Category Archives: United States Brewpubs

ARGYLE BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

Enjoying their brews track-side. - Picture of Argyle Brewing Company, Cambridge - Tripadvisor

CAMBRIDGE, NEW YORK

A red brick railroad depot houses ARGYLE BREWING COMPANY in the village of Cambridge at the southeast edge of the Adirondacks. A New York farm brewery utilizing locally sourced ingredients, Argyle opened its nearby Greenwich location three years before embarking on this second taproom pub in May 2017.

A distinct 2,000 square-foot, gavel roofed main space with uniquely spiraled panel wood walls, hardwood floors and gorgeous chandelier give the railway tavern a cavernous Cathedral-like setting. A covered wood-column beer garden with community benches doubles the capacity of the friendly residential neighborhood watering hole.

The slate-topped bar serves a few proprietary draughts. A lanterned couch area adds a homey feel and the small backstage suits musical entertainment. Heritage-bound photos and pix line the walls.

On a snowy afternoon in January ’23, my wife and I enjoyed two pints while grabbing a few cans for the road to Cooperstown (reviewed in Beer Index).

Mild lemon-spiced Cute Little Blonde picked up salty Williamette-hopped herbage and wispy florality to buttress its spritzy summery sessionability (mix with lemonade to make a mellow shandy).

Bittersweetly tart raspberry-pureed dark cocoa richness commanded Argyle Raspberry Porter, leaving a maple walnut glaze upon its tertiary blackberry, boysenberry and strawberry snips.

ROOTS BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

Roots Brewing Company in Oneonta - Restaurant reviews

ONEONTA, NEW YORK

Cozily quaint cafe-styled brewpub lets its ‘family-friendly atmosphere reflect the relaxed, convivial attitude’ of downtown Oneonta. Though ROOTS BREWING COMPANY only crafts a few homebrews on-site, their eighty-plus bottle and can lineup and handful of guest draughts will please varied thirsts.

A neat li’l homey red brick brewhouse with elongated left side bar, community tables, a few pews, olden wood chairs and five rear brew tanks, Root’s stylishly eclectic antiquity gets reinforced by its lavender-hued columns and scattered abstract paintings. Snacks, pizza and tacos are available alongside snazzy cocktail specials.

There’s only one homebrew on my January ’23 sojourn, but it’s a true delight.

Retaining a rummy dried fruit spicing and dewy fungi musk, Roots Inconceivable Tripel let its mild caramel creaming sweeten its raisin-plum-date conflux, subtle butternut squash nuttiness and wispy floral perfuming as oaken vanilla tannins surfaced latently.

FIDENS BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

The Juicy IPAs of Fidens Are a Product of Deep Study and Constant Tinkering | Craft Beer & Brewing

COLONIE, NEW YORK

FIDENS BREWING COMPANY was established in 2014 and moved to its current digs September ’20. An IPA-centric microbrewery taking up a large 20,000 square-foot cement-floored warehouse in the suburban Albany town of Colonie, Fidens stainless steel brewtanks stretch to the 20-foot aluminum ceiling (with exposed pipes).

Though plans to put in a new tasting room are ruminating, the brewery as of January ’23 only sold beers for off-site consumption. In the Beer Index, there are a few wonderful Bidens brews reviewed.

MIXED BREED BREWING

United States Brewpubs,

Photos: Mixed Breed Brewing in Guilderland

GUILDERLAND CENTER, NEW YORK

Established in 2020, MIXED BREED BREWING occupies the mid-space of a tan-bricked mall in the tiny hamlet of Guilderland Center fifteen miles west of Albany. “Founded by individuals who enjoy brewing, drinking and celebrating the diversity beer,” Mixed Breed’s neo-Industrial space includes an art deco black ceiling, metal-aluminum-wood furnishings and sturdy cement floor.

A metal furnished front deck leads into the arch windowed pub. The twenty-seat concrete-topped, aluminum-sided central bar features twelve-plus aluminum-backed tap handles with several shelved steins. There are six left-walled slate tables and two white plastic tables at the front window. Several brew tanks are staged right.

My wife and I gathered at Mixed Breed at noon on a cold Saturday in January ’23 to try all ten available draughts.

Mixed Breed Grand Opening

Buttered brown breading soaked up mild toffee sweetness and subtle nuttiness for mellow altbier, Toast, a German-styled moderation with wispy Noble hop herbage.

Effervescent yellow fruited spicing and mild white wheat flouring graced blanched witbier, Shorty, a grassy-hopped moderation with soapstone sudsing.

Engaging tropical fruiting juiced up Tremors IPA, letting lemony orange-grapefruit bittering softly caress salted mango, tangy tangerine and sweet peach above sugary pale malting.

Yellow-cleared Endo NEIPA may’ve lacked stylish haze but its emphatic yellow grapefruit bittering and tangy mandarin orange, clementine and tangelo zesting never relented as sour gooseberry-guava tartness ascended alongside mild pine tones above vanilla-creamed oated wheat.

Another non-hazed NEIPA, In Case Of Emergency, brought floral-perfumed yellow grapefruit and peachy mango-guava to the fore as its woody dryness increased.

Today’s best seller, 3 NEIPA, allowed mildly spiced lemony orange and grapefruit tanginess to reign upon oily pine resin.

Tart mango pureed pineapple tanginess and milky coconut sweetness fortified fab fruited sour, Bingo Bango, allowing pulpy orange juice to infiltrate its tropical serenity.

Dry chocolate malted Benny Brown, a traditional English brown ale, countered gentle roasted chestnut-almond sweetness with slightly seared walnut bittering.

Fudgy brown chocolate and bourbon vanilla guided cocoa nibbed Imperial Stout, Aces, a rich Graham Cracker honeyed confection.

Chocolate-sweet cocoa nibs also imbibed French’s Hollow Dessert, a fudgier pastry stout.

HANK HUDSON BREWING CO.

United States Brewpubs,

Hank Hudson Brewing Co. Opens in Halfmoon [PHOTOS] - 518 Bites & Sights

HALFMOON, NEW YORK

Inside a redwood clubhouse chalet at the tiny town of Halfmoon in the southern Saratoga vicinity, HANK HUDSON BREWING CO. opened in the autumn of 2018. Fronting the Fairways of Halfmoon golf course, this popular local sportsbar-related brewpub delivers some of the best well rounded suds in the area.

Hank Hudson’s pristine interior includes a large stone hearth to warm up its high-ceilinged barnhouse splendor. An L-shaped bar made from reclaimed wood features 20 tapped draughts sits across butcher blocked community tables while several overhead-doored rear seats look out at the fairway. Brewtanks are staged to the far right. A spacious front deck offers more seating.

On a snowy January ’23 dinnertime visitation, chowed Cheese’s Christ pizza while downing nine diverse brews. Yummy burgers, subs and wings were also available.       Hank Hudson Brewing Co. — Photo Gallery

Maize-flaked barnyard acridity and raw-honeyed carapils malts anchored Win The Weekend Light Lager, a dry easygoing light body.

Smoothly soft-toned Citra-hopped Wheelhouse Blonde, placed yellow grapefruit-peeled mandarin orange tanginess atop acidulated white wheat malts, leaving a hint of sugared caramel to counter soapy vegetal herbage.

Dry-hopped Pruyn Hill Pale Ale maintained an IPA-like fruitiness as lemony grapefruit-peeled orange rind tanginess stayed brisk over honeyed white wheat.

Cereal grained steam lager, Clifton Common, left raw-honeyed grits buttering upon vegetal earthiness and herbal restraint.

Musky Noble-hopped marzen, Hanktoberfest, brought orange-dried mushroom fungi and mild chestnut-pecan notions to gluey Vienna malting.

Sweetly tart blueberry puree lacquered gluey Two Buttons Deep Blueberry, ushering in treacly stickiness and floral honeysuckle perfuming for Maris Otter-malted torrified wheat (and wispy herbal hop astringency).

Tangy tangerine puree saturated juicy Sunshine Girl Tangerine IPA, a fruitful Citra-Eldorado-hopped medium body with oats-flaked carapils malting contrasting mild pine resin.

Dry black-malted stout, My Name Is Chuck, crossed smoky dark chocolate with charred (Band-aid-like) hop astringency and distant seared nuttiness.

Belgian candi sugar sprinkled anise spicing, chocolate minting, cinnamon bark and dried fruiting for wheaty pilsner malted Hap-Hap-Happiest Christmas, a fine wintry digestif.

BYE-I BREWING

United States Brewpubs,

Notes On Napkins:: Cohoes welcomes yet another food-and-drink spot, Bye-i Brewing

COHOES, NEW YORK

Across from the post office at an eloquent lamp-lighted white stone Classical mixed-use building in the heart of Cohoes, BYE-I BREWING was established in 2019 by local homebrewing proprietors Robert Newberry and George Powley. A pristine Industrial neo-mod pub, Bye-I’s tasting room was opened on July 2, 2020.

Reminiscent of a corner cafe with glass-windowed frontage, beautiful lacquered wood floors, several wood-metal seating tables, dual black sofa lounge spot, Edison-pendant lighting and pipe-exposed ceiling, Bye-I provides a certain homey warmth.

Staged to the right are the corrugated aluminum-backed brew tanks and a barn-doored backspace hosts special events.

While visiting Bye-I New Years Eve ‘2 in late afternoon, I enjoyed all eight available home brews.

BYE-I BREWING - 20 Photos - 122 Remsen St, Cohoes, NY - Yelp

Sunny Citra-hopped flagship, 131 Pale Ale, brought lemony orange-peeled grapefruit tanginess to waxy pine lacquer over dry pale malt spicing, retaining a mild citrus bittering.

Utilizing the same pale malt base, a resonant red-peppered habanero burn heated up spicier offshoot, 131 Hab Pale Ale – its intensified ascending pepperiness prickled by spritzy lemon zest.

Summery Mexican-styled Cohoes Cerveza Lager let mildly sour lemon-dropped herbage reach its meek Tortilla-chipped sourdough base.

Profuse grapefruit and pineapple tanginess lacquered Imperial IPA, Not Your Breakfast Juice, distancing its gooseberry-guava souring and clean vodka boozing.

Bright tropical fruiting caressed vanilla-creamed NEIPA, Experimental IPA #6, as peachy grapefruit, orange and mango spicing contrasted salty guava-gooseberry souring.

Minty pumpkin pie spicing elevated Lumpkin Pumpkin Ale, allowing brown-sugared nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon to season its delicate gingerbread base.

Day-old coffee and black-malted dark chocolate consumed Taylor Tot Chocolate Coffee Stout, leaving slight Blackstrap molasses bittering on its dry mocha finish.

For an early nightcap, Midnight Veil Pastry Stout let vanilla-spiced marshmallow fluff and Graham Cracker honeying soak up plentiful dark chocolate syrup.

OTHER ONE BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

Other One Brewing opens brewery and taproom in Halfmoon - Albany Business Review

HALFMOON, NEW YORK

At the Glenpeter Plaza in the suburban town of Halfmoon (halfway between Albany and Saratoga), OTHER ONE BREWING COMPANY began full-time operations April 22, 2022. A friendly mall-bound pub, Other One features a 12-seat bar with aluminum and wood furnishings plus backroom brew tanks.

Drafted by zymurgic mad scientist, Randy Lewis, a former homebrewer with 30 years experience, each small-batch recipe will happily surprise experienced ‘brewpies.’ Oft-times bringing new elements to standard styles, Lewis experiments with Cryo hops, liquid yeast and whatever else motivates him.

Small pizzas and big pretzels complemented a convincing IPA-centric lineup New Years Eve ’22. I also enjoyed two Irish beers (a red ale and nitro stout) plus a dry winter ale and weightier kolsch.

Other One Brewing opens brewery and taproom in Halfmoon - Albany Business Review

Amiably richer amber-hued kolsch, Pajamas In Walmart, meshed caramelized Munich malting with light pilsner graining to anchor its subtle orange, tangerine and red cherry fruiting and dry Saaz-Tettnang hopped woodiness in a dehydrated ‘liquid yeast’ setting.

Dewy peat mossed ESB, Your Mom’s A Rockstar, snuck waddle-seeded pumpernickel toasting into Fuggle-hopped herbage and cellared fungi.

Sweetly peaty Irish Red Ale, Big Daddy O’Lappers, placated musky orange oiling with crisply caramelized barley roast.

An innovative offshoot, milky yellowed NEIPA, Trilogy, let Sauvignon Blanc grape skins flitter alongside lacquered Cryo Pop hops as ‘biotransforming’ Cosmic Punch yeast aided the lemony gooseberry-guava tropicalia and salty white grapefruit tartness.

Equally zestful NEIPA, Silent Dude, merged tangy orange, salted mango, fuzzy peach and tart pineapple over sugared pale malting, leaving soft pine tones on the piquant tropical finish.

Another juicy NEIPA, Sajulus, guided spritzy grapefruit, orange and peach tanginess across salty pine tones and above mild wheated oats.

Dry tropical fruited NEIPA, Sydnie Down Under, combined lemony Galaxy/Nelson-hopped pineapple, guava and mango tartness with limey Wakatu/Enigma-hopped bittering, picking up a clean vodka whim atop its lightly spiced pale malting.

Enthusiastic double dry-hopped (Sabro-Eldorado) Imperial IPA, The Artful Dodger, brought lemony orange, tangerine and clementine tanginess, sour guava-mango conflux and mild spiciness to its creamy oated wheat base.

Wintry English-styled Christmas Ale, Rudolph’s Revenge, placed dewy fungi earthiness inside fig-dried raisin subtleties and seasonal nutmeg-coriander-cinnamon spicing.

Nitrogenated dry Irish stout, 3 Eyed Raven, stuffed soothingly clean nut-charred dark chocolate bittering thru dark-roast hops and bottoming black malts. 

ACTIVE INGREDIENT BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

Local brewery gaining popularity among craft beer scene – Saratogian

MALTA, NEW YORK

One mile from Unified Beerworks in the Saratoga County town of Malta, ACTIVE INGREDIENT BREWING COMPANY opened its doors at the Sitwell Plaza in September ’21. Founding pharmacists Brian Fox and Nate Rogers are the efficient lab scientists crafting a rounded range of both stylistically conservative and slightly offbeat suds.

Active Ingredient’s white-walled cafe-designed interior features wood and metal seating and an elongated bar with bronze draught station and two opposing TV’s. A few couches on the right side consume the right front of the cozy pub. A mossy green logo bedecks the side wall. Brew tanks are off to the right. An outside deck with trellis is to the left. Light pub food is available.

In a one-hour Friday afternoon session, New Years Eve, ’22, I consumed all seven available homemade offerings.

Local brewery gaining popularity among craft beer scene – Saratogian

Lemon rot souring scoured yellow cleared helles lager, Through The Prism, a sourdough bottomed softie.

Crisply clean yellow cleared kolsch, Freudian Sips, let farm fresh honey drip thru salted lemon candied tartness and grassy hop herbage to its rustic sourdough crusting.

Fizzy lemon-soured green grape tannins picked up mild woodruff syruping for white wheat-based Proton Donation, a moderately acidic Berliner Weisse.

Dark roast chocolate and chalky cocoa consumed Munich dunkel, Depth Beyond, leaving hop charred peat and murky dried fruiting on its freeze-dried coffee finish.

Orange-oiled yellow grapefruit spot given vodka-tinged esters and slight tea-like herbage above pasty pale malt gluing of double dry-hopped NEIPA, Moms Genes.

Lightly creamed Citra-Cascade-hopped New England pale ale, Control Group, spiked spritzy lemon fizz thru mild passionfruit-papaya-pineapple tartness over pasty wheated oats.

Hefty cold brew coffee imprint seized nutty espresso-bound Camp Catalyst Porter, picking up creamy dark chocolate cluster, black cherry tartness and black peppered hop char before receding to oily day-old coffee murk.

UNIFIED BEERWORKS

United States Brewpubs,

Unified Beerworks | Malta, NY | Beers | BeerAdvocate

MALTA, NEW YORK

Within walking distance of Active Ingredient, UNIFIED BEERWORKS began operations in Malta during 2018. Owned by former homebrewing husband-wife team, Jeff Mannion and Erika Anderson, the friendly pub serves a closeknit hometown community.

Inside an overhead-doored gray aluminum warehouse, Unified’s marble-topped bar, plank wood bar frontage, metal and wood stools, front-windowed tables, basic cement flooring and exposed pipes (plus olden ceiling-hung lanterns) create a clean Industrial feel.

Centralized white tile-backed stainless steel draught handles contain twelve-plus proprietary suds emanating from the rear brew tanks. A limited pub menu includes tacos, chips and sandwiches.

I stepped up to the bar and grabbed all eight flight size servings including three IPA’s, two lagers, two fruited sours and a New England pale ale during my New Years Eve ’22 visit.

Unified Beerworks (Malta) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

Dry Bavarian-styled light lager, A Glimpse Of Bohemia, let delicate floral-spiced citrus hops settle atop laidback cereal grained sweetness.

Dry chocolate-chalked dark lager, Midnight In Dresden, gained peated coffee and dark toffee illusions in a dark-roast hop setting.

Orange-spiced lemondrop souring and salted guava-mango tartness draped clay-like crayon waxing for hazy New England-styled pale ale, Right Time And Place, picking up tertiary ‘honeydew, tangerine and lychee’ illusions above the toasted pale malt base.

Soft-toned NEIPA, Echoes In Eternity, combined yellow grapefruit, orange and tangerine tanginess with subtle gooseberry-guava souring, tannic white grape musk and fennel-salted lemongrass herbage.

Fruitful flagship NEIPA, All The Juicy Things, evenly displayed fruit salad tropicalia as Valencia orange, navel orange, mandarin, clementine, cara cara, tangerine and tangelo tanginess graced gentle pale malt spicing and slight fungi musk.

Brisk vodka-nipped orange peel sweetness and yellow grapefruit tang penetrated clean Nordic yeast-infused Welcome To Valhalla Imperial IPA, leaving ancillary peach-pineapple-mango-clementine fruiting and dank pine resin on its dry pale malt bottom.

Tart fruited sour variant, Waxing Nostalgia: Black Razz, meshed black raspberry piquancy with mild vanilla bean bittering contrasting lemon sugar cookie sweetness as distant black cherry, boysenberry and blueberry illusions circulated thru candied lollipop finish.

Conditioned on tangerine and strawberry, Feel As One Fruited Sour gained salty lemonade tartness and tannic oaken cherry bitterness to infiltrate its adjunctive citric-berry conflux.

REAL MC COY BEER CO. – DELMAR

United States Brewpubs,

Brewtus Roasting Co. | All Over Albany

DELMAR, NEW YORK

Behind Brewtus coffee roasters in a rustic gray aluminum storage house, the original REAL MC COY BEER CO. (with a second spot in Ballston Spa and a third opening in Albany at an old Huck Finn warehouse in 2023) set up shop at this locale during 2015.

Two overhead garage doors lead to the cement floor interior where eight orange metal seats line the back bar with four stooled tables near the frontage. Real Mc Coy offers twelve draughts emanating from four tap stations.

Brewer Mike Bellini handles the backside brew tanks, crafting small batch beers with mostly locally sourced ingredients.

The Real McCoy Beer Co. - Brewery in Delmar

I watched Alabama play college football while enjoying velvety dry Irish Stout, Saoirse, at noon on New Years Day ’23. Its rich black malted dark chocolate bittering, nutty coffee ascension and Blackstrap molasses stipend settled alongside the hop-charred barley roast.

GUILFORD HALL BREWERY

United States Brewpubs,

guilford hall brewery | historic industrial baltimore wedding venue — urban row photography | baltimore maryland wedding photographer

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

Occupying an old red brick warehouse formerly housing Crown Cork & Seal in the Greenmount West section of northern Baltimore, GUILFORD HALL BREWERY opened for biz May ’21. Providing “European tradition and Baltimore charm,”, this cavernous hardwood-floored public house specializes in German, British, Czech and Belgian styled brews given a modern flair and paired with Bavarian, English, Polish and American cuisine.

A rustic two-floor brewery with intimate biergarten and separate right side open kitchen, Guilford Hall’s olden windows, metal-crowned Edison lights, exposed pipes and ceiling beams match its Industrial arts and entertainment area.

A giant Guilford Hall insignia spreads across the left wall fronting the brew tanks. Block wood tables front the twenty-seat bar in the rear. A large second floor banquet space offers more wooden chairs and tables. There are multiple TV’s at every angle to satisfy sports fans of every stripe.

At brunch on a bustling Sunday morning, December ’22, crowded minions watch the World Cup finals between Argentina and France. There’s no available seating so I grab a hefe and stout to go (reviewed below). Within a month, I revisit Guilford Hall to enjoy lunch with the wife and sink a few newly discovered brews.

Guilford Hall Restaurant - Baltimore, MD | OpenTable

Bustling Hefeweizen let its salty lemon splurge, lacquered herbal musk and dried plantain tartness soak up the sweet banana-clove expectancy.

Dry nut-charred black malting and soothing coffee-oiled dark chocolate bittering saddled C & S Irish Stout, leaving Blackstrap molasses treacle on its dark roast hop seared backend.

MINISTRY OF BREWING

United States Brewpubs,

Image result for ministry of brewing

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

Ever since Pittsburgh’s cathedral brewery, The Church, came into existence during ’99, followed by Grand Rapid’s zymurgic chapel, Brewery Vivant, there’ve been a few places of worship springing up as brewpubs nationally.

North of Fells Point in the urbanized Washington Hill neighborhood, MINISTRY OF BREWING took over St. Michael’s Church January ’20. Its pristinely evocative Cathedral ceiling, restored religious paintings, stain glass windows and pearly Corinthian columns provide a majestic setting.

There are butcher block tables on both sides of the white-tiled central corridor and a choir balcony for further seating. The vast 30-seat right side bar with oyster-shelled poured concrete top features ‘rotating spectrum’ of at least a dozen beers.  Brewtanks and vats are located at the altar.

I soaked up eight delightful suds on my December ’22 pilgrimage.

Image result for ministry of brewing

Dry lemon spritz and mild lemongrass herbage prickled Kolsch With No Name, a simple relaxing moderation.

Eccentric Spice Must Flow Cream Ale placed vanilla and cardamom adjuncts inside spruce-tipped minting and cologne perfuming.

Salty lemon-dried orange tartness swept thru the mild vanilla creaming of Kreamsickle Kolsch, leaving slight hay acridity on the tail end.

Lemon-limed cherry souring and modest rhubarb tartness enticed Rhuby Sunglasses, a coriander salted gose with delicate white bread spine.

Vibrantly tropical Galaxy/Eldorado hops allow peachy passionfruit and pineapple tang and lemony cherry snips to caress the dry-wooded grassy hop astringency of brusque Lady Day Pale Ale, a feisty little Billie Holiday celebrator from her Baltimore hometown.

Then there were three dark ales.

Cream sugared coffee splendor picked up caramel burnt chocolate fudging and a nutty remnant to engage Dark Wave English Porter.

In its barrel aged version, dark chocolate, dry cocoa and nutty espresso surged against the mildly creamed coffee tones, letting tarry black malt bittering gain traction.

Oats-sugared brown chocolate and spiced caramel gathered for Houndstooth Oatmeal Stout, a sweet, rich full body.

For its Barrel Aged Houndstooth, dark chocolate syruping soaked up the overwhelmed apple brandy aging, allowing dry medium roast coffee, raw molasses and charred nuttiness to gain a bitterer edge.

Coffee-stained dark chocolate gained bitterness from the dark-roast hop char and subtle nuttiness of 9.9 Problems Imperial Stout, a bold nightcap.