Genesee Brewery keg tree even bigger and brighter this year
Will Cleveland
How do you improve upon a beloved Rochester holiday tradition? For Mike Gaesser and the Genesee Brewery, the answer is pretty simple: Make it bigger and brighter.
The Genesee Brewery keg tree is back for the fifth year and this year's version will be unveiled during a lighting ceremony that starts at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7. Construction of the tree began Thursday in the beer garden of the neighboring Genesee Brew House, 25 Cataract St. in Rochester.
The tree will be lighted at 7 p.m. and the celebration will run through 9 p.m.
This year's tree is 27 feet tall, is comprised of 520 empty half-barrel kegs, and features more than 20,000 shimmering lights. Last year's tree was 2 feet shorter.
Gaesser, Genny's director of packaging innovation, is the mastermind and architect of the tree. Crews added 90 more kegs to this year's tree, allowing it to stretch 12 layers tall. All four corners of the tree platform will be illuminated by spotlights this year.
"We never could've imagined all of this five years ago," said Gaesser, who has been at the brewery for 41 years. "We hoped that it would catch on, but it has been amazing to watch the community embrace this new tradition. And we have help from every department in the brewery, it's just great."
More:Genesee keg tree lighting draws thousands (2017)
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There's a new digital display board behind the tree that will feature holiday messages and lyrics to many of the holiday songs that will play when the tree is lit. Different light display routines are synced up with songs. "Let it Go" from Frozen was added to the rotation this year, Gaesser said.
Last year's tree lighting ceremony attracted more than 3,500 people. Organizers are expecting that number to grow significantly this year. To accommodate more revelers, the party is expanding into neighboring High Falls Terrace Park, which sits just south of the brew house.
Gaesser said trees in the park are being lit up by the city.
Two beer trucks will be serving Genesee beers, including the new Cinnamon Cream Ale. The cream ale with a twist is a special creation by Genesee Brew House brewmaster Dean Jones released especially to commemorate the lighting.
The free party also includes seven food trucks, live performances from Trebellius, an a capella singing group, and a massive wooden sled constructed by Genesee Brewery carpenters. The sled will seat 12 adults comfortably and be available near the tree for photo opportunities.
Previous keg tree beers were heartier barrel-aged offerings, Jones said. For the fifth edition, Jones wanted said he wanted to pay homage to the brewery's classic cream ale. It'll be available on draft and in growlers and crowlers at the brew house.
"We were shocked at the amount of people who showed up last year," Jones said. "It's really, really nice to see Rochester support us and this keg tree. We're planning for a lot more people. It's fun and I get to play around with a twist on our cream ale, making it holiday spiced with cinnamon."
Genny's keg tree has inspired a similar event and construction at the brewery's sister brewery in Seattle. Pyramid Brewing, also owned by Genny's parent company, FIFCO USA, is unveiling a 20-foot-tall keg tree this weekend.
Gaesser said they've gotten more and more inquiries about the tree, including a request from Popular Mechanics magazine. The original tree was 20 feet tall. The tree has garnered international media attention, something that's still hard for Gaesser to believe.
"We're kind of at our height limit," Gaesser said. "We don't want to make it much taller than the second-floor balcony, because I want everyone to see the top when you're in the bar. We'll constantly be changing the lights and adding other stuff.
"It's all about the beer and tree. It's all great. You can't beat it."
