Rockaway Brewing Company

What Rockaway Brewing Company does

Rockaway Brewing Company is a craft brewery and taproom operator founded in 2012 in Long Island City, Queens, New York, where it self-positions as the first and oldest brewery in the borough. The company produces a diverse portfolio of approximately 12 on-tap beers spanning hazy IPAs (Rockaway IPA, Cultural Wasteland/Industry Plant), pale ales (Vacation Zone, 1875 Pale Ale), pilsners and lagers (American Pils, No Siesta All Fiesta, Lawn Master), sours (Squish), stouts (Black Gold Dry Irish Stout), and malt-forward ales (Rockaway ESB, Pure Madness on nitro), with a subset available as packaged cans for off-premise takeaway. Brewing operations use standard craft techniques, including nitro serving for certain styles (Pure Madness, Black Gold) to enhance mouthfeel.

The company's core go-to-market is direct-to-consumer through a single taproom at 46-01 5th St, LIC, where beer is sold on-tap for on-premise consumption and as cans-to-go; revenue is supplemented by branded merchandise (tees, hats, beanies, onesies, long-sleeves, postcards) sold exclusively at the taproom and by electronic gift cards sold online via Square. The taproom beverage menu has been broadened beyond beer to include curated Long Island wines (Channing Daughters), craft cocktails (Halftone Distillery, Unmet Queen), Brooklyn Cider House hard cider, and non-alcoholic options from Industrial Arts and Devolve Brewing — a deliberate mix-extension to capture non-beer visitors. Distribution is wholly concentrated at the single Queens location with no wholesale, retail, or multi-site accounts referenced.

Commercially, the business relies on a small team (1-10 employees), weekday happy hour incentives ($2 off drafts, $10 beer-plus-shot combo), event programming (e.g., World Cup viewing), and a single Instagram presence (@rockawaybrewco) for marketing. There is no disclosed funding, no institutional or PE backing, no parent company, and no published revenue; the operating model is consistent with a founder-owned independent craft brewery. Tech stack is minimal — the only disclosed integration is Square for online gift card processing — and there are no AI, API, or platform capabilities.

Name

Rockaway Brewing Company

Legal name

Rockaway Brewing Co.

Website

https://rockaway.beer

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rockaway Brewing Company is an independently-owned craft brewery and single-location taproom in Long Island City, Queens, founded in 2012, producing approximately 12 on-tap beer styles and selling cans to-go, branded merchandise, wine, and cocktails directly to local consumers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Craft Beer

NAICS

Breweries (31212), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (72241)

SIC

Malt Beverages (2082), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Brewpubs & Taprooms (On-site Beer Service) (THAFALAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Packaging & Production Breweries (Limited/No On-site Service) (THAFALAB)

Keywords

• Craft beer production
• Brewery taproom
• Packaged craft beer
• Branded merchandise
• Local brewery sales

Headquarters

HQ city

Long Island City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. On-tap beer sales: Draft beer sold for on-premise consumption at the taproom, including happy hour promotions ($2 off select drafts, $10 beer + shot combos).
2. Cans to-go: Packaged beer sold for off-premise consumption directly from the taproom.
3. Merchandise sales: Sale of branded apparel including t-shirts, hats, beanies, onesies, and postcards. Also electronic gift cards sold in any denomination.
4. Wine, cocktails, and non-alcoholic beverages: Supplements beer offerings with wine (Rosato, Syrah), cocktails on tap (Negroni, Coffee Old Fashioned), hard cider, and non-alcoholic options including guest brews from Industrial Arts and Devolve Brewing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Rockaway Brewing Company is a craft brewery that produces a diverse portfolio of beer styles including hazy IPAs, West Coast pale ales, stouts, sours, pilsners, wheat beers, and cream ales. The company operates a taproom in Long Island City, Queens where beer is sold on-tap for on-premise consumption and as cans to-go for off-premise consumption, complemented by branded merchandise, wine, cocktails, and non-alcoholic beverages.

Product overview

Rockaway Brewing Company is a craft brewery and taproom offering a portfolio of 12+ distinct beers including IPAs, pale ales, pilsners, sours, stouts, and lagers, along with wine, cocktails, and branded merchandise at their Long Island City taproom. The core products are their rotating and seasonal beer offerings, complemented by food-free taproom beverages and apparel accessories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rockaway IPA
• Cultural Wasteland - Industry Plant
• Vacation Zone
• Pondering Hat
• American Pils
• Squish
• No Siesta, All Fiesta!
• Lawn Master
• 1875 Pale Ale
• Rockaway ESB
• Pure Madness
• Black Gold Dry Irish Stout
• Moving Light
• Branded Merchandise and Gift Cards
• Wine, Cocktails, and Non-Alcoholic Beverages

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Sixpoint Brewery: Brooklyn-based craft brewer with broad distribution and a taproom. Competes in the same NYC craft beer category but at significantly larger scale and with much wider geographic distribution than Rockaway.
• Other Half Brewing: Highly regarded NYC craft brewery known for IPAs and hazy styles. Overlaps with Rockaway's IPA-forward portfolio but operates at much larger scale with multiple locations and a national cult following.
• Brooklyn Brewery: Iconic NYC craft brewer with broad regional distribution and a large Williamsburg taproom. A larger, established player in the same craft beer category who competes for the same NYC craft consumer but at much greater scale and distribution.

Direct peers

• Fifth Hammer Brewing: Craft brewery with taproom in Long Island City, Queens. Closest geographic direct peer, operating a near-identical DTC model of rotating draft beer, cans to-go, and taproom experience to Rockaway Brewing's.
• Industrial Arts Brewing: Upstate New York craft brewery whose non-alcoholic offerings are sold at Rockaway Brewing's taproom. Comparable craft brewing portfolio and taproom-oriented business model targeting the same regional craft beer consumer.
• KCBC (Kings County Brewing Collective): Brooklyn-based craft brewery and taproom. Comparable small-batch craft brewer operating a similar DTC model of rotating draft beer, cans to-go, and a community-focused taproom.
• SingleCut Beersmiths: Astoria, Queens-based craft brewery with a taproom and strong musical-identity brand. Directly comparable Queens craft beer competitor targeting overlapping local customers with a similar DTC taproom model.
• Transmitter Brewing: NYC craft brewery with a taproom presence in Brooklyn and additional NY locations. Comparable small-batch craft brewer operating a similar rotating-style taproom and packaged beer model.
• LIC Beer Project: Craft brewery and taproom located in the same Long Island City neighborhood as Rockaway Brewing. Directly comparable small-scale production brewery with on-premise taproom model serving the LIC/Queens customer base.
• Big aLICe Brewing: Long Island City-based craft brewery and taproom. Direct neighborhood peer offering rotating craft styles on draft plus a taproom experience competing for the same LIC foot traffic.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/rockawaybrewco
• Xx.com/Rockawaybrewco
• Facebookfacebook.com/RockawayBrewingCo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rockaway-brewing-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rockaway Brewing Company