“We’re cranking right now,” says Pete Lengyel, co-founder of Brooklyn’s Kings County Brewers Collective.

And he ain’t lying.

The brewery, perhaps more commonly known as KCBC, has just celebrated its second birthday and the outfit is putting out more beers than ever before.

So much so that the arrival of much-needed new tanks is imminent and the idea of needing a secondary unit is being discussed more each day.

The Kings County Brewers Collective comprises Pete Lengyel, Zack Kinney and Tony Bellis. Bonded by a love of beer and the desire to open their own breweries, the trio met at the American Brewers Guild in Vermont.

“We were three independent brewers looking to open our own places but it soon became evident that we were on the same page with a lot of our ideas,” he explains. “It quickly made sense that we should put our resources together and give this thing a go as a group.”

KCBC opened in 2016. And Lengyel, Kinney and Bellis all bring their own recipe ideas to the table that are developed and formulated as a team. As a result, you’re as likely to see a DDH Double IPA as you are a Light Lager or Imperial Stout. The brewery is knocking it out of the park with their sours, too.

Lengyel, who is speaking at the Brewers Congress in London next month, is particularly proud of the brewery’s Robot Fish IPA series. Each iteration is characterised by a single malt, single hop recipe. Recent beers have paired Vienna malt with Galaxy or Golden Pils and Ekuanot.

“It’s a simple beer, but complex at the same time,” he says. “We dry hop it early during fermentation so it’s hazy due to the base malt yet the water chemistry is distinctly West Coast.”

He adds: “We’re a democracy in everything we do. We all have different backgrounds so we all bring something different to the table. But when it comes to beer, quality underpins everything we do. It has to!”.

As head of production and quality control, Lengyel is heavily into water chemistry. As a trained microbiologist and former stem cell researcher, he explains he’s proudly pedantic when it comes to process and protocol.

“We are always improving and if there’s a better way to carry out a process then we are going to ensure we are doing that, too,” he explains. “Putting out quality beers doesn’t happen by accident. You should have strict processes in place as these govern everything you do.

“If you don’t, you can end up compromising your brewery’s reputation and that of your peers, too. And your reputation is the most important thing you have.”