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Actor Kelsey Grammer with Paul Leone, executive director of the New York State Brewers Association. Leone reports that Grammer plans to open a brewery in Upstate New York's Catskills region.

(Paul Leone via Facebook)

Note: This story has been updated with the brewery name and location.

Actor Kelsey Grammer -- who shot to stardom in the 1980s as a barfly on the TV sitcom "Cheers" -- plans to open a brewery on a farm in Upstate New York's Catskill Mountains.

News of the project came via a Facebook posting by Paul Leone, executive director of the New York State Brewers Association. Leone posted a photo of himself and Grammer holding a T-shirt with the NYSBA logo. "Hey, look who's opening a brewery in New York State," Leone wrote.

Actor Kelsey Grammer poses with staff members at the F.X. Matt (Saranac) brewery in Utica during a visit last fall.

Leone said the brewery is in the "Initial stages of planning," and will be named Faith American Brewing Co., after Grammer's youngest daughter. Faith is also "a word that means a lot to him guiding his own life," Leone said.

The brewery will be located in Margaretville, a village on the northern edge of the Catskill Park, Leone said.

"He's being very thoughtful about this project and making it all about the quality of the beer," Leone wrote in Facebook replies to people who commented on his post. "Good guy all the way around and we're happy he's building this here in NYS. Catskill region."

In a later reply, Leone wrote: "He has a great property in the Catskills and he wants to rehab an amazing barn on it, grow hops and barley. He's got his plans in place and a brewer already picked out."

In a Facebook message, Leone said the brewery probably would not be completed for a year or more. He repeated that Grammer is being cautious about releasing information.

Grammer starred in the 1980s Boston bar-set sitcom "Cheers" as the psycho-therapist Dr. Frasier Crane. He then played the title character in the spin-off "Frasier." He has been in many other shows and movies, and created the voice of Sideshow Bob in "The Simpsons."

He has also publicly battled substance abuse problems.

Last fall, Grammer paid a visit to the F.X. Matt / Saranac brewery in Utica, where he had his photo taken with brewery employees.



The New York State Brewers Association was founded in 2003 by brewers led by David Katleski of Syracuse's Empire Brewing Co. Its current membership includes more than 80 of the state's nearly 200 breweries. It advocates for the state's craft beer industry.

Don Cazentre writes about food, beverages, restaurants and bars for syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Contact him by email, on Twitter, at Google+ or via Facebook.