KINGSTON, N.Y. — Columbia County brewery Union Street Brewing Co. has opened a new taproom in Downtown Kingston, offering a wide range of local beers and small bites in the waterfront neighborhood.
The taproom first opened its doors at 36 Broadway on Thursday, Nov. 6, giving locals a chance to try a variety of craft beers brewed in Union Street Brewing Company’s facility in Hudson. The Hudson location also serves as a taproom as well as an event space.
“It kind of became obvious to us that it would be great to open another location a little bit away from Hudson, so other people can enjoy our beer,” said Emma O’Donnell, co-owner, in an interview at the taproom on Thursday. “We made a decision about six months ago to start looking around for the perfect location.”
O’Donnell said she looked in other locations, including Saugerties and Woodstock, before a friend saw the former Half Moon Donuts space up for rent and told her about it.
Union Street Brewing Company’s new taproom, located at 36 Broadway in Kingston, N.Y., can be seen on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. (Connor Greco/Daily Freeman)
“It was the right place for us,” O’Donnell said. “I love this neighborhood, number one. I love the fact that it’s close to the water, it’s got this very nice historic feel to it.”
Unlike the Hudson location, no beer is being brewed at the Kingston taproom. However, visitors can try 12 different craft beers on tap, as well as enjoy some small bites to pair with the brews as well as cocktails. A to-go fridge in the back also offers cans and bottles for purchase.
O’Donnell said the beer menu features some mainstays as well as some seasonal brews. Always on the menu will be a hazy India pale ale (IPA), West Coast IPAs, a Helles lager, and a Pilsner.
“Those beers you would find on our menu at all times,” O’Donnell said. “Once, in the early days, we ran out of the hazy IPA at the taproom in Hudson, there was a small mutiny.”
For the winter, O’Donnell said visitors to the taproom can expect some darker beers on the menu.
“In the winter, we lean heavily towards darker beers,” O’Donnell said. “We have an oyster stout, we have a vintage ale, that’s also a dark beer.”
O’Donnell said the summer beers will lean more light, ranging from sours to German-style Hefeweizens. “I would say that we have a little bit of everything on our menu,” O’Donnell said.
Food options are designed to be light, shareable bites that pair well with the beers, O’Donnell said.
“We only have six items on the menu currently,” O’Donnell said. “I think the most popular option is a warm pretzel with beer cheese, we have a delicious ham and cheese sandwich on pretzel bread, we have chips and dips. We also do a flatbread, almost like a pizza, with burrata and pesto on it.”
Looking towards the future, O’Donnell said she hopes to host some events at the taproom.
“My goals are to maybe have trivia night, karaoke night, which can be fun,” O’Donnell said. “This also could be a cute event space for smaller parties.”
O’Donnell said the Kingston community has been very supportive since the taproom opened. “We had a really busy opening night,” she said. “Every seat was full.”
“A lot of people are saying, ‘Oh we really needed this in this area,” O’Donnell added. “We are kind of the only brewery-taproom in this area. There’s plenty of bars along the Strand…but we are kind of the only beer place down here [on the Rondout].”
Union Street Brewing Co. is open from 5 to 9 p.m. on Thursdays and Mondays, from 3 to 10 p.m. on Fridays, from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturdays, and from noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays. For more information, visit unionstreetbrewing.com or find Union Street Brewing Co. on Instagram at @unionstreetbrewing.