Dry French pilsner takeoff with white-headed straw clear hue retains crisp, easygoing appeal. Maize-dried musk meets white rice sweetness and light herbage at salty lemon midst above white bread base.
NOTCH FRENCH DISKO PILS
SAUREZ FAMILY LO AND BEHOLD PORT DANUBE
Ultra dry port-barreled Flemish red ale seeps leathery oaken cherry tannins into plum-soured white wining and musty white grape esters, picking up unripe kiwi snip, diluted red grape juice smidge and pickled mustard seed tease before finishing extremely vinous.
OLD KLAVERACK DUNBAR STOUT
Burnt coffee infusion picks up dark chocolate roast, dry walnut respite and dark-roast hop bittering. Creamy nitro-like eclair head and burnt cedar tinge receive distant charcoal singe. A bit like day-old coffee.
OLD KLAVERACK DARK LAGER
Day-old light roast coffee nuttiness enters the fray before debittered black malt scrum and dark cocoa powdering reach mild black tea bittering above weedy earthen peat remnant.
OLD KLAVERACK HAZY IPA
Instant straight-ahead tropical fruit classic. Reliable lemony yellow grapefruit sunshine and spiced-up pineapple, mango, peach and tangerine tang pick up subtle pine lacquering over sugary pale wheat malting.
OLD KLAVERACK AMBER LAGER
Middle of the road moderation with pasty mouthfeel. Spicy amber grains back spritzy orange oiling and tannic grape souring but cheap cider murk arrives when warmed.
OLD KLAVERACK AMERICAN LAGER
Esygoing clear golden light body with fizzy lemon pep and green peppered herbage reaching light corn- whiskeyed Scotch midst above neutral white bread base.
WOODSTOCK BREWING
Inside a roughhewn, pine-fronted, Western-styled mini-mall in the tiny Catskill Mountains hamlet of Phoenicia, WOODSTOCK BREWING provides easygoing straightforward beers in an “Industrial chic setting that suits the relaxing environment of this hunting and fishing community.
Woodstock’s rustic epoxy-floored main room features a slate top bar with twelve draughts at its white tiled back plus pipe-fitted wood community tables, unfinished benches and black metal rooftop beams. The large glass-encased production facility supplies beer and a separate left side space adds more seating.
My wife and I perused Woodstock late July ’25 mid-afternoon to quaff nine stylishly standard suds. Cocktails, margaritas and wine were available alongside sandwiches, tacos and salads.
Unfiltered German-styled light body, Woodstock Pilsner, stayed dry as honeycomb astringency and barnyard hay acridity reached fresh baked breading.
Dry pale-bodied helles-styled Woodstock Lager plied raw honeyed citrus spicing and fresh-cut grass to pilsner-malted baked breading.
Flagship pale ale, Baby Dragon, a Cascade-Citra-Columbus-hopped moderation, draped candied orange tanginess and Meyer lemon zest atop oats-flaked pilsner malts.
Exquisite Imperial IPA, I Dream In Yellow, let crayon waxed orange lollipop tartness, vibrant grapefruit zesting, dry rum sugaring and floral lavender peppering coalesce above lightly creamed oats.
Another worthy Imperial IPA, Endless Cycle, gathered sunny grapefruit tanginess and mellow guava-gooseberry tartness into resinous pine dryness atop oats-flaked wheat creaming.
Candi-sugared pilsner malting saddled Westmalle-styled Outer Rings Tripel, a rummy Belgian pale ale (9% ABV) with lovely lemon meringue, creamy banana and pineapple candy fruiting plus slight vodka nip.
Tart raspberry-jammed strawberry and blueberry acquired salty lemon-dried acidity for fruity gose, All The Berries, finishing with a pink rosé sparkle.
Fulsome Baltic Porter, Before The Fall, blended Maris Otter malts with milk chocolate sweetness and dewy rye flouring, leaving modest coal, hazelnut and walnut snips.
Bustling (11% ABV) barleywine, Shikkoku No Senshi, combined dried fig, desiccated orange and spiced rum illusions over mocha-kissed Maris Otter malts.
SUBVERSIVE MALTING & BREWING
Opened February 2020 in an inconspicuous overhead-doored gray brick mechanic’s garage, SUBVERSIVE MALTING & BREWING is a nifty New York farmhouse nanobrewery in the town of Catskill. A rickety black foil sign leads patrons to the grain silo-sided pub house.
Crafting “simple and expressive” beers appealing to a wide range of people’s palates, Subversive takes its farm-to-table motto seriously.
Rustic cafe benches and a cozy couched section front the parlor-styled plank wood bar (cornered by two TV’s). Brew tanks are staged at the rear alongside a small canning area. As a malt house, Subversive utilizes floor-germinated roasted malts made from locally sourced grains.
Wine, hard cider and cocktails were available as well as burgers, sandwiches and salads.
It’s noontime in 105-degree weather as I sink five Subversive suds at one of the stone-grounded black picnic table under the covered deck on my late July ’25 trip. Unfortunately, they were out of flagship, Tiny Glasses Kolsch.
“Pillowy Euro pils,” Puff Puff, a light-bodied softie, left fizzy lemon upon its sweet-spiced floral hops and mild herbal tinge above doughy bread-crusted cereal graining, picking up latent maize straw dryness.
Year-round hazy India Pale Ale, NY Nectar, stayed soft on the tongue as well, letting yellow grapefruit and orange rind bittering delicately graze subtle spicing, light pining and grassy hop astringency.
Offbeat dry-hopped West Coast IPA, Verdant Voyage, let dank pine and nutty rye redirect pineapple-guava tartness plus wispy papaya-pineapple tanginess above mild pilsner malting.
Classic farmhouse ale, Subversive Saison, stayed easygoing as orange-bruised lemon meringue and dried plantain retained candi-sugared coating.
Smoothly creamed nitro stout, Dark Harvest, placed roasted coffee next to Cocoa Puffs chocolate malting, creamy eclair fluff and dewy earthiness.
ARROWOOD FARMS
On a warm and humid Thursday afternoon in late July ’25, my wife and I enjoyed an all day brewfest going south from the Catskill’s Subversive Malting & Brewpub, then Phoenicia’s Woodstock Brewing and finally, Accord’s sustainably-minded farmhouse brewery and distillery, ARROWOOD FARMS. Crafting “unique beverages inspired by nature, tradition, and regional agriculture,” Arrowood sits atop the hilly rural farmland village.
Becoming a tap house during 2016, the brown aluminum cement-floored barnhouse also includes outdoor tents, a metal-furnished slate porch and small-staged pavilion. Inside, the expansive wood top bar services a casual lanterned table area and couched section. Like an elegantly designed humble abode, Arrowood’s homey warmth and highly approachable, stylishly conservative brews prove to be relaxing.
Cider, cocktails and wine were also available alongside light pub fare. I consumed all eight in-house draughts.
Dry German pils, Accordion, sprung spritzy lemon fizz upon light herbal spicing and salted pretzel-like pilsner malting.
Flaked corn adjunct gave sessionable light lager, Cicada, its cereal grain crisping, leaving salty lemon fizz and dotted herbal licks.
Coriander-spiced white ale, Rabbits Foot, put lemony orange and banana fruiting subtly atop delicate oated wheat base, picking up white peppered lemongrass and ginger snips.
Dry-hopped hazy pale ale, Sky Top, brought lemon candied tartness to lively spicing and subtle herbage.
Honey India Pale Ale, Petal Pusher, let mild wildflower honey astringency spread across lemony grapefruit peel zesting, floral orange blossom grassiness and oaken vanilla snip.
Hazy IPA, Polly, placed dry lemony grapefruit tanginess across resinous pine tones, leaving mild pineapple-mango tropicalia on its lightly spiced citric finish.
Fruited kettle sour, Porch Beer – Cherry, sank salty cherry musk into oaken vanilla, green grape tannins and lightly embittered cranberry-raspberry flourish.
On the dark side, Black Sheep Brown Ale serenaded its dewy cocoa base with mild dark-roast hop bittering contrasting honey-roasted macadamia, walnut and hazelnut illusions.
VOSBURGH BREWING COMPANY
Situated at an unassuming gray overhead-doored barn house in the Hudson Valley town of Elizaville, VOSBURGH BREWING COMPANY began its journey in 2015. On the former site of Sloop Brewing at a family-owned farm, Vosburgh is an agrarian-based nano pub designed by Mark and Hope Stier and ex-Gun Hill Road brewmaster Kieran Farrell.
Perched in the rural rolling hills, Vosburgh’s grey cement-floored barroom features old catacomb columns, round and square wood tables, exposed pipes and ten draughts at the sight-stooled bar (with plank wood backdrop). Windowed brew tanks peek out from behind. Most of the stylish liquid fare is dry or off-dry.
My wife and I head outside to down seven proprietary brews at one of the awninged picnic bench on a warm mid-July ’25 eve.
Dry German light body, Terra Pils, let Hallertau Blanc hops provide green grape tannins, guava tartness, mandarin orange sweetness and lemon musk for its barnyard-dried oats base, picking up mild lemongrass, green tea and ginger illusions.
Utilizing local Vosburgh hops (grown on the farm), easygoing dry lager, Elizaville Helles, scattered prickly lemon licks alongside raw-honeyed graining and hay-like earthiness.
Lemony grapefruit briskness led Chinook-Centennial-hopped moderation, Summer Ale, picking up mild orange tang to contrast arid grassy-hopped pining over its white bread base.
Red, orange and yellow fruiting gained mild dry-spiced perfuming for wheat-honeyed maibock, Poppybock, allowing apple, tangerine, peach and pomelo illusions plus fig licks to gather.
Perfectly centrist New England IPA, double dry-hopped How Lucky linked lemony grapefruit bittering and mild white peach, mango and guava tropicalia to delicate floral spicing and resinous pining over light oats creaming.
Another NEIPA, Silver Nails, utilized Nelson Sauvin hops to awaken dry green grape and gooseberry tartness alongside piney grapefruit bittering.
Aged in Taconic Distillery barrels, the 10% bourbonized version of Boom Pah Imperial Stout let bourbon chocolate syruping melt into maple oats sugaring, bruised cherry sweetness and milk coffee creaming.
KINGSTON STANDARD BREWING COMPANY
KINGSTON, NEW YORK
A casual delight, KINGSTON STANDARD BREWING COMPANY proudly serves ‘simple small batch beer’ alongside downhome pizza. Clean is what brewer Tait Simpson’s shootin’ for with these snazzy sessionable suds. Open six years by May ’25, the Kingston-based nanobrewery resides in a white brick barn house (with high arched ceiling, matching overhead doors and small brew area) next to the coolest grocery store ever.
The cafe-styled pub features a spiffy off-white wood paneled serving station with stainless steel bar top and stainless steel draught taps. Seven community tables and picnic benches crowd the covered front deck. Side picnic tables add further seating.
On my mid-July ’25 early evening sojourn, tried all seven tapped Kingston Standard brews and brought home a few more (reviewed in Beer Index).
My favorite, soft-toned dry-hopped India Pale Lager, El Dorado, let its hard-candied yellow fruiting spread alongside dried pine tones, bitter currant waves and sweet floral riffs, leaving El Dorado-hopped yellow grapefruit, pineapple and lemondrop glisten.
Lively lemon licks and light herbal spicing dotted marzipan-sweet Helles Lager.
Floral-spiced lemon zest and woody hop restraint regaled off-dry Pale Ale.
Busy cold filtered moderation, Kolsch, sprinkled spritzy lemon mist on sweet corn sugaring, polite herbage and mild arugula peppering, retaining fresh-baked French breading.
Dry barnyard crisping and hay-like wild oats desiccated blanched coriander-spiced orange sweetness for white bread-backed Wit, a slightly astringent stylish departure.
Soft-toned Altbier prodded sweet peat moss with musty dried fruiting and dark floral dusting atop black pepper breading.
Needing a tad more oaken cherry tartness, dry Flemish Red, Frida, retained moderate acidity as green grape esters, cider vinegaring and raspberry souring seeped thru.
Unofficial flagship, light roasted black lager, Schwarzbier, coalesced mild dark roast coffee with dehusked barley, debittered chocolate and musky dried fruiting.