Leavy & Britton Brewing Co

Business Type: Brewery (NY 110 d)

Years of Operation: 1878 to 1911

Location: Jay & Front Streets, Brooklyn

Description: The book “One Hundred Years of Brewing” H.S. Rich & Co. (1903) details the history of Leavy & Britton brewery starting with it’s location which they describe as “one of the oldest establishments of it’s kind in Brooklyn” dating back to 1842 when the Johnson Brewery was opened at the location. The business was started by Mathew Leavy & Eugene Britton who brewed strictly Ale & Porter up until 1897 when the brewery was rebuilt and a lager beer operation was added. In early advertisements for Leavy & Britton brewery they mention specializing in Canada Malt Ale & India Pale Ale a hoppy beer which became popular when European’s began sailing to India for silk and spices, with a stronger alcohol content it would not go bad during the long trip. It is interesting to see that Leavy & Britton specialized in Ale’s when the majority of other brewer’s of the time focused heavily and in many cases exclusively on lager beer.