Mike Alcorn, owner of CB Craft Brewers and Rochester beer pioneer, dies

Will Cleveland | Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Show Caption Hide Caption Honeoyes Falls brewery helped build local beer foundation CB Craft Brewers is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month. (Aug. 16, 2017)

Mike Alcorn, one of the most important figures in Rochester craft beer, died early Monday morning after a brief illness. He was 63.

Mr. Alcorn, who founded CB Craft Brewers in 1997, died at 5:44 a.m., according to a Facebook post from his wife, Luanne.

The brewery, which was originally known as Custom Brewcrafters, closed its doors in August after a 22-year-run in Honeoye Falls. When it closed, it was second oldest brewery in western New York behind Rohrbach Brewing, which opened in 1991.

"It’s very sad for his family and anybody who is involved in the craft beer scene in Rochester," said Three Heads Brewing co-founder Dan Nothnagle, who started his brewery with partners Todd Dirrigl and Geoff Dale in 2010 as a contract brewery operation at CB's. "Mike was a pioneer. He helped jump-start many careers and businesses, including ours. We wouldn’t be here today without Mike putting his neck out and allowing us to do our thing at his place. We owe him a debt of gratitude, and so do a lot of beer drinkers in Rochester."

Mr. Alcorn, a Boston-area native, moved to Rochester in 1991 to work for Eastman Kodak Co. When the brewery opened, it was just the fourth brewery in Monroe County; the only craft option in Monroe County came from Rohrbach's or Empire Brewing. In Ontario, Livingston and Monroe counties alone, there are now nearly 50 breweries.

Luanne Alcorn wrote on her husband's Facebook page that his "passing was peaceful and our children and I were with him. … My heart is broken but I know he is kicking those cowboy boots and rocking that Stetson in the loving arms of God. Be at peace all whose life he blessed."

CB's, which originally operated at a 1,500-square-foot warehouse on Papermill Street in the village of Honeoye Falls, initially focused on private label craft beers for restaurants and bars in the region.

"A lot of people can talk about how they cut their teeth going out to his old place on Papermill Street and probably filling growlers for the first time in their lives," Nothnagle said. "His legacy lives on in all the things he helped gestate in Rochester, whether it be the employees or breweries or consumers."

The brewery produced 450 barrels in its first year and peaked at 9,000 barrels in 2016.

These partners actually owned the trademark to the beers Custom Brewcrafters produced. The model peaked at about 40 outside accounts. Currently, the brewery has 30 restaurant and bar accounts for exclusive beers. The brewery also contracted for nine different breweries in the region.

CB's production shifted to its own line of craft beers, including the Caged Alpha Monkey IPA.

Bruce Lish, the former head brewer at CB's, said Mr. Alcorn was massively influential in both his career.

"A lot of people went through that place and a lot of big careers were started," said Lish, who went on to become the head brewer at Three Heads when it opened its Rochester facility in 2016. "Just the sheer amount of people who learned there, Custom Brewcrafters was always known as a great steppingstone.

"There's no mincing words about that. He certainly had a big influence on a lot of people."

Mr. Alcorn's biggest gift to the Rochester-area beer scene came in the form of the employees who started there and the education it provided to consumers. His brewery helped form the foundation for local craft beer.

The brewery acted as an incubator for some of the most well known breweries in this region, including Three Heads, War Horse, and Twisted Rail.

John Urlaub, the founder of Rohrbach Brewing, said Mr. Alcorn was a friend and valuable ally in the early days of Monroe County craft beer.

"Mike, in many, many ways, forged a lot of what we have today," Urlaub said. "Mike was very, very innovative. A lot of the private label stuff, I didn't know anyone in the country who focused on that the way he did. He did it really well. He was a friend to anyone who was interested in craft beer, whether they were in the industry or customers."

Urlaub said he shared many conversations with Mr. Alcorn early on. Education was one of the most important lessons the breweries offered. "From a personal perspective, I can tell you CB's was instrumental in my development as a beer lover. Before I visited the Papermill Street facility, I didn't know the difference between an ale and a lager.

"Mike and I learned together," Urlaub said. "We would call each other for supplies or if we had an issue getting grain or if we were purchasing tanks or needed a service guy locally. In those early days, we worked closely together. It was all about, let's see what we can do together to grow the overall appreciation for craft beer."

Dave Schlosser was the original head brewer at CB's. Schlosser was also the original head brewer at Rohrbach and later brewed at Genesee. He opened Naked Dove Brewing in Canandaigua in 2010, which was the first craft brewery in Ontario County.

"Mike had this concept that he came to me with and we fleshed it out," Schlosser said. "It was interesting and it helped me a lot in expanding my brewing horizons, trying to make a number of different amber ales that tasted different. It was an important part of my life. Mike was quite the guy and quite the figure in the industry here."

Joe McBane, the owner of the Tap and Mallet pub in Rochester, first encountered Mr. Alcorn when McBane moved to the United States in early 2000s from England. McBane worked at the Old Toad and later opened his own pub in 2007. The Old Toad served many CB's beers throughout the years.

"Having a company like Custom Brewcrafters and having a link to local craft brewery where you could learn, it was so important," McBane said. "You could develop perspective on how beers were made. He was a big deal."

In August, Mr. Alcorn said there wasn't sadness as the brewery closed its doors.

"This has been a blast," Mr. Alcorn said. "To get to know all these people and to see them succeed in this craft industry, and for us to play a part in that and for us to play a part in getting some of the newer breweries started, it has been an absolute blast."

WCLEVELAND@Gannett.com