York government, the executive and the legislature, has done some really good, strong things to benefit the craft beverage industry and help us create jobs and economic benefit."

And no matter your political affiliations, you can at least appreciate the can artwork for The Governor's IPA! The sleek design features graphics that represent different parts of New York State, from Syracuse University to the Adirondacks to Buffalo.

The beer debuted last week at Swiftwater. It is now available for $17 for a four-pack and on draft at 378 Mount Hope Ave in Rochester.