You could try to look happy about it Craig /s
I visited a brewery today!
- Thread starter jmcnamara
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I love this brewery but they did the thing that drives me crazy and listed their NEIPA as an American IPA. A square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not a square, you know what I mean? 
Wagner Valley Brewing on Seneca lake about 30 minutes from Watkins Glen NY. Been coming here for over 10 years since they first added a brewery to their winery here
Choose your own flight from L to R: Pilsner, Hefeweizen, Schwarzbar and my personal favorite their trippelbock. Pilsner is a bit hoppy for the style but still very good
Choose your own flight from L to R: Pilsner, Hefeweizen, Schwarzbar and my personal favorite their trippelbock. Pilsner is a bit hoppy for the style but still very good
Update:
Hefe was incredible. Schwarzbar was very good and the trippelbock is still perfection
Hefe was incredible. Schwarzbar was very good and the trippelbock is still perfection
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At Trestle Brewing in Parry Sound Ontario with my buddy Steve. Named after the massive trestle train Bridge. Food was great, and the beer was mostly really good. Single IPA, double IPA, Hazy IPA, and a Kentucky Common. Single and Double were really good, the Kentuck Common was super good. The Hazy... no comment.
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10th anniversary so we spent a weekend at an Airbnb in Ithaca NY, home to Cornell University, some breathtaking gorges (I'll find an appropriate thread to post those pictures later) and some awesome breweries.
Didn't actually go to Ithaca Brewing Co. (Might have heard of their Flower Power IPA or Apricot Wheat) but went to Liquid state brewing (sorry no pics) and had the lederhosen flight which was a hefe, Kolsch, maibock, and dark lager. Kolsch was a bit hoppy (or snappy as the menu said) for my taste but the rest was good. Yesterday had lunch at Ithaca Alehouse and had a Lemons gave us life sour from Hamburg Brewing (outside of Buffalo and a local favorite brewery of mine). The little guy has been camping with the in laws this weekend so we stopped at Scale House brewery in Hector NY up the street from the campground for lunch. Didn't think to take a picture till I was at the end of the flight
Had a cream ale, dirty blonde (which apparently means hoppy) Mama Juice which is a tangerine witbier (puree in the fermenter, no peel) and a peanut butter stout. Also had a lake monster lager before that. All good. Stout was my favorite and their best seller. The light offerings were nothing special but that's just fine. Told my wife "nothing special about the lager, It's perfect!"
It was an enjoyable weekend for our anniversary trip that also was now an inadvertent "baby moon"
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Ok, well not actually a brewery, indeed not at all like a brewery, but a hops farm. Apparently, the largest in New England at 27 acres planted.
I was alone, and watched them pick the hops and de-bone them (cones one way, everything else another). Later processing (after drying) was for another day.
Very cool, Champlain Valley Hops in Starksboro, VT. They have an online store.
Feeding a pile of hops into one of their machines. It basically strips the bine, and uses fans to separate leaves and twigs from cones. These are Centennial, which ripens first.
It is impossible to get the scale of the place from photos. Note the "Ma" on the pole - this row is Magnum. They grow 8 different varieties for sale, plus a half dozen experimental types.
Hops
I was alone, and watched them pick the hops and de-bone them (cones one way, everything else another). Later processing (after drying) was for another day.
Very cool, Champlain Valley Hops in Starksboro, VT. They have an online store.
Feeding a pile of hops into one of their machines. It basically strips the bine, and uses fans to separate leaves and twigs from cones. These are Centennial, which ripens first.
It is impossible to get the scale of the place from photos. Note the "Ma" on the pole - this row is Magnum. They grow 8 different varieties for sale, plus a half dozen experimental types.
Hops
Wow look at that. Making me thirsty !
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Very cool Don!
In my life, I have found that people are mostly proud of their work, and happy to show a visitor around. Just ask.
Ardent Brewing in RVA. I'm trying to branch out into more Saisons for a warm weather brewing alternative. Some are too spicy/peppery for me, but this one is really balanced. It smells almost like a crispy lager, but tastes tart, malty, and just a hint of "saisoniness". I'd like to ask what yeast they used, we'll see if I get brave enough lol
The VA common is a great take on a steam beer, very drinkable. And the IPA 14 is billed as a West Coast IPA but only has 32 IBUs. Very hoppy and bitter enough. So I like it
Edit: oops forgot the pic!
The VA common is a great take on a steam beer, very drinkable. And the IPA 14 is billed as a West Coast IPA but only has 32 IBUs. Very hoppy and bitter enough. So I like it
Edit: oops forgot the pic!
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I really should figure out how to use forums from my phone so I can post while traveling, but I spent the last 4 days touring breweries in Southern Alberta and it was a lot of fun. Fahr is a really good German style brewery in Turner Valley.
Ok, not exactly a brewery. Again.
A neighbor here in Lake George, NY is called Fitz, his last name is Fitzgerald (I don't know his first name...) and his family owned Fitzgerald Brewery, long since defunct. Here you can see several cans and bottles he has.
Far more fascinating is the big chunk of tree fungus above it. As folk art, someone used a porcupine quill to put tiny holes into the bottom of the fungus, the deeper you go the darker it is, making a beautiful image. I left it full-resolution so you can zoom in on it, but a photo does not even come close to showing how beautiful it is.
Here is a close-up. Even more amazing in person.
A neighbor here in Lake George, NY is called Fitz, his last name is Fitzgerald (I don't know his first name...) and his family owned Fitzgerald Brewery, long since defunct. Here you can see several cans and bottles he has.
Far more fascinating is the big chunk of tree fungus above it. As folk art, someone used a porcupine quill to put tiny holes into the bottom of the fungus, the deeper you go the darker it is, making a beautiful image. I left it full-resolution so you can zoom in on it, but a photo does not even come close to showing how beautiful it is.
Here is a close-up. Even more amazing in person.
No pictures, but my wife and I just returned from 10 Barrel Brewing, where I enjoyed an Apocalypse IPA. Unfortunately, smoke from nearby wildfires blew in on a changing wind, chasing us back to our accommodations. The early afternoon featured improving air quality, while this evening it is bleak. Hoping for better air quality tomorrow.
