Cooper's Cave Ale Company

Old bar in the middle of Glens Falls.
Nice server person.
Pretty large beer selection, but quality of beer only fair.
Pretty good menu of pub food.
Good ice cream.

Small brewpub on the north east side of town. Hallway entrance to an L-shaped bar on the right side that seats 12, with some tables about the room and a deck out back. A dozen beers on tap. The food was way better than the beer, as others have noted... consistently.

 

Visited here last weekend and tried a sampler. It was the first time I've tried their beers in 20 years. Probably the last time I will try their beer. The entrance to the cave looks rather vaginal to be honest. Bartender was friendly. Quite rustic on the inside. Pine everything.
Anyway, the beers... Tavern ale tasted like postage stamps, seasonal ale was almost drinkable with a cinnamon and nutmeg kind of flavor, IPA had no discernible hop flavor, black IPA tasted like dish water, oatmeal stout tasted like brown sugar, and strong ale tasted sour. I'm frankly amazed they have been in business for 23 years, must be the ice cream that keeps them going. There are much better options in town.

 

Better place to stop for the food which is pretty good than for the beer which is very sub-par. Decent atmosphere, just need to put more focus on their brewing.

 

 

The eggplant parm was filling and quite tasty. I was a big fan of the rustic "cave" feel to the brewery. However, the beers were quite a bit disappointing.

 

Nothing much to write home about here. small restaurant located on the bike path. Food was ok and the beer was not good. The wife's family likes it so i will likely be back but not something i would seek out again on my own.

I have to disagree with the other reviewer who said that there are very few good breweries in northeastern NY. There are many exceptional breweries - Shmaltz Brewing in Clifton Park, Argyle Brewing Co in Greenwich, Wolf Hollow Brewing in Glenville and Lake Placid Brewery are among my favorites and all brew tasty beers. Coopers Cave is also very good. I've had their brews bottled and on-tap and have always found them to be very solid beers. As good, or better, than beers from larger breweries that distribute nation-wide. Cooper's Cave has some classics like their Bluesberry Ale and American IPA - both are delicious.

 

Let me start by saying that the bar for breweries in this part of NY is rather low. Having traveled up here a bit to visit family, my experience has been that with the exception of a couple places built in the last couple of years, any brewery you visit will have mediocre at best beer that would be considered unadventurous 20 years ago. This place though, shouldn't be making beer at all.

The atmosphere is nice enough, it has a faux cave enterance that is kitschy in a way that suits the Lake George tourist vibe nicely. Inside it has a lot of wood furnishings and gives off a non specific euro beer hall vibe. Didn't try the food, but it seemed reasonable, though based on the beer and the generally poor quality of restaurants in the area I would be skeptical. Service was the high point, friendly and quick.

The beer... Just wow. This is hands down the worst brewery I have ever been to. Every beer on the sampler we had was bad. More than one tasted infected, and they all had a noticeable chemical character that may or may not have been bleach. They should be ashamed to serve this to the public and I honestly left equal parts mystified and mad that this garbage is out in the world existing as an insult to competent Brewers who care about their craft.

I realize this is a harsh review but it is my honest impression of this place, and based on the reviews of the beer, most other BAs who have visited had a similar experience. It's too bad because it's a cute place and the staff seemed nice enough, but the beer was truly bad.