Hudson Valley Brewery (2018)

Agreed--Amorphia is fantastic, and the aroma is pure strawberry shortcake. Taste is balanced enough with sweet/bitter/tart to remain crazy drinkable despite such intense 'dessert-like' flavor. I do wonder, though, if it will change significantly with time due to the addition of lactose sugar.. Anyone know if they use lactobacillus as the sour culture? I know lacto bugs love to eat lactose, which would likely turn that wonderful touch of residual sweetness into a bit more pucker.

Also, had my first Noumena last night, and while I very much enjoyed it, I was thoroughly perplexed... I have never perceived that much tartness in a non-sour hoppy beer before. I chalked it up to a combo of the El Dorado hops (which often gives off spicy/zesty/citrusy flavor) and the pH (which they notably listed at 4.0--seems rather low) that combined to give the perception of tart, acidic citrus, but if you gave it to me blind, I'd swear it was one of their sour IPAs.

 

Had Noumena at Beer Street and absolutely agree that it has a timge of tartness that combines with the pithy grapefruit to drift into their sour IPA category. Good beer but it doesn’t quite satisfy if you are craving an IPA.

Their wild stuff is great though. Silhouette peach was excellent and I wanted more but the keg kicked. Had a strawberry and lemongrass sour too and loved it, plus a non-fruited sour that was delicious (Echo Valley, maybe?).

 

Agreed. I think it’s a great beer but it’s definetly not as advertised. Can says DDH IPA. Is it a canning line issue?

 

I was thinking the same thing initially (their 'sour' IPAs aren't all that sour to begin with, so a little cross-contamination might not necessarily be so pronounced), but concluded that the flavors are likely coming from the hops + water. El Dorado is one crazy hop--sometimes, it manifests with very earthy, herbal, and woodsy flavors. At other times, it's straight lime zest and grapefruit. More than any sort of distinct lacto sour flavor, I get something that really reminds me of biting into some citrus peel, which really leads me to El Dorado. I also get a slight burn on the swallow, but definitely not a hop/yeast burn.. It's like an acidic burn, which, again, contributes to the whole biting-into-a-citrus-fruit thing. I'm thinking the El Dorado + acidity is just mimicking a similar flavor + feel sensation that is typically found in sour beers.

 

How kid friendly is the brewery? My wife and I are thinking of making a day in the Beacon area and was wondering if it's possible to bring a two year old?

Thanks for the help.

 

Shouldn't be a problem. Big space. Lots of room for strollers.

 

Awesome! Thanks for replying.

 

I've got a friend traveling up to Hudson this weekend but probably won't have time to stop in Beacon.

Anyone know of a good bar up there where he can try some HVB beers? Possibly beer from some other good local breweries, too, like Suarez, Equilibrium, etc.

Thanks in advance.

 

Stopped in at HVB today after spending the morning with the family at Fishkill Farms. Really greet beer, vibe, and friendly people. Unfortunately it was too crowded to sit so we only tried a couple of beers, but fortunately took home some crowlers. Peach Silhouette was the standout and Plateaux was excellent as well. Hope to make it back at some point.

 

Finally...

 

Not around until next weekend so this is likely to be gone but Valley Beer was amazing when it was on draught a while back.

 

Peach Silhouette is incredible. Really hope they can that soon.

 

Indeed, Tried that and Valley Beer at a share on Saturday, both stellar.

 

Not a fan of HVB adding malted oats and milk sugar to the new Silhouette variant. Tempers the tartness and honestly it's cloying.

 

Hey gents - first time posting here - I am used to trading for these guys. Their beers are awesome so I was thinking about finally taking the ride this weekend. Can I get an approx time to be there for cans? Obviously I know these guys have had a lot of hype lately (rightfully so), so I just don't want to take the trip for nothing. Thanks.

 

From the Hudson Valley FB Trading group:

Hey guys! On account of the cold weather, we're going to try out using wristbands for this release. You'll be given one when you arrive at the brewery, and will be free to explore the city of Beacon, or keep warm in your car while we prepare to open, but please make sure to return to the line formation at 11:30am sharp!

 

Every single release should be done this way regardless of weather.

 

Someone help me out with this whole wristband thing, cuz I'm feeling pretty stupid. How does it work? I get how wristbands work when you wait in line with them, but handing out wristbands for people to leave doesnt make any sense to me. Someone in the Facebook group (that I'm instantly regretting joining) asked if they were numbered, and was then ridiculed, but I dont get what numbered wristbands would do? Say I line up before someone with a wristband returns from their car do I get skipped?

 

you have a spot in line per the wristband #, but now you don't need to stand there... line forms back up at the designated time and that's your place.