Approachable pale lager draught utilizes mildly fruited Americanized Galaxy-Mosaic hops, Guinness house yeast and dry Irish barley. Lemony orange-dried apricot sedation shadowed by resinous pine wisp and fresh-cut grass astringency as lightly creamed pale malts form fuzzy foamed sweetness.
(LION) STEGMAIER PORTER
Happily reminiscent of Mackeson XXX Stout with its bittersweet dark-roast black chocolate malting, dry cocoa powdering, caramel-burnt toffee influence and polite creaminess. Below the mocha surface, moderate hop-charred bittering affects charred nut remnant.
(LION) STEGMAIER WINTER WARMER
Pleasingly underwhelming winter-spiced moderation tingles tongue with brown-sugared malt sweetness. Vague cinnamon-nutmeg-gingerbread-cardamom illusions receive mild hop astringency by inconclusive finish of fair holiday celebrator.
(LION) STEGMAIER INDIA PALE ALE
Unassumingly mild IPA places tangy grapefruit-peach-orange-tangerine-pineapple blur atop astringent hop musk before lingering aspirin-like phenol finish falters.
SHINER HOME SPUN CREAM ALE
Dry raw-honeyed wheat malting picks up light popcorn buttering and wispy hop astringency for efficient moderation.
HUDSON VALLEY BREWERY
BEACON, NEW YORK
Uniquely specializing in easygoing sour ales, HUDSON VALLEY BREWERY began brewing operations during September ’16, opening its doors for public consumption January ’17. Entrepreneurial brewer, John-Anthony Gargiulo, previously blended sour ales for Dryden, New York’s respectable Bacchus Brewing. His dazzlingly demure barrel-aged elixirs possess modest complexity, subtle affectations, poignant piquancy and maybe most importantly, crystalline soft water.
Stationed at an enormous unfinished warehouse just off downtown Beacon near the railroad tracks and waterfall, Hudson Valley Brewery certainly has room for future expansion. Its unused back area may be turned into a dining space.
Dozens of liquor barrels don the left wall and bar area while a small outside deck at the garage door opening packs up with local sour ale fanatics at 2 PM on this cloudy Saturday, April ’17. Bob Dylan tunes play prominently while I settle into all eight intricately designed libations at the lacquered wood bar.
An easygoing gateway into sour ales, Incandenza Sour IPA plied juicy-fruited Citra hops and dank wood-dried Simcoe hops to lightly salted lemon zest, puckering orange-oiled grapefruit tartness and raw wheat astringency.
Billowy Pillow Hat IPA (with grassy Citra-Motueka hops) carried sour lime zest crisping to briny sea-shelled salting as subtle key lime pie, grapefruit pith, honeydew and melon illusions tingled the tongue.
Sessionable Infinite Pool IPA retained a softly lingering citric hop bittering and mild soft-watered flow as its lemony grapefruit tang, candied pineapple tartness and herbal lemongrass snips integrate well.
“Tropical juice box” Silhouette Brunch-Style Sour, utilized tart tangerines to soak up mild lemon-limed acidity, subtle pineapple-peach notions and champagne-sparkled mimosa wisps.
Adventurous moderate-bodied Adult World Smoked Sour Farmhouse was today’s sourest offering with its dry oaken musk and peat-smoked Scotch licks receiving an ocean-watered lime salting and lemon-peeled bittering to finish with a tequila-like mezcal spunk.
Soured hopheads will lean towards Re Up, an Eldorado-Azacca-Citra-hopped Imperial IPA with orange marmalade, orange blossom and sugar cookie illusions peeking thru.
Refreshingly brisk King Wavy Imperial IPA brought oats-dried tropical fruiting to lightly soured lemon-juiced orange rind bittering as its sweet orange-peeled pineapple, grapefruit, mango, clementine and peach tang gained pale-malted sugar spicing.
Possibly my fave, Animal Balloon Smoked Sour combined lime-dried lemon balm with vinous green grape mildness, soft passionfruit tartness and oaken vanilla buttering for a smoothly salt-peppered moderation.
hudsonvalleybrewery.com
RARE FORM BREWING CO.
TROY, NEW YORK
Tucked into the industrial textile manufacturing section near Central Troy’s Historic District on Congress Street near the Hudson River’s eastern banks, RARE FORM BREWING CO. opened May 2014. A rustic, no-nonsense 5-barrel brewery, its basic essentials are clearly the well-rounded beers and ales lining the 14 tap handles at the 12-seat serving station.
A large screen TV above the front door keeps my wife amused during our friendly late morning March ’17 two-hour stopover. A small food menu included smoked Peking duck, corned beef, cheddar cheese and raw-milked manchego. Whiskey flights and wine were also available. I sampled all eleven elixirs currently available from the tanks behind the serving station.
For starters, affable light-bodied Sabbatical Session Ale coalesced mild orange-peeled lemon zest with subtle rye, coriander and celery, gaining tangy tangerine, clementine and mandarin orange wisps at the brisk finish.
Earthen spelt graining anchored serene Steaze Spelt Saison as lemony grapefruit, orange and banana illusions picked up mild sugar spicing.
In its refined recipe, kitschy moderate body, Royal Coconut Cream Ale, allowed toasted coconut shavings to sweeten its zesty lemon bite and contrast the maize-dried cracked pepper bittering.
Hop-forward Freshy Hoppy Lager brought lemony passionfruit, guava and mango subtleties to mild raw-honeyed pilsner malting.
A limited edition fave, quaint Raw Beats IPA, let spritzy citrus zest linger over dry wood tones, raw rye malts and dainty sugar spices, leaving plentiful yellow grapefruit pit bittering along the way.
Despite its somewhat high 8.8% ABV, approachable medium body, Cascadia Double IPA, retained a charmingly perfume-spiced yellow grapefruit, lemon meringue, orange rind, nectarine and mango tang above spelt-dried grain malting.
Mildly creamed Karass Porter allowed bitter black chocolate to contrast brown-sugared almond, toffee and molasses atop dark-roasted hop char.
For Coconut Karass Porter, toasted coconut sweetened nut-charred black chocolate malting in stylish fashion.
Nutty caramel-toasted Members Only Brown Ale picked up dried cherry undertones to enhance its walnut-hazelnut-pecan conflux.
Bakers chocolate-like malts inundated Dark Day Schwarzbier as caramel-burnt coffee oiling gained mild spicing beneath the surface.
Mild Irish-styled Night Ride Dry Stout let black chocolate malts pick up subtle hop-charred nut roast.
GRAND CRU BEER & CHEESE MARKET
RHINEBECK, NEW YORK
Just north of Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County’s Revolutionary War Era-derived village of Rhinebeck, GRAND CRU BEER & CHEESE MARKET is located across the street from Beekman Arms historic Victorian tavern on Route 9. A small red brick shop open May 2010, its sterling craft bottled-canned beer selection competes favorably with the 16 draught brews at the small rear serving station.
Four front windowed tables service local customers and a small TV atop the refrigerated beers entertains other lurking beer-centric imbibers during my March ’17 noontime perusal.
I grab previously untried Chatham BomboGenesis Double India Pale Ale (reviewed fully in Beer Index) while buying a mixed 6-pack of local New York suds from Yonkers, Chatham, etc.
grandcrurhinebeck.com
MAD JACK BREWING CO. @ THE VAN DYCK
SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK
Inside Van Dyck Lounge at an infamously historic haunted brothel inconspicuously hidden among a residential Schenectady neighborhood, MAD JACK BREWING COMPANY re-established a former local brewery in 2011.
With the appearance of a low-ceiling upscale English pub, Mad Jack’s rounded beer selection benefits from Van Dyck’s great pizza, fine entrees and signature cocktails. A black canopy welcomes patrons to a separate right side dining area fronting the 20-seat bar area featuring walnut furnishings, booze-lined mirrors, a few tables and 2 TV’s.
A prominent carpeted dining area with tiled hearth opposes the left bar while a brick and windowed brew room adorns the rear nearing the back deck.
Keeping with its antiquated brothel setting, curtained front windows and dim lighting complete the score during my March 2017 mid-afternoon sojourn.
First up, light German-styled Pinhead Pilsner brought dank pilsner malting and mild grassy hop astringency to laidback lemony licks.
Nonchalant Washed Out Belgian White plied tingly sugar spicing to sweet orange-peeled banana and clove expectancy as well as distant lemony grapefruit bittering.
Musty earthen peat and dewy pale malts anchored dry-bodied moderation, Irish Red, a crisply barley-roasted delight.
Locally popular flagship, Fightin’ Irwin IPA, put apple, pear and peach fruiting on par with stylish grapefruit-peeled orange tang and spruce-pined hops above mild crystal malting.
Raisin, plum and black cherry pureeing pervaded Dunkel-Weizenbock, a sweet caramel malted medium body (with well-hidden 8.5% ABV).
“Intense coffee and chocolate” flavoring secures smoothly Vienna-malted Mount Pleasant Porter, a milky mocha delight with plenty of caramel sweetness.
Before heading to Saratoga, dark-roasted barley crisping deepened Stockade Stout’s mild coffee tones and chalky cocoa dryness.
On early December ’19 nighttime revisit, quaffed four fabulous seasonal brews.
Brown-sugared pumpkin pie sweetness glazed Upstate Harvest Pumpkin Spice Ale, a delightful Nugget-hopped autumnal offering with glistening cinnamon-spiced nutmeg, allspice and ginger seasoning.
Wonderful winter warmer, Uncle Jack’s Christmas Ale, brought Scotch-licked cinnamon stick sweetness to ginger, nutmeg, fern and pine nut illusions while retaining bruised orange and cherry undertones.
Milk-sugared cold brewed coffee elevated Rooster’s Wake The Clock Up Coffee Cream Stout to blissful digestif serenity, leaving vanilla, cocoa and caramel latte illusions to sweeten the persistent java exuberance of this hearty nightcap.
Fudgy nitrogenated Holy Cannoli Coffee Stout maintained its creamy milk-sugared coffee affluence and pastry-like ricotta creaminess above honeyed Graham Cracker malts for a nifty dessert treat.
My son, Christopher (living in Schenectady workin’ for Beechnut), brought back two worthy Euro-styled dark beers during July ’20.
Befuddlingly chameleonic helles bock, To Helles And Bock Again (a collab with nearby Helderberg Mountain Brewing), combined English IPA/ Scotch Ale facets as dewy compost-wafted moisture enveloped light cocoa, almond extract, chestnut, hazelnut and Scotch whiskey illusions corrupted by lemony Hallertau hops above caramel-spiced malts.
For full-bodied Northern English-styled Brown Ale, maple-sugared dark chocolate syruping draped unsweetened cocoa powdering to contrast modest walnut-charred hop bittering while dark floral spicing stayed distant.
Prior to Halloween ’20, consumed busy Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Spice, a briskly pumpkin pie-spiced autumnal dessert embedding brown-sugared cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice seasoning into honey-glazed hazelnut sweetness (and crisp brown leafed hop foliage), finishing like a spicy gingerbread cookie.
During October ’20 stopover, grabbed a table near the beautiful tile-chimneyed hearth with wife and son, Chris, at dinnertime to consume four previously untried brews.
Frisky Munich-styled lager, leafy autumnal moderation, Oktoberfest!, contrasted sweet-spiced dewy malts against herbal Tettnang hop restraint with rewarding results.
Rye-floured barley-malting nudged chestnut-acorn sweetness and earthen gourd for Upstate Harvest NY Pale Ale, leaving herbal lemon rot in the recess.
Tangy Mohawk Sunset Juicy New England IPA let mild milk-soured creaming seep into grapefruit-juiced orange, pineapple and peach effervescence while honey-spiced barleymalts, raw oats cereal graining and limey Cashmere hop herbage retained balance.
Marvelous lactose-infused Halloween candied dark ale, Big Stoopid Stout (a collaboration with Wolf Hollow) spread creamy peanut-buttered chocolate sweetness across candy-corned marshmallow sugaring as cumin-spiced vanilla beaning enriched the autumnal dessert confection alongside tertiary milk-sugared coffee, cocoa and black cherry puree illusions above a persistent cedar-burnt hop char.
www.vandycklounge.com/mad-jack
BLUE COLLAR BREWERY
POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK
Poughkeepsie’s BLUE COLLAR BREWERY is a cavernously expansive no-frills neighborhood joint tucked into a residential area just on the outskirts of downtown. In an old factory industrial building, long-time home brewing Red Sox fan Kevin Marquis and his son, head brewer Randy (a proud UC-Davis grad), craft a steady menu of likable ales to go with respectable pub fare.
Blue Collar’s red brick-walled interior features an open kitchen and opposing lower-leveled brew room that lead to its airy 15-seat backroom central bar (with 6 TV’s, a dozen tap handles, ten dining tables and loft seating).
Several fine wines are available alongside the five durable draught ales sampled during my March ’17 excursion.
Perhaps the finest offering, tea-like Irish Red gained a dewy earthiness to combat its caramelized barley roast, mild lemon spicing, raw molasses bittering and wispy coffee snip.
Floral citric herbs guarded light-bodied Saison, where well-watered freshness brought crisp carbolic spritz to sour lemon, zesty grapefruit, tangy orange and bruised banana tones above gentle pilsner-Vienna malting.
Briskly clean moderation, Cream Ale, saddled flaked corn and grassy hay with salted lemon souring.
Lemon-peeled grapefruit and orange rind bittering picked up sticky Amarillo-hopped pining for amiable medium-bodied India Pale Ale.
Mild black-malted Oatmeal Stout plied oats-sugared molasses to coffee-roasted milk chocolate for a nice capper.
www.thebluecollarbrewery.com
ELLICOTTVILLE 1/2 BAKED PEANUT BUTTER PORTER
On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead – Haledon, boldly indecisive full body needs deeper dark-roasted peanut butter penetration to compete with black chocolate-coffee influence and earthen hop char. Mildly creamed oats-toasted mocha continuance deprives peanut, cola and hazelnut illusions.
ELLICOTTVILLE KEEPIN’ IT PEEL CITRUS IPA
On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead – Haledon, ‘sharp grapefruit and lime peel’ bittering gains dry wood tone as tangy lemon, orange and peach illusions provide sweet-spiced contrast.
