I will be in Cobleskill NY for a wedding next weekend, the 16th. We're going up on Wednesday. Are there places I should check out? Oliver's Beverage in Albany looks interesting. Anywhere else I should check out? Can I get anyone's growler filled in NY? I'm going to try to visit Brewery Ommegang. Any other breweries I should try to make it to? Thanks!
Hopefully this map will help you get started: http://thinknydrinkny.com/beer-finder/ and you can get anyone's growler filled in NY. Sorry, that's all I got, but I hope you have a great time. Cheers!
Hit up The Bier Abbey in Schenectady since you'll be out that way. Depending on where you're coming from, Westmere might make more sense than Oliver's. They have similar selection, owned by the same people, and share a website. Growler fills are available at either location, make sure to check what's on tap before hand (make sure to grab Boat Beer).
less than an hour away from Brewery Ommegang and less than 1/2 hour from Green Wolf Brewing http://www.greenwolfales.com/beer/
I always thought it's funny that some people refer to anything not NYC as "upstate", when in reality Syracuse and Albany are not even halfway up the state. From Albany it's still a 3+ hour drive to the Canadian border through the Adirondacks. Anyway - sounds like you are coming across I-90. But if for any reason you are coming from NW Mass and coming across Route 2 through Troy - then I'd hit up Hoosick Beverage to stock up. If you want to grab beer/wings at the Ruck, or check out a cool new little brewery called Rare Form.
I'm driving up from MA to Cobelskill then I have to turn around and go back to Albany for a job interview. I thought I'd stock up on beer on the way back. Oliver's is a few miles from where I'm going in Albany. Boat Beer looks perfect for a long day of drinking on Saturday. Thanks for the heads up.
Winner, winner...more like 15 minutes from Green Wolf. Are they open regularly? I don't see a lot of info on their website.
I second Ommegang. Great beers and an amazing brewery experience. Also Howe Caverns is pretty awesome for a family experience as noted before. I always loved going there when I was young on our annual trips to Oneonta/Cooperstown.
Yeah they're barely open to the public at this point. I think they are mostly doing farmer's markets for the time being, and you can pick up your "Wolf Shares" at the brewery as well. (LOL). I wouldn't go out of your way for a completely unestablished New York brewery at this point, either. I don't know specifically about Green Wolf (other than the Beer CSA thing which means I can't take it seriously as a brewery) but NY isn't like Mass where you can stumble upon a great brewery just about anywhere. I'd say New York is a good 10+ years behind most other states when it comes to up and coming breweries, although if you enjoy brewpub quality beer and styles from the late 90s/early 2000s that might be your thing.
Says the guy with 20 something posts on BA today. Way to take care of your family. I guess you need to see some kind of smiley face to understand sarcasm. Thanks to all for your suggestions. See you at the caverns @PA-Michigander
Secret Caverns is a little less expensive than Howe Caverns, and I've heard people say it's a better trip than Howe as well, but I've never been. http://www.secretcaverns.com/index.html and if you do go out towards Ommegang you could head on down the road another 20 minutes or so towards Oneonta and get some good BBQ at Brook's House of BBQ.
