BALLSTON SPA — After being opened for just a year-and-a-half, Speckled Pig Brewing is bringing its iconic New England IPA, Restitution, to local Stewart's Shops, Price Choppers and BEVS.
“It’s been awesome and certainly a goal, but to do it in a year and a half is a pretty big step,” said RJ Elliott, who operates the business with his parents, Randy Elliott and Kelly Delaney-Elliott, as well as Larry and Mary-Jo Heid.
The two families opened the brewery on Washington Street in Ballston Spa in fall 2022. The Elliotts had bought the building in 2020, and the Heids were looking for a place to start a brewing business, so the two families teamed up.
“Now, we’ll be lifelong friends,” said Mary-Jo Heid.
Larry Heid got into brewing after his son began taking classes on the specialty at SUNY Schenectady County Community College. Soon, they began their own trial and error process seeing what they could come up with.
“For Christmas I bought a nice home brew set up and the two of us started brewing together and I just kind of kept at it and really enjoyed the craft,” Larry Heid said.
That was several years ago.
Now, the brewery is the place to go in Ballston Spa. A stop there during the village’s annual Chocolate Fest showed just that, as the place was packed, with not a chair left unattended.
“It’s humbling and it still surprises us how very well received and how popular we’ve become,” Mary-Jo Heid said. “We’ve kind of become the Cheers of Ballston Spa.”
The Speckled Pig Brewing Company at 11-13 Washington Street in Ballston Spa Thursday, February 15, 2024.
She said people they know and others just keep spreading the word about the establishment.
The brewery offers a number of different flavors and styles on tap. There are about 20 taps between the inside area and the rooftop space. The roof taps are open primarily during the warmer month. Six of the taps generally stay the same, with Restitution being the top seller.
“It’s like orange-juicy beer, there’s a lot of citrus notes in it,” Larry Heid said.
Because it was popular among people, and the most popular among the owners as well, it seemed like only a natural step for them to can it, the owners said.
“It’s still surreal to walk in and see someone in line before you, that you’ve never met before, buying a four-pack at Price Chopper,” RJ Elliott said.
Larry Heid said he works with their brewer to come up with new brews.
The owners said business has been really good for them in other ways, including being able to find great staff members.
“Right now the trend is going back toward pilsners, which are lighter crisper beers like a classic example being Budweiser or Miller Lite, so we have a couple beers on tap that are very similar,” Larry Heid said. “We have a Gringo, which is a Mexican lager that presents very similar to a Corona, and then our Czech pilsner that is very similar to a Miller Lite.”
The Speckled Pig Brewing Company at 11-13 Washington Street in Ballston Spa Thursday, February 15, 2024.
Heid said they have a beer for everyone.
“You’re not going to like all of our beers, but you’re going to like one of them for sure,” he said.
Besides being able to can their product and put it in stores, the owners said they’ve also been blessed to find great staff.
“I don’t think that we’ve ever had to put out an ad for waitstaff here or bartender, it’s just been friends of friends of friends and good referrals,” Larry Heid said.
One of the challenges the company did take on but has now gotten into the rhythm of operating is making pizzas.
“There’s a lot of breweries that don’t have food, and we knew that in order to keep people here we wanted to present this place as a family-oriented pizzeria [and] brewery,” Heid said.
“On some Saturdays, the staff is cooking up close to 400 pizzas," Elliott added.
But, business has been so good that three more fermenters had to be purchased in order to keep up with demand.
The owners said they'll be working on distribution more this year, but are really happy to see the customers coming back to enjoy the space.
The Speckled Pig Brewing Company's wood fired pizza oven at 11-13 Washington Street in Ballston Spa Thursday, February 15, 2024.
“It’s cool, especially having grown up in Ballston Spa to be here every night and run into people you haven’t seen in five or 10 years who are now coming to your bar to hang out with their friends and have a beer and a good time,” Elliott said.
Mary-Jo Heid said she loves that she has gotten to know more people and they have gotten to know her.
Co owner MJ Heid gets ready for the afternoon rush at the Speckled Pig Brewing Company at 11-13 Washington Street in Ballston Spa Thursday, February 15, 2024.
For Larry Heid, it’s still overhearing people talk about how much they enjoy what he’s producing.
“It’s so satisfying to know people are taking pleasure in your product,” he said.