In an Era of Craft Beer Malaise, Talea’s Still Thriving

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Nearly everything about Talea Beer Co. bucks the current trends of the craft beer industry. Five taproom locations, in this economy? Continued growth, when so many craft breweries are struggling? And bringing in new beer consumers, even in the face of increased competition from other categories? Nothing about them feels quite like other breweries. It’s apparent in the way they operate today, and it was part of the plan from the start.

“We knew we didn’t want antlers on the wall, chalkboard menus, or kegs or barrels used as furniture,” says Talea cofounder LeAnn Darland. “And no stickers in the bathroom.”

Jokes aside — though those design directives were indeed followed, judging by the stunning taprooms — Talea’s founders are unique in the brewery industry. Darland and cofounder Tara Hankinson met at now-defunct beer startup Hopsy. Hankinson had worked in both wine and media, and Darland is a United States Navy veteran who had worked in finance at Google. They were craft-beer enthusiasts and homebrewers who wanted to build their own business together.

The original goal was to get one beer on the shelf at Whole Foods, Hankinson says. But once the partners examined the economics of having to contract-brew that beer only to turn around and sell it to retailers, they realized the more viable route was through taprooms. “What’s the most profitable part of a restaurant?” Hankinson asks. “The bar.” 

Taprooms would allow Hankinson and Darland to have more control over how their beer was poured, cared for and explained, as well as how they drove profits. Vitally, it also presented them with the opportunity to speak to a whole new audience and present beer in a fresh light. 

“We saw this growing segment of the market that was women,” Hankinson says. “Getting people interested in beer if they’re not already, it’s hard to do that on a store shelf or at someone else’s bar.”

“We felt in creating a great space that’s hospitality-forward,” she adds, “we could speak directly to female consumers.”

Bringing Craft Lovers and New Converts Together

Hankinson credits their business backgrounds for their success in beer, which Darland notes is an “atypical way to get into the beer industry.”

“We were 10 to 12 years into our careers at that point and didn’t want to start over [in a new industry] at entry level,” she says, “so we thought, let’s leverage our expertise and our networks to raise money, build a vision and hire an amazing team to bring it all to life.”

The founders did start selling a few beers at places like Whole Foods and online in 2019 while planning their first taproom. They created their lineup to appeal to both savvy craft beer fans as well as people who had never gotten into it, people who preferred wine or cocktails. They wanted their IPAs to lean into a “juicy, fruity” profile rather than bitter, as that often kept consumers away from hoppier styles; their Sun Up Hazy IPA is still a flagship and Talea’s second best-selling beer. Hankinson and Darland knew it would speak to hazy IPA lovers and also surprise those who thought they hated the style because they’d only had bitter bombs.

The first Talea taproom opened on Richardson Street in Williamsburg in 2021. Designed by Sarah Carpenter, the aesthetic was completely fresh and original at the time, though some newer breweries have embraced a similar vibe since. Instead of all wood everything or a raw, industrial feel, it’s spacious, airy and full of natural light; modern art-like motifs pop in pastels against a chic monochrome palette, and light wood tables and a granite bar top round out an interior that’s pleasing to the eye and comfortable for stay-all-day sessions. The taproom opens at 10 a.m. in order to welcome remote workers and families with coffee and avocado toast, while friend groups, dates, book clubs, co-workers and more can gather and imbibe until 10 p.m.

Beyond beer, the brewery serves up wine and cocktails in the taproom, too, as well as an all-day food menu. True to Talea form, Hankinson and Darland saw an opportunity to have ownership in the beyond-beer offerings. They partnered with a North Fork winery to produce their own wine options that would be especially easy-drinking and crowd-pleasing — the menu currently features white, rosé and orange options — and they recently launched a peach hard tea made with all-natural ingredients. They’ve also committed to continue producing non-alcoholic beer even if demand isn’t booming, because inclusion is paramount to the Talea ethos. They want every person who walks through the doors to find something on the menu they’re excited to drink.

But to be fair, most of those guests are excited about the beer itself. The founders take inspiration from classic brews they love and translate them through a craft lens with high-quality ingredients and flavor profiles that are at once complex and easy to enjoy without too much analysis.

Being able to offer a better version of whatever a particular patron likes guides the Talea repertoire. If they like Bell’s Two Hearted IPA, there’s Talea Outdoorsie West Coast IPA with Simcoe and Amarillo hops for notes of candied orange and fresh pine. Lager fans are clearly quenching their thirst with the brewery’s Al Dente Italian-Style Pilsner, which New Yorkers will have no doubt encountered at their favorite bars and restaurants. Darland says it’s become their number-one seller, and accounts for 30 to 40% of their production. 

Talea’s creative sours can’t be overlooked, either. Among their selection of curated flights, the Sour & Fruity Flight is the best-seller, and it’s no wonder — watching someone carry a paddle lined with beers in lushly vivid shades of peach and pink has a similar effect to seeing sizzling fajitas travel through a restaurant: You want what they’re having. Peach Berry Punch, Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Tart Deco, Spicy Marg and Watermelon Splash offer familiar flavors in a beer format, and create accessible points of entry for people more accustomed to ordering spritzes or hard seltzers.

Reinventing What a Brewery Can Be 

The variety of options Talea offers and the way Hankinson and Darland see their own brand positions the brewery favorably in today’s changing, overly saturated market. Acknowledging the ever-shrinking shelf space for beer in retail, Darland says they’d rather see their products next to ready-to-drink or flavored malt beverages than the hoppiest, highest-ABV IPA. Embodying an ethos of “easy to love,” their portfolio doesn’t limit itself to beer connoisseurs, but rather speaks to anyone looking for an alcoholic beverage in any flavor profile, from spicy Margaritas to crisp lagers. 

While expansion is on the horizon, Talea currently distributes in New York. Darland and Hankinson have focused their growth on physical spaces and their hospitality-forward approach, taking advantage of the direct consumer connections they can form in taprooms. Subsequent locations have opened in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn as well as the West Village, Bryant Park and the Penn District in Manhattan.

They’ve strategically chosen different neighborhoods to reach their varying crowds and build a strong Talea presence throughout New York City; the midtown Bryant Park and Penn District spots effectively reach commuters and tourists, too. Each taproom embodies their overall modern aesthetic, balancing sophistication and artful touches with a laid-back atmosphere, while differing in elements like color scheme. (Carpenter also designed the Cobble Hill location, while ALA Studio designed the three Manhattan spaces.)

Multiple locations are far from unheard of for craft breweries, especially as the current market proves an emphasis on local hospitality over wide distribution is more viable. In Talea’s home turf of New York, breweries like Other Half, Finback and Threes have more than one taproom. Five spaces certainly stands out, though; it’s an ambitious but ultimately effective strategy.

“New York is a very friendly state for beer,” Darland says. “One production facility can have six tasting rooms under that license. It’s very advantageous for breweries — [taprooms] are the money-makers.”

In addition to their carefully planned menus, beer lineups and design concepts, the partners also incorporate unique event programming to set the brewery apart and welcome new audiences. Sure, you’ll find taproom favorites like trivia, but on any given day in any given space, different crowds will be drawn in by Pilates, family music classes, speed dating, jewelry-making, paint-and-sips and guided tastings. Restaurants and food brands with cult followings regularly make appearances — upstate favorite Phoenicia Diner popped up in February to celebrate a beer collaboration — and most notably, Talea regularly offers programming geared toward life skills and planning, from entrepreneurial seminars to job-search workshops to fertility talks. Hankinson and Darland have taken their hospitality-forward promise seriously, creating inclusive community spaces.

Creative collaborations round out the brewery’s reach to demographics beyond the usual beer-geek suspects. Sure, collabs between craft breweries have become rote in the industry, but Talea, as per usual, does things a little differently.

“When we first started, I asked our brewer why breweries collaborate with other breweries,” Hankinson says. “They said there’s a knowledge share, that they can see how each other execute their beers…and because they’re friends and want to get drunk together. Most of that is not important to me.” 

Instead, Hankinson and Darland pursue that collaborative potential to learn about different but intersecting industries. They’ve made a Dark Chocolate Cookie Stout with iconic cookie bakery Levain, a Sichuan Lager with sauce brand Fly by Jing, a Lasagna Lager with NYC hotspot Don Angie, a fruited sour with legendary cocktail bar Dante and a hazy IPA for LGBTQIA+ organization the Center. Most recently, they teamed up with body care brand Flamingo and beauty influencer Tinx for the Shower Beer Collection: a fruited lager from Talea, a razor from Flamingo and a specially made shower beer holder.

From beer collabs to events to complementary beverage releases, Talea is redefining what a craft brewery can be — and becoming a leading light in the process. Darland and Hankinson’s modus operandi is disrupting craft beer in all the right ways, valuing flavor and accessibility over beer-snob pretension, and community-centered hospitality over nationwide retail domination. Most importantly, in a time when it’s vital for the industry’s survival, they’re bringing new fans into the beer scene every day.

Photography: Johanna Stickland for InsideHook