When Yonder Farms Cider Mill & Bake Shoppe closed its doors on New Year's Eve 2024 after more than four decades at the corner of Route 155 and Albany Street in Colonie, New York, regulars mourned the loss of a Capital Region institution. The beloved bakery—known for cider donuts, baked goods, and the warm embrace of a family-run farm stand—had been an extension of Yonder Fruit Farms' 600-acre orchard in Valatie since 1983. MaryAnn Chiaro, who had worked there since the day it opened, and her husband William, along with his brothers Peter and David, were ready to retire. The building, a 7,300-square-foot barn on 3.3 acres, faced an uncertain future.
Enter Jonathan and April Golon—a traffic engineer and a hairdresser, parents of two young daughters, and longtime brewery enthusiasts who had spent years visiting brewpubs together and dreaming of opening their own. In November 2025, they opened Broken Loop Brewing Co. in that same barn, transforming a bakery landmark into one of the Capital Region's most welcoming new brewpubs. The result is a place that honors the building's agricultural past while carving out a distinctly modern identity: family-friendly, beer-forward, and built around the idea that the best breweries are the ones that make you slow down.
From Traffic Signals to Tap Handles: The Golons' Journey
Jonathan Golon designs traffic signals for the New York State Department of Transportation. April cuts hair. Their relationship, they've said, developed in part around a shared love of beer and a habit of visiting brewpubs wherever they traveled. Unlike the typical brewery origin story—a homebrewer who spent a decade perfecting recipes before going pro—the Golons did it backwards.
"I started learning to brew because we wanted to open a brewpub," Jonathan told the Times Union. That clarity of purpose is rare. Most aspiring brewery owners learn to brew first and then wonder if they can turn it into a business. The Golons knew they wanted a place—a gathering spot, a neighborhood anchor—and worked backwards from there. Beer became the vehicle, not the sole destination.
After years of discussion and hundreds of brewery visits, things came together in 2024. They purchased the Yonder Farms property from the Chiaro family, who had run a going-out-of-business sale since July. The renovation was extensive—and costly. "It was significantly more than planned," Jonathan admitted. They removed a drop ceiling over the main dining area, exposing crosshatched trusses that give the room the lofty feel of a barn. They expanded the kitchen, upgraded electrical service to accommodate a 7-barrel brewing system, and transformed the space into a brewpub while preserving the building's character. The same general look and feel of Yonder Farms remains—warm, agricultural, rooted in place—but the function has shifted from cider donuts to craft beer.
April doesn't have a formal title. She describes herself as "doing everything that needs to be done"—hosting, serving, assisting in the kitchen, and wrangling their daughters, ages 2 and 4, who loved scampering around the brewery during construction and are still acclimating to sharing the space with customers. That hands-on, all-hands approach defines Broken Loop. It's a family operation in the truest sense.
The Name: Broken Loop and the Poetry of Slowing Down
The traffic detection loops at the intersection right outside the brewery—Route 155 and Albany Street—have been broken for years. If you've ever sat at that red light for no reason, with no cars in sight, you've felt it. Jonathan, whose day job involves traffic signals, has felt it more than most. "It's always driven us crazy," he writes on the brewery's website.
Rather than fix the loop, they fixed the feeling. The name Broken Loop is a reminder to step out of autopilot. To try something new. To slow down, even if just for a pint. In a world of rush-hour commutes and endless to-do lists, that's a quietly radical proposition. A brewery that names itself after a malfunctioning traffic sensor is, in effect, saying: we're the place you stop when the system fails you. It's clever, it's local, and it's philosophically coherent. The name isn't a gimmick—it's a mission statement.
The Beer: Lower ABV, Less Common Styles, Capital Region Differentiation
The Capital Region is home to more than 20 farm breweries—operations that, under New York law, source at least 60% of their beer ingredients from within the state. Standing out in that crowd requires a point of view. Jonathan serves as head brewer, with Scott Thurston as assistant brewer—a two-person team that has developed a clear philosophy: less common styles and lower-alcohol beers.
Current drafts range from 3.8% ABV for an English mild to 7% for Lean In, a hazy IPA—the only beer on the board above 5%. The average ABV across the lineup is 4.8%. That's a deliberate bet on the growing preference for sessionable, approachable beers—especially among younger drinkers who want flavor without the punch. The 7-barrel system produces about 220 gallons per batch, with runs once or twice a week. The draft system has 12 lines; eight are currently in use—seven house beers and an outside hard cider for now, though the Golons plan to make their own cider from Yonder Farms apples and have it on tap within a month of opening.
The beer list reads like a curated tour of underappreciated styles:
- Alternate Route – A German-style altbier, malt-forward and clean.
- Trust the Process – A chai milk stout, brainstormed by April as an homage to her preferred cafe beverage. It's the kind of creative, personal touch that separates a family brewpub from a generic taproom.
- Berry Your Doubts – A raspberry sour, bright and approachable.
- Lean In – The hazy IPA, the only beer above 5% ABV.
- No Looking Back – An English porter, earning a 3.91 on Untappd from 84 ratings.
- Plus an English mild, kellerbier, American pale ale, and others.
Broken Loop has 13 beers on Untappd with a 3.84 rating across 674 reviews. The brewery is building a reputation for consistency and drinkability—beers you can have two or three of without regret. In a region crowded with farm breweries, that differentiation matters.
The Kitchen: From Ruth's Chris to Mom-and-Pop
Originally, the Golons didn't want to run a kitchen. They hoped for an outside operator or a slate of food trucks—focus on beer and service, let someone else handle the food. Then they found Kathryn Medeiros.
Medeiros was working at Ruth's Chris Steak House on Wolf Road—the pricey chain known for sizzling steaks and white-tablecloth formality. She wanted out of the chain world. She'd cooked at Indian Ladder Farms Cidery & Brewery in New Scotland, and she missed the mom-and-pop atmosphere. When the Golons offered her the kitchen manager role at Broken Loop, she said yes.
The result is a 30-item menu that punches above its weight: a giant soft pretzel with housemade beer cheese (of course), charcuterie boards value-priced at $18 given how abundant they are, shareables, handhelds (burgers, sandwiches, dogs), soups, salads, and flatbreads. It's the kind of menu built for a family afternoon or a casual dinner—nothing fussy, everything satisfying. The food program elevates Broken Loop from "brewery with snacks" to "brewpub you can bring the whole family to."
Family-Friendly by Design
The first item in the "What to know" box on Broken Loop's homepage: "We just ask that little ones stick with you and respect the space." That's it. No age restrictions, no "adults only" vibes. A shelf along one wall holds coloring books, board games, and table amusements. The goal is to make Broken Loop a place for spending offline time—conversation, games, a pint, a meal. During warmer months, the Golons plan to build a play area in one of two outdoor spaces, which will more than double seating capacity to over 200. For now, the indoor space does the work: welcoming, unpretentious, built for repeat visits rather than Untappd check-ins.
April and Jonathan's own daughters—ages 2 and 4—were fixtures during construction. They're still acclimating to having other people in the space. That authenticity shows. Broken Loop isn't family-friendly as a marketing tactic; it's family-friendly because the owners are raising a family there.
The Space: Barn Bones, Brewery Soul
The renovation preserved what made Yonder Farms special. The exposed crosshatched trusses give the main room a lofty barn feel. The building's agricultural heritage is visible in every beam. The Golons have acknowledged they're working to make the interior more welcoming and homey—additional decor, accents—but the bones are right. A water fountain near a garage door leads to warm-weather outdoor seating. Board games and a casual layout contribute to the sense that this is a place to linger.
The 7-barrel brewhouse is the heart of the operation. Jonathan and Scott Thurston run batches once or twice a week. A canning system is in the works—the Golons were determined to have it repaired in time for Super Bowl weekend 2026 so they could offer cans to go. That kind of scrappy, deadline-driven hustle is what you expect from first-time owners who've bet everything on a dream.
Regulars From Day One
"Plenty of hiccups," Jonathan said of the learning curve. "Plenty," April echoed. But they developed regulars within the first few days—folks who still show up twice a week. "There's been so many people—so many—who've come in, and they're like, 'We've been waiting for you to open,'" Jonathan told the Times Union.
That response says something about the Capital Region. When Yonder Farms closed, there was genuine grief. When Broken Loop opened, there was genuine relief. The building wasn't lost. The corner wasn't abandoned. A new chapter had begun. The Golons didn't just open a brewery; they inherited a community's attachment to a place and gave it a new reason to gather.
Where Broken Loop Fits in the Capital Region
The Capital Region craft beer scene has been booming. Tree House Brewing opened in Saratoga, drawing pilgrims from across the Northeast. Mixed Breed Brewing added a second location in Malta. Back Barn Brewing stepped in at Ballston Spa's historic Doubleday house. Fidens Brewing and Fort Orange Brewing anchor Albany. O'Toole's in Colonie closed in late May 2025, leaving a void along Central Avenue. Broken Loop fills that void—and then some.
It's not trying to be Tree House or Fidens. It's not chasing hype or hazies. It's a neighborhood brewpub: lower ABV, less common styles, family-friendly, food-forward. It's the kind of place that makes the Capital Region a better place to live—somewhere you can bring the kids, meet a friend, have a few pints without overdoing it, and leave feeling like you've done something good with your afternoon.
Visiting Broken Loop Brewing: Practical Details
Address: 4302 Albany Street, Colonie, NY 12205 (corner of Route 155 and Albany Street)
Hours: Wednesday–Thursday 4–9 PM; Friday–Saturday noon–10 PM; Sunday noon–8 PM; closed Monday–Tuesday
Phone: 518-250-0544
Website: brokenloopbrewing.com
The brewery offers a 30-item food menu, seven house beers on tap (plus cider), and a rotating selection of styles. Check the website for the current beer list and any seasonal offerings. Family-friendly, casual, and built for the long haul—Broken Loop is the kind of place the Capital Region needed.
Why Broken Loop Matters
Broken Loop Brewing matters because it represents the best of what craft beer can do: take a beloved landmark, honor its past, and give it a new life that serves the community. The Golons didn't tear down Yonder Farms; they built on top of it. They didn't chase trends; they brewed what they believed in—sessionable, approachable, stylistically diverse. They didn't open a bar; they opened a gathering place.
The traffic loops at Route 155 and Albany Street are still broken. But the feeling—the frustration of sitting at a red light for no reason—has been fixed. You can pull into Broken Loop, order a pint of Alternate Route or Trust the Process, and remember what it's like to step out of autopilot. To try something new. To slow down.
That's not just good branding. It's good brewing. And it's exactly what Colonie needed.
Sources: Broken Loop Brewing – Official Site; Times Union – Broken Loop brewpub takes over Yonder Farms spot in Colonie; Times Union – As 2024 ends, Yonder Farms Colonie closes its doors; WGNA – New Brewpub To Open At Yonder Farms Location In Colonie; Untappd – Broken Loop Brewing Co..
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