About

Rushing Duck Brewing Company started as an idea in a college dorm room in 2006. Founder, Dan Hitchcock was disillusioned by the fact that to enjoy a beer with friends, that meant having to drink bland, mass-produced adjunct lagers. He knew that there was bolder, more flavorful beer out there, but not yet being 21 he had no way to get it. To combat this problem, he decided he’d just make his own. He enlisted the help of his very supportive parents, and soon after he and his dad, Les, were brewing beer. Like most novice homebrewers, the initial creations were barely a notch above drinkable. The room for improvement only fueled their desire to brew better and more consistent beer. Dan began spending more and more time reading, researching, and studying anything he could get his hands on in order to make better beer.

While still enrolled in college for political science, Dan decided that brewing professionally was what he wanted to do for a living, so before even graduating he applied to the American Brewer’s Guild for a degree in Intensive Brewing Science & Engineering. While taking the American Brewer’s Guild’s distant learning program, Dan was also getting on the job training as a cellarman at Weyerbacher Brewing Co. in Easton, PA. After finishing the Brewer’s Guild program and getting a promotion to lead brewer at Weyerbacher, Dan began to focus again on opening his own brewery.
He spent the better part of two years writing and rewriting a business plan. Finally in the summer of 2011 he and Les decided to pull the trigger and open up Rushing Duck Brewing Company. Since then they along with a lot of support (both mentally and physically) from friends and family have been working tirelessly to prepare for a Summer 2012 opening!


What the Hell is a Duck and Why is it Rushing?
Our name comes from a Hoboken, NJ colloquialism that my grandfather told me about. In the post-prohibition era it was common for people to go to their neighborhood bar and get a container filled with draught beer to bring home to drink. This is not unlike the “growlers” that are common now. However, the containers back then did not have to be any specific size, shape, or material unlike the 64 oz glass growlers that we are familiar with. In fact, the container did not even have to have a lid. My grandfather’s container of choice was a metal pail that he and his buddies dubbed a “Duck”.
Occasionally, while sitting around playing cards, tragedy would strike, and the “Duck” would become empty. It was then the job of the low man on the totem pole to rush down to the bar to get a refill. Thus was born the phrase, “rushing the duck.”
As a nod to both my family history, and the culture of the early to mid 20th century we’ve adopted the name…Rushing Duck Brewing Company.
Rush over to our tasting room and get your duck filled!

Location

2 Greycourt Ave. Chester, NY 10918

info@rushingduck.com