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.

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.