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.

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.