Brewery Spotlight

Fidens Brewing Company

When fresh spring water, yeast, hops, and barley are put together and aged in a special barrel, they get converted into something delicious and golden. Similarly, when three friends of varying backgrounds put their individual talents and common love for craft beers together on a commercial level, they don’t just create magic for themselves, but thankfully, for many others too.

Not even a year old, Fidens Brewing Company has already collaborated with brewing giants like the Other Half Company and given stiff competition to the biggies. Customers in their reviews have expressed how happy they are to finally get great IPAs in Albany and boast about “beer snobs” driving hours to get a taste of growlers full of Fidens’ unique beers.

Image by Fidens Brewing Company on Google Maps

The Beginning

Fidens, which is Latin for courage, is the brainchild of three friends – Steve Parker, Time Pierce, and Michael Carter. Parker is the chief brewer of this current nanobrewery and a physical education teacher during the day.

Before becoming a business owner, Parker had been entertaining friends and family with his special brews that he created at his home, where he lives with his wife and three children. It didn’t take too long for Pierce and Carter to realize that they were having Parker’s brews more often than buying flashy, overpriced cans of so-called craft beers from outside.

Carter’s profession is financial advising and Pierce is a CPA, but they are as involved in the brewery as Parker; it’s literally all hands on deck. The first unique thing about the brewery is that, due to limited space available to open their establishment, they have a pretty small tasting room, where one can sample beers and stouts in ten ounce glasses before they make their purchases.

The brewery, therefore, primarily caters to customers who buy growlers from them or carry their own. They’re not too fussy about the growlers you get, even if they’re from other beer places, as long as they fit the tap, are clean, and have thick glass.

The second feature that sets this place apart from most other breweries is that it is completely debt-free. The three friends put in their own savings into the business venture, and this has always been their plan since the time they started discussing the possibility in early March.

Parker, who has been an experimental brewer for several years, combined his skills with the funding from his friends to make the goods, but the other two are by no means silent partners.

They pull their weight through pitching in at the brewery by mingling with customers and, of course, managing the books, advertising, and collaborating with other establishments. This joint venture is literally the result of the sweat of all three of them, and perhaps that’s why Parker’s beers are such good amalgamations of unique ingredients.

Finally, if you look at online reviews and their social media sites on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, you’ll see that their hazy IPAs are a big hit, and customers are willing to order the same thing again and again.

Parker doesn’t mind introducing new characters in the play, which is why their initial plan of rotating six varieties of beer has now increased to a much larger number. People interested in knowing what’s on their tap currently can visit their website. It gives customers an idea of the flavors they can expect in their drinks, along with a few important details about them and their business.

Image by Fidens Brewing Company on Google Maps

Journey So Far

Some of the most popular drinks that have featured in customer reviews so far are: Eugene’s Axe, Jasper, Hormesis, Necessary Means, Different Mothers, and Socratic Questioning.

With ABVs ranging between 6.3% and 9%, customers get to choose from a wide variety of options, which includes drinks containing some of the choicest hops and essences of fruits, such as pineapple, orange, and berries, along with more luxe ingredients, such as chocolate and coffee. As you can see, the ingredients’ list is not very niche, but it is the way they are mixed under the expert care of Parker that makes the drinks so special.

The open floor plan allows for a pleasant atmosphere in Fidens on the three days a week they operate currently – Thursday through Saturday. So it is evident that business has grown, perhaps more than what they expected. The tasting room is also pet-friendly for well-mannered pets, and customers can munch on some of their light snacks and buy soft t-shirts.

More than these apparent traits of the business, it is the more basic and human ones that have charmed customers for several months now. Almost every single visitor has started their review by appreciating the brews, some even to the extent of claiming Fidens has the best NEIPAs.

The number of reviews you find online may be limited since the brewery is a relatively new player in the field, but all of them make it a point to mention the excellent customer service they receive at the brewery. The staff, apart from being knowledgeable and friendly, make it a point to serve their customers quickly and avoid long lines from cramming up their limited floor space.

However, one can expect Fidens to only scale new heights from here on since they’ve managed to retain a five star rating on popular review sites, such as Google Reviews, Yelp, and Facebook. They don’t fare too badly on other niche sites, such as Untappd and Restaurantji, too.

Their focus is not on becoming too big for their own good, but to impress their customers, one small batch at a time. This is why they encourage their customers to indulge in indoor games like playing cards, which makes this a perfect spot for a bunch of pals to hang out and enjoy a cozy atmosphere while sipping on some frothy, fruity brews.

Fidens’ founders’ motto from the beginning has to be an important part of their community in Colonie, which is why they have worked extensively and expanded their menu. As they’re active on social media, Fidens fans don’t have to wait for too long to know what’s next from their favorite brewers.

They post updates about events and new releases on Twitter, as well as Instagram, and all their posts have a personal touch. It is evident they are grateful for the support and love they’ve received so far, which has encouraged them to take their business to the next level. They can be reached at 518-608-0014, and you can visit them at 10 Walker Way Albany, NY, 12205.

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