Lighthouse Sales Bring Lighthouse Ales
By Sue Clark on Aug 26, 2009 in News 
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Plans For Lighthouses Include Microbreweries
Okay, so the name Lighthouse Ale is already taken, but that’s not stopping Nevada attorney and multi lighthouse owner Michael Gabriel. His latest announced plans for the three lighthouses he currently owns are to turn them into microbreweries and to sell the product locally. The lighthouses in question (so far) include Fourteen Foot Bank, Bloody Point and Borden Flats lighthouses, all on the East Coast. Gabriel announced his intention to purchase at least two more lights in New York Harbor to complete his little chain of lighthouse beers.
Once all approvals are met and permits are in place, he’ll be installing desalination equipment at the lights, making this the only beer in the world brewed with seawater. The plans are to start with Fourteen Foot Bank, in the Delaware River (pictured above), which has been in bureaucratic limbo for quite some time. That and Bloody Point Lighthouse will be first. The process for Borden Flats is expected to take anywhere from two months to a year for the permits, according to Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Ed Coletta, quoted in the story at the Herald News.
High Cost For Equipment
Gabriel indicated that the cost for the desalination equipment is around $100,000. This is on top of the repair costs and conversion of the lighthouses, which at Borden Flats is estimated at around $150,000. Each lighthouse will probably output 20 to 40 barrels of beer each day, which will be sold to local restaurants and stores. He estimates the desalination process will produce around 300 gallons daily of potable water.
Besides the room dedicated to brewing at Borden Flats, he also plans to add some living space for his relatives, which he hopes to have living there full time. The lighthouse will not be changed significantly, but modernized instead. It is still a working lighthouse, and the Coast Guard does retain access to the lights and foghorns of all three.
So, if it can’t be Lighthouse Ale, what will it be? Gabriel said they’ve thrown around different names, including Lighthouse Brew and Sea Ale, but discarded those. What would you name a beer brewed at a lighthouse? I would bet that we could come up with a good one. Or ones. Gabriel indicated he will have several different specialty brews, so if we can come up with some names, I’ll forward them to Mr. Gabriel for his consideration. Leave your ideas in the comments section below. And I’ll start off with a few. How about Beacon Ale? Or maybe Foghorn Lagerhorn? Okay, bad pun, but let’s come up with something for him.
Photo Credit: Fourteen Foot Bank Lighthouse in the Delaware Bay by dianeham. Some rights reserved.
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5 Comment(s)
By z on Aug 27, 2009 | Reply
Fourteen Foot Ale
Bloody Pint
No Flat Borden
By Lou on Aug 27, 2009 | Reply
Channel Marker Ale (Brew)
Bloody Point Pale Ale
Some interesting possibilities…
Big Light Ale (Brew)
Fresnel Pale Ale (Brew)
Shimmering Ale (Brew)
Bright Light Ale (Brew
My Lite (Light) Ale (Brew)
Navigation Ale (Brew)
Keeper’s Ale (Brew)
Old Salt Ale (Brew)
Sailor’s Ale (Brew)
By Dennis on Aug 27, 2009 | Reply
I live in Nebraska and collect lighthouses, would like to purchase some of this beer to add to my lighthouse collection, or jusy the bottles.
By Dennis on Aug 27, 2009 | Reply
I live in Nebraska and collect lighthouses stuff. The beer bottles would be great to have. Where can I get some.
By Sue Clark on Aug 27, 2009 | Reply
Oooh, @Lou and @z, those are some good ones. Keep them coming!
@Dennis, the beer isn’t yet in production, and it will probably be a year or two before it happens. When it does, you’ll have to contact the owner as it will be local only (in New York and Massachusetts). Or arrange with someone from there to send you some.