King's Court Brewing Company

*2025 Update: It's always sad to see a brew pub or bar go down hill but that is the case here sadly. When a brew pub starts to push the whisky and specialty drink selection you know they've lost their focus. Beer selection is leaning more on fruit additions and experimental slop that stays on tap for months ( 5BBL brewery nothing should last long) and customer faves are not brewed often and/or have lost some character the last few batches.
King's Court occupies the renovated ground floor of the once posh, 105 year old Hotel of the same name in "downtown" Poughkeepsie NY. Cannon St. to be exact, just 2 blocks down from the Church where I watched my father preach in the 60's and 70's.
This is a bare bones Brew Pub in all the good ways, but avoid speaking with the owner, the drunk at the end of the bar as he has chased more patrons away than he has endeared.
No food - well gold fish or pretzels * and now frozen just edible pizza * but you're welcome to order in, many local menus available, and maybe a food trucks on busy weekends.
Brew equipment on the left as you enter with living room type seating on the right and a long granite ( ok concrete aggregate) 12+ seat bar down the middle with direct draw taps from kegs in the walk-in cooler behind the bar.
High top tables opposite on the right along the outside wall more grouped seating in the rear on the right and drink rail running parallel to a row of fermenters. Add a couple TVs, a few board games, and the back patio that offers covered outdoor seating in nice weather and you've got yourself a passable place for a couple or 3 beers.
And the beer should be why you come to King's Court. Giant Jenga and Chess games, and allowing dogs and babies in may make it more user friendly, but it's the beer that keeps folks coming back.
While there are a few mainstays on tap - Spiritual Affair NEIPA and a Kolsch for the lager lovers and maybe a couple others, for the most part KC doesn't often make the same beer twice. The Brewer has won some awards on the left coast and has done the same here winning medals at GABF, World Beer Cup and TAP NY and is more than happy to tell you why he deserved them.
I can't say they don't make a bad beer here though I favor the maltier and darker ones. Porters in particular are exceptional but the Red/ Amber ale line is my go to - I don't know how Frogs or opossums or scooters have anything to do with beer but if I see one named with any combination of those words I know I'll like it.
There is usually a lager or fruited sour or 2 on tap along with hop varietal IPA's and maybe a brown ale or shwartz bier.
One, of many drawbacks for me, aside from the ever changing bar staff help, is that the by-the-glass pricing makes it pretty clear, they really don't encourage a bar crowd as pints are priced considerably higher per ounce than growlers and cans to go. The brewer has sadly lost his focus lately and quality of the beer has suffered in favor of liquor drink promotions. Never a good sign to consistently see the brewer drunk on whisky at 5pm at the end of the bar.

 

 

Nice store front rehab of 4 story apartment building 1 block off the arterial in Poughkeepsie. Open floor plan, with brewhouse on the left as you enter and widow seating on the right. Bar is about dead center about 20 feet past the door and runs front to back for about 20 feet (seat 6) and service bar at end. Addition bar seating run farther in the back in front of the fermenters. There is a counter with seating along the perimeter. All together room seats about 40. Brewery just opened 2 days ago and only had 4 beers on tap. Nothing to write home about, but a promising first draft. Friendly local atmosphere, with a steady crowd. Oh and plenty of parking right across the street.