Finger lakes area

Ithaca Beer has been doing a pretty good job with their pilot series lately. And the food is pretty darned good.

 

I guess I'm not sure what you mean by this. Per Google Maps, if driving from NJ to Penn Yan, the shortest route is up 81 to Binghamton then 17/86 West. You will pass like 10 breweries/brewpubs in NY on your way up. Probably need to stop somewhere on a 5-hour drive, might as well have a beer at a brewery!

 

Let's try to consider that everyone has their own "hidden challenges." Maybe Google Maps is telling him to make a left turn into Galaxy Brewing, and that doesn't compute.

 

Don't be fooled by the hype of The North brewery. I had six different beers and they were all easily forgettable. I guess their specialty stouts or BA stuff is good, but they make so small batches that unless you are member of their society group you have to trade for it. Also... A guy I know who reviewed a beer negatively was brought to the side by the owner and was told not to do that.

 

The North is easily the best brewery in the area. God Complex won best stout in NY at TAP NY. Unfortunately, there's a dedicated group of butthurt haters.

 

Haha, but how many people have actually had it? If they could actually brew those stouts at a reasonably quantity It would be fine. The IPA s and regular stouts I had were a step up from good home brew. I tried six beers from them, so it's not like I'm basing my opinion on one beer. Their social media hype game is one of the best in the industry.

 

That's just a testament to how good their beer is. They can't keep up with demand and sell out as soon as they can make it. Luckily, their immense popularity has enabled them to buy a larger system, so more beer for everyone.

 

I was just up there the end of May for the second time in 2 years also. Some new breweries we found that were pretty good...

-Brewery of Broken Dreams in Hammondsport...mostly tradtional European/English beers, but all good and nice atmosphere, no food
-Lake Drum brewing in Geneva, has a great selection of local brews on draft plus a couple of their brews that were good sours when we were there.
-2 Huskies outside of Canadaigua..smallish place in the back of a pizza place/sports bar but had some interesting stuff to try.
-Steuben is up on a hill overlooking a lake, decent selection of drafts, no food
-Grist Iron is right down the street from 2 goats on Seneca, real nice location, beautiful property, lots of food...beer was forgettable.
-Crafty Ales in Phelps, kind of out of the way, but decent brews and nice people running the place
-Lost Kingdom in Ovid is right in with Firehouse Distillery, interesting location in an old firehouse, don't honestly remember much about the beers.

And we still managed stops at Abandon, Naked Dove, Ithica, Keuka Lake brewing...all were still pretty good too.
HTH, cheers!

 

I think if you make it and one of the special stouts or sours are on, you will enjoy them. If it's a standard beer line up, you may find them forgettable. Hope you enjoy your trip. If it says anything I drive 40 miles north for Prison City from Ithaca then anything else.

 

Bah, was in Geneva recently but Lake Drum was closed. Three Huskies has some nice stuff and there's also a place called Twisted Rail literally right on the lake now. Apparently their stuff is contract brewed, but whatever, most of it was really damn good.

 

Thanks for the info everyone. Was going to disregard local beer this time around because I was extremely unimpressed last visit. Abandon was solid, but even they probably wouldn't have been a return visit for me, though the view is beautiful!

Have a return trip planned for October and I think I'll have to at least make that trip to Prison City!

 

If you are coming up this weekend, North is releasing a new beer in 22oz bottles on Friday at noon: 6-27, a stout brewed with cocoa nibs, cumin, and chili peppers. Due to the expected high demand, there will be a 1 bottle per person limit.

 

It looks like that event is at a separate venue... Doesn't say they are closed, but I would call to check.

 

I'm going to chime in support of The North being a great brewery. To each their own, however.

 

The brewery will still be open. The event is off site. 13 cask ales provided by local breweries + BBQ + the brewers from the breweries will be around to talk to.