GUEST SHIFT: LAUREN SLEZAK + COLIN PRATT, Delaware Supply
Lauren Slezak + Colin Pratt outside their beer bar, Delaware Supply | Photo: Victoria Sedefian/The Dishing
Lauren Slezak + Colin Pratt of Delaware Supply talk beer clean glassware, the importance of foam + a perfect day out in New Orleans.
Interview: Susie Davidson Powell
Photos: Victoria Sedefian/The Dishing
Location: Delaware Supply, Schenectady, N.Y.
Tastemakers: Colin Pratt + Lauren Slezak | IG: @my_potato_pal | @hotdog.slezak
Where: Delaware Supply | IG: @delawaresupply | Portable beer bar: @thebevvy_delsup
Website: delsup.beer
Hometown: Colin: Delmar, N.Y. | Lauren: Waterbury CT, Williston VT, Guilderland, NY (but I consider Albany my hometown)
Current city: Albany, N.Y.
Personal style: Colin: Pants and a t-shirt. | Lauren : Thrifted, comfy, menswear (Colin’s clothes)
Listening to: Lauren: No joke, I unearthed the first mixed-CD I made Colin 10 years ago. A total time capsule! | Colin: Primus - Frizzle Fry
Favorite beer: Lauren: Orval | Colin: Same
Favorite classic cocktail/non-alc drink: Lauren: Anything Yesfolk | Colin: Negroni
Coffee or tea and what’s your order: Colin: Coffee. Hot, black. | Lauren: Coffee. Hot, splash of whole milk
Biggest industry influence/inspiration: Colin: Jeremy Hosier | Lauren: Jeremy Hosier
Drinks industry trend that should end: Lauren: Mexican-style lagers | Colin: Incorrect use of side-pulls
“Welcome to The Dishing’s tastemaker interviews where we talk matters of taste with hospitality industry professionals and trailblazers at the intersection of food, culture and art. Today we’re talking with Colin Pratt and Lauren Slezak, owners of Delaware Supply - “a mom and pop beer bar” - in Albany, N.Y. Let’s get into it.
Colin & Lauren, thanks for talking with The Dishing! You call Delaware Supply “a mom and pop beer bar.” For anyone who hasn’t been, what is Delaware Supply?
Lauren: “Mom and Pop” because, chances are, you’ll see either mom or pop on any given day! Delaware Supply is a small beer bar in the Delaware Ave neighborhood of Albany, NY. Our focus is well-balanced, Euro/Euro-style beers. We’re obsessive about the quality of our pours. We’re meticulous with our line-maintenance. We’re a locals spot as much as a destination.
I was shocked when I realized you opened in 2017 and I first wrote about you in 2018. It seems people are either your biggest fans or haven’t heard of Delaware Supply. Why do you think that is? Do you still get a lot of first time customers or mostly regulars?
It’s interesting you bring this up! What we do and what we are recognized for seems to have gotten us more global attention than local attention. Funny, as we’ve always wanted to be, first and foremost, a neighborhood bar (which is how we arrived at the name of our bar: the beer supply for the Delaware Neighborhood). We’ve lived in this neighborhood for over a decade and love our town. We have the best regulars: many of whom have also become dear friends. There are some nights we have a full house and know everyone’s name.
Many new faces are coming in all the time; others live within walking distance and didn't know we existed. To answer your question: maybe it’s on us for not putting ourselves out there enough. We’ve never been naturals at promotion!
You two met at Westmere Beverage Supply in Guilderland (which Colin ultimately managed) and as long as you have known each other, you have worked together. Why do you think you work so well together? Do you carve out different roles or how do you balance operations?
We have always had so much fun together and we appreciate the other’s work ethic. Things have always fallen naturally for us, although there are times when a discussion is needed to move things forward or resolve an issue. We don’t always agree! But we do always arrive at a decision.
You’re both passionate about interesting craft beers and taking care with all aspects of serving from the glassware to the temperature to slow pours. Bartenders often talk to me about the under-appreciated but important role of ice in cocktails. Is there something similar with beer? What do you wish more people knew?
Lauren: I kid you not - (I’ve watched this happen a few times) - people will put their dirty finger into their freshly-poured beer to kill the foam. It makes my stomach turn. Foam is an important part of a beer pour. It protects the liquid beer from oxidation; it offers a unique aromatic and textural experience; it’s a sign that the line is clean and that the beer is healthy and, in most cases, correctly brewed. We love foam! We offer a Czech-style pour that is almost entirely foam (mlíko pour)! If you’re skeptical on foam, come on by and we’ll convert you.
Colin: Cleanliness. Regularly cleaning your beer lines, couplers, and faucets are just as important as making sure the glass you are pouring into is what is called “beer clean.” If any part in this equation is not well maintained, a bad beer is being served. People often tell us how good the beer tastes here, and a major part of that is because we take pride in keeping these things clean.
You both have really interesting academic backgrounds: Lauren, you have an undergraduate degree in French and art history and a graduate degree in French literature; Colin, you studied film and media communications at the College of Saint Rose. Obviously many of your beers have interesting backstories, labels or lore. Have you found ways of applying your backgrounds or nerding out creatively at Delaware Supply?
Lauren: I love learning. I get bored when I’m not being taken over by some new process. Student for life! I’m always searching for the root of a thing. I like to think about this industry from a philosophical standpoint. I’ve never identified as a natural hospitality professional, so I always try to be observing, gathering, honing.
Colin: While Lauren and I met working in beer, our first connection and shared love outside of that, was film. We would, and still do, go to the movies as much as possible and discuss what we saw. Opening our bar right next to the Theatre that we shared many of those early memories with was very much intentional. We now get to share that love with many folks that come in before or after a film.
What has been one of the most memorable beers you have ever served, whether bottle or tap?
Lauren: There are too many to narrow down for me. But, when we get to pour beer for the person who made it, that’s special. We were able to host Daniel and Mariel Thiriez at the bar in 2019, only a few months after we visited. Brasserie Thiriez is a family brewery from Esquelbecq, FR. They live on the same property as their brewery and taproom. Tasting their beer in the place it’s made is very special. Inviting them to our own little bar to share their beer with our lovely clientele! That was wild. My grandma came to meet them (she speaks French too.) She had such a lovely time talking with Daniel and Mariel about our then recent engagement. I was a little embarrassed about our personal life being described by my grandmother, but Daniel and Mariel were so excited and happy for us, it all made sense to me then. Colin and I were becoming a family, and a family business, a mom and pop, means that our big and little life achievements are shared with those who step inside.
Colin: Casks of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or Celebration pulled through a beer engine with a sparkler. We love giving people an experience with a beer that is so well known, but that they have never had before. Sometimes that experience is as little as offering a proper pour on a clean line, other times, it’s serving it up in a totally different format - cask conditioned.
For the shoot, you poured Orval, Cohestion Tmavé, Coniston Bluebird Bitter, Fox Farm Rove, and a slow pour of Suarez Family Nimble Pils. The photos came out beautifully, but can you describe their taste + backstory?
We’d like to thank both you and Victoria for entertaining us in this regard. Pour quality and presentation is paramount to us, and you made sure that was represented in the photos.
• Orval, the one beer we have offered every day since we opened, is a Belgian Trappist Ale first brewed in 1931. Admired by many, and a must try for anyone who considers themselves a beer lover.
• Cohesion: Tmavé, a Czech-Style Dark Lager. We don’t get our hands on beer from this brewery often but it’s always a pleasure when we do. They are focused on the Czech tradition of brewing and they do it very well.
• Coniston: Bluebird Bitter. An Ordinary Bitter from England that we pour as often as possible. “A beer meant for drinking” as we like to say. You can analyze it if you’d like, but really you should just get lost in the conversation and forget all about the beer, until it’s time for another.
• Fox Farm, out of Salem, CT. A brewery that is so well versed in all styles of beer and they consistently knock it out of the park. Rove is a Farmhouse Pale Ale. A little tart, immensely refreshing.
• Suarez Family, one of our favorites not too far from us here in Livingston, NY. Really great people. Really great beer. Nimble is a German-Style Pils featuring Perle - a hop varietal grown in the Tettnang region of Germany.
There’s a well-documented decline in younger people drinking. Has that impacted DelSup in any way? Have you found quality low- or non-alc beers that you enjoy and is there much demand?
We love to session, naturally, and because of that, our draft selection features beer mostly under 5% ABV. Some of our all-time fav beers are under 3%. Obviously that’s not an N.A. rating, but we prefer to offer a selection that caters to hanging out. And to be fair, we’ve never really catered to a younger audience.
There is a demand for N.A. beer, and we love to sample and drink it ourselves. Guinness has become a favorite, and Good Time Pils and IPA round out the menu. Like any of the product we carry, we taste and compare and bring in the best we can.
In general, the bar/hospitality industry is notorious for burnout. Lauren, you managed to actually complete your graduate degree while working full-time to open the bar. How do you both maintain a work/life balance and do you have time for outside interests?
Lauren: Ha! I’m sure work/life balance can exist in this industry, but we’ve yet to realize it for ourselves. This question is very topical for us this year. In January, I stepped away from DelSup daily ops in search of more balance. Colin took over the kitchen and streamlined the food menu and we hired two, incredibly talented industry professionals, Erica and Julia. Change opened up a new set of opportunities and challenges. Ultimately, we saw much less of each other, and so we had to be a little more deliberate with our time together. When you have all of your eggs in one basket, it’s really hard to prioritize anything else. On days off, you take the calls, you write the emails, you do your ordering, but you do it next to the other person. Sometimes that’s the best we can do!
We always make time to go to the movies: you’ll find us at the Spectrum Theatre at least once a week. We like to call ourselves masters of the 36-hour trip, usually centering around an out-of-town show that one or both of us is excited about. Once or twice a summer we fully disconnect and go camping (you’ll never see us happier and you’re not invited ;) ) We try to take a big trip each Spring and Fall, which usually has us closing up shop for a week.
Lauren, you were a New Englander until you moved to Albany at 11 years old. Colin, you were born and raised in Delmar – and I love that your parents even met at the Elbo Room (now L’Roca) just down the road at 170 Delaware Ave. What are some of your childhood or teen food memories?
Lauren: I was glued to my mom’s hip until I went to college. She’s a fantastic home cook and I know my way around a grocery store and a kitchen because of her. My mom would sit and chat with me at the dining table every night, long after everyone else had moved on, while I ate seconds and thirds. When we lived in Vermont, my dad owned and operated a restaurant in Colchester, and I spent every weekend and sick day hanging out in the lounge with my sisters. We had access to an endless supply of parker house rolls as long as we helped restock ice.
Colin: A toss up between Sunday dinner featuring my Mom’s meatballs or learning from my Papa how to order a plate of hot dogs with the works in the back booth of Gus’s while, who I assumed to be the Grandma of Gus, sliced a mountain of buns one seat over. Carton of chocolate milk on the side.
Colin, you worked at Albany Ale and Oyster when it was Beer Belly, a craft beer bar and bottle shop. We used to have a few more places for a deep dive into craft beer, like Mahars I & II. What’s your view of the beer industry or local market?
Albany has always served as an important crossroads in beer distro. Mahar’s paved the way for all of us. Our accessibility to great beer is met by those who are ready to drink it. We’re certainly not the trendy spot, but that’s always served us well.
Let’s talk about food for a minute. Lauren, you did a culinary program at SCCC and used to have more of a small plates menu at DelSup, but now it’s a solid line up of three sandwiches: jambon beurre, muffuletta and vegan veg - which frankly hits the spot with a beer. You also have pretty frequent guest pop ups like Haema Hospitality or JR with Julia’s beer can chicken. Can you tell us what’s coming up?
We’re always proud of our menu and it’s changed quite a few times over the years. Sometimes out of necessity (COVID), sometimes out of boredom. We’ve never contented ourselves by just checking boxes. Though the menu is small, it is crafted with intention. The sandwiches are made with ciabatta bread custom baked by Leavened in the Catskills and meats overnighted by our friends at Smoking Goose Meatery in Indianapolis. As for pop-ups, our friends are endlessly more talented than we are, and we’re lucky to pour beer alongside their food. They include Julia Johnson (Lil Deb’s Oasis, Hudson), Haema Hospitality (formerly of The Aviary, Kinderhook), the Weltons (now Weltons’ Tiny Bake Shop in Charleston, SC), Dimitrios Menagias (former exec. chef at the City Beer Hall) + John Marra (City Beer Hall, Unified Beer Works, Albany Ale & Oyster.)
[Ed. note: Julia’s occasional Thursday beer can chicken pop up nearly broke the internet.]
What are 3 of your favorite spots for breakfast, lunch and dinner anywhere in the Capital Region or Hudson Valley?
Now you’re really getting to know us! Breakfast: Dirty Dans, Albany (thanks for all the years of service!) Lunch: The Ale House, Troy (hot wings, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.) Dinner: My Place & Co., Delmar (open-faced turkey sandwich, Lovewich.)
Imagine it's your day off. Reservations are not an issue, and you can go anywhere in the world. Where would you go and how would your day or night unfold?
No-brainer! New Orleans, our home away from home. We roll into town early. Hit up The John (30+ bar, haha) and hang out with Curtis for a few: Lauren, Bud bottles; Colin, Red Stripe bottles). Banh Mi from The Frenchman Grocery and Deli. Electric bike over to the Marigny and the Bywater. Frady’s One Stop for the roast beef debris po’ boy. Euclid Records for an hour or two. Marky’s Bar for a round or two. BJ’s Lounge for music, fernet (all that beer catches up), and red beans and rice. Make our way back to The Frenchman for jazz and beer. It’s a day we recreate every year and it never disappoints.
That’s an awesome mini-guide! Let’s give a plug to your mobile set up for offsite catering. What’s The Bevvy by DelSup?
The Bevvy is our sweet little tap trailer! A direct extension of our bar. We cater weddings and private events.
Last call: If you were marooned on a desert island, but can bring one beer to have in perpetuity, what would it be?
Lauren: Eek! Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, bottles.
Colin: Coniston: Bluebird Bitter
Thanks so much for talking with us! We can’t wait to drop back for a beer and maybe Julia’s beer can chicken!
