If you Google “deaf-owned brewery” it’s likely that the first page will be filled with references to Streetcar 82 Brewing.
The Backstory
S82, as its affectionally known, is owned by three friends who happen to be deaf. Owners Jon Cetrano, Mark Burke, & Sam Costner are all Gallaudet University graduates that left the area to pursue interests around the country, but all eventually navigated back.
Mark is the only of the three that are full time at the brewery and serves as the head brewer, with Jon and Sam providing supporting roles. Mark was a school administrator before turning to brewing beer full time. He served as the athletic director for Model Secondary School for The Deaf in Washington DC, where he also served as the football and rugby coach. In June 2016, while considering the next chapter in his life, he found himself bartending in DC. One of his former college professors dropped in and after tasting some of Mark’s home brew suggested he pitch an idea for a brewery startup at an upcoming Gallaudet business event. He contacted four friends, who then drafted a business plan based on the theme “Beer Brings a Community Together”. They didn't win the event but did win the audiences favorite award. That $250 award served as an emotional seed for the brewery. Of the four, Jon and Sam went on to form the brewery with Mark.
“At the time, it seemed Hyattsville was ready for a place like this.”
The Community
Mark Burke, Streetcar 82 Co-owner and head brewer pours a draft.
The brewery gets its name from the 82 Streetcar line that ran from DC to College Park, MD from 1888 until its closing in 1958. When considering a name for their brewery, the three came to the realization that that old streetcar line ran right in from of their three homes and the brewery. They had little choice but to name their new venture Streetcar 82 as the name seemed to fit the purpose of making connections. Before it became a brewery the building was a Japanese auto servicing center. Mark said, “At the time, it seemed Hyattsville was ready for a place like this.”
Everything about S82 oozes a sense of community, whether of the town, deaf-culture, or beer drinkers. For now, they are content with staying small. They enjoy the community-hub feeling from the local support, and they don't want to risk losing that. If they do expand, Mark expects it would be to a new production facility and keep the current location as the taproom.
The Beer
Their most popular beer is The Colonel Pilsner, which also happens to be Mark’s favorite. This beer was first created for Mark’s father-in-law who is a retired army officer. He requested Mark brew a pilsner and now Mark has to ensure that The Colonel is always on tap. Another crowd favorite is the Fancy Nancy hazy IPA. Most S82 beer is sold from the taproom plus a few local restaurants. The Pitmaster Vienna lager is made specially for 2Fifty Pit BBQ in nearby Riverdale Park, MD.
The jump from home brewing to a 3.5-barrel system production was a challenge. Matt Hubbard supplies all of the yeast used at S82 and assisted with some of the early brew recipes. The beer has gotten much better thanks to his knowledge of yeast. He suggested that Mark use the fast-fermenting kveik yeast to allow for faster brewing time so he could keep up with the demand for the Czech-style pilsner. Matt also lives in Hyattsville is hoping to open his own brewery someday soon.
S82 likes to source locally when possible. Beside the yeast from Matt, some of their barrels are sourced from Sangfrond Distillers (sangfroiddistilling.com) in Hyattsville. The also used coffee from the local roaster Vigilante Coffee (vigilantecoffee.com) in some stouts.
One beer Mark wishes drinkers would try is their Irish red ale, Paddy Workin’ On the Railway. “We make beer that customers want, which is often an IPA, but the Irish red becomes a new favorite once they try it.” They did a barrel-aged version using rye whiskey barrels from Sagamore Distillery. Mark doesn't like to add adjuncts so that the barrel nuances can shine through. Those barrels are now in Ireland, sold to an Irish distillery. They were excited to get barrels that held something other than bourbon, port or Bordeaux wine. Their Irish whiskey will be cast finished in the S82 barrels and then sent back to the States for sale, with the S82 logo on the bottles.
“I enjoy the process of brewing the beer and knowing that it’s going right into their hands of our customers. I enjoy them drinking the beer here. We call it the S82-Experience.”
What is Mark’s favorite thing about making beer? “I enjoy the process of brewing the beer and knowing that it’s going right into their hands of our customers. I enjoy them drinking the beer here. We call it the S82-Experience.” One more thing, “I want people to know, we respect the yeast. It may be the same recipe, but good yeast changes everything.”
The Culture
While the brewery is deaf-owned and operated, all staff are deaf, too. S82 owners pride themselves in providing deaf people the opportunity to gain the experience so they can work elsewhere if they want to. A prime example is Zane Peterson, who brewed at S82 for four years and is now brewing at the larger Smoketown Brewing in Frederick, MD. Of course, they are talking about doing a collaboration beer.
Most of the locals know S82 is a deaf-owned brewery. Some new customers only become aware this when they see the staff communicating with their hands. “We don't tell you we are deaf, you find out after you come through the doors.” Some may wonder if they are welcomed, but of course the answer is a huge yes. Recently, they had two customers visiting DC from Germany come in when they learned S82 was a deaf-owned brewery. They too liked the pilsner!
Comfortable Beer
If you visit S82 you will notice a lot of activity. A corn hole tournament, the food truck, people in line ordering beer, or sitting and drinking a pint. Like most neighborhood breweries there is a lot of communication, some signing, some talking, almost all smiling. What you may notice missing are TVs and music. Mark’s father-in-law thinks people really appreciate that it is quite here, they don't have to scream at each other over the table. “I think people really listen to each other then.” Mark’s vision is this, “It’s comfortable to drink here, like sitting in the garage and drinking a beer with friends. I want them to feel comfortable.”
Streetcar 82 Brewing
4824 Rhode Island Ave.
Hyattsville, MD
streetcar82brewing.com
This is an expanded version of the article that first appeared in the Mid-Atlantic Brew News — February/March 2023 edition.
Mid-Atlantic Brew News (MABN) is a bimonthly publication for beer enthusiasts with over 30,000 copies distributed across the Mid-Atlantic region, with a focus on craft beer happenings across six states (MD, DE, VA, NJ, PA, WV) and DC.
