New York "Import" Recommendations Please

Discussion in 'Mid-Atlantic' started by xare, Aug 20, 2015.

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  1. xare

    xare Initiate (0) Jun 11, 2006 Ohio

    Hi BA family!

    I'm headed to upstate NY soon. I've been several times, but would like some local recommendations for bottled/canned beer I can find easily.

    Here's the 3 beers I'm getting for sure:
    Captain Lawrence IPA
    Ithaca Flower Power
    Middle Ages ImPaled Ale

    I've had the following and a few others (they were OK, both not worthy of a repeat spot to bring back):
    Rohrbach Railroad Street IPA
    Upstate Common Sense

    I do enjoy Genny's 12 Horse Ale, so likely will get that as well.

    No Belgians, saisons, sours, wild ales, or rauch recommendations please.

    My favorite styles are: Pale Ale, IPA, Rye, Reds, Cream, and most lagers. I'm looking for great local beer I can't get back in Ohio. Easy drinking stuff, yet still world class. Maybe they aren't renowed or under the radar. Here's an example - if you visited Ohio with the same criteria I asked for, I'd give you a list that looks like this:

    White Rajah
    Great Lakes Elliot Ness, Burning River, etc
    Columbus Pale Ale
    Elevator Bleeding Buckeye Red Ale
    Rhinegeist Hustle
    Barktoberfest and Old Leghumper

    Thanks in advance!
     
  2. ONovoMexicano

    ONovoMexicano Initiate (0) Jun 14, 2012 New Mexico

    Since you like cream ales, you should look for Newburgh Cream Ale. It sells in 4-packs of 16 ounce cans.

    Also, I know Other Half makes it upstate on draft, so look for it in any bars. They make great IPAs.

    Not sure how their distribution is, but Barrier, Finback, Grimm, Singlecut, and Peekskill all make great pale ales and IPAs. Other folks that live upstate can help you with specifics.
     
  3. xare

    xare Initiate (0) Jun 11, 2006 Ohio

    Thanks! That's exactly what I was looking for - and I've never heard of any of these. I'm sure I'll run across at least a few of them. And before anybody mentions something, I completely forgot about JackieO's for Ohio beer. ;-)

    I'll look for Newburgh. It sounds fantastic.
     
  4. GreesyFizeek

    GreesyFizeek Grand Pooh-Bah (5,512) Mar 6, 2013 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Where in upstate New York are you going?
     
  5. xare

    xare Initiate (0) Jun 11, 2006 Ohio

    Rochester area. I know I'll at least be able to hit the "flagship Wegman's" for sure.
     
  6. GreesyFizeek

    GreesyFizeek Grand Pooh-Bah (5,512) Mar 6, 2013 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I'm from Rochester. Hit either AJ's Beer Warehouse or Nathaniel Square Corner Store, you'll be able to find a really great selection of stuff. If you only have time for one stop, make it AJ's.

    Will you have time to visit breweries and whatnot?
     
  7. Kanger

    Kanger Initiate (0) Sep 3, 2013 New York

    Do you get Sixpoint in OH?
     
  8. xare

    xare Initiate (0) Jun 11, 2006 Ohio

    I wish I had time, I would just hit the Flour City Brewers Fest at the Market. But as is, I'm working on a limited timetable and I know I'll be able to at least make one run at Wegman's.

    We do get Sixpoint in OH! Resin, Sweet Action, Bengali, and Righteous are my favorite of their offerings so far.
     
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  9. kmbeer

    kmbeer Initiate (0) Feb 23, 2011 New York

    I will second Singlecut and will also throw Kelso into the mix - I love their Industrial IPA, which comes in 12 oz cans. Maine is pretty readily available in NY as well - not sure if you get that in Ohio. Looking at Seek-A-Brew (which is not always accurate), some others that seem to be unavailable near you and available in NY and worth checking out: Westbrook, Pretty Things, Ninkasi, Schlafly, Two Roads.
     
  10. GreesyFizeek

    GreesyFizeek Grand Pooh-Bah (5,512) Mar 6, 2013 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Unless you're going for food as well, or just hit really want to hit Wegmans (completely understandable) if you have time for one beer stop, I'd hit either of the two stores I mentioned over Wegmans. Wegmans has a good selection, but it's a grocery store first and foremost, and you'll be able to find an outstanding selection at the specifically beer places I mentioned.
     
    Stignacious likes this.
  11. xare

    xare Initiate (0) Jun 11, 2006 Ohio

    I have to admit my undying love for Wegman's. We don't have them in Ohio. And I completely understand that it's a grocery store. I'm not explicitly going after rare beer or bombers, but just sixers of solid beer. The kind you'd grab after work or for a weekend by hitting up Wegman's. But Maine beer might break me.

    I'm also going to grab some Zweigle's stuff. And Wegman's braciole. And a large variety of cured meats. OK, maybe I should cut some meat for more beer. ;-)

    I didn't know that Maine was available in NY! Thank you for the link to Seek a Brew. I've had Schafly pretty often, but not the others. I assume Maine beer isn't in Wegman's, but maybe at AJ's? I'm not sure I can make it to AJ's (my roaming range is pretty limited). If I can get what I'm hoping for (6 or 7 sixers), it's a successful trip!
     
  12. GreesyFizeek

    GreesyFizeek Grand Pooh-Bah (5,512) Mar 6, 2013 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I have not seen Maine at Wegmans. Depending on timing it'd be at AJ's. Western New York does not get Schlafly's.

    You'll certainly find some good beer at Wegmans, if you have to make a catch-all stop for beer and food, it's about the best you can do. Get a Danny's Favorite sub and be super happy.
     
    xare likes this.
  13. xare

    xare Initiate (0) Jun 11, 2006 Ohio

    Yeah, it's a catch-all stop. I'm not expecting rare beers. I'd be more than happy just to come away with Flower Power at a bare minimum. Schafly is easy to get in Ohio (short drive to Cincinnati, then across the border to Kentucky). Makes me wonder if there's a better tool out there for these kind of questions.

    In any case, I have plenty of breweries / beers on my list to see what I can grab. Hate to ask this, but is Ballatine IPA worth trying? I have to ask! It isn't in Ohio either. I know Pabst makes it, but that's the kind of beer I'd grab as well.
     
  14. GreesyFizeek

    GreesyFizeek Grand Pooh-Bah (5,512) Mar 6, 2013 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I really enjoyed it, nice to have an IPA that tastes quite different than most of the IPAs you can get. I'd suggest snagging one, I know for sure I've seen it at Wegmans. Do you get Victory in Ohio?
     
  15. xare

    xare Initiate (0) Jun 11, 2006 Ohio

    We get Victory. Mainly Hop Devil, Storm King, Prima Pils, Golden Monkey, Headwaters and a smattering of others. Don't see too many seasonal / limited releases for Victory though. It's mainly the flagship brews and maybe a Octoberfest once in a while or something along those lines. We don't get Baltic Thunder or some of the other more common offerings.

    I think I'll pick up Ballatine as well. The whole reason I have to ask this question now (this has been an annual trip for a while), is that I'd just pick up Yuengling, Fat Tire, and a few other regional brews that didn't distribute to Ohio. All of them now do (although for some reason, Genny keeps entering and pulling out of Ohio on a rotating basis - I had to bring back Cream Ale for a few years). We even get a few Evil Twin offerings (Black & Tan comes to mind).

    I haven't entered every beer I've ever had into BA. I'd suspect I'm around 800-900 beers for now, but have settled into a spot where I'm happy simply to have some solid favorites, plus I can ask friends/family coming from a region to bring me a regional favorite as a treat when they visit. That's the main impetus for this "experiment". As of right now, if you're coming from Rochester, and asked me what you could bring me a case of, I'd tell you "Flower Power".
     
  16. GreesyFizeek

    GreesyFizeek Grand Pooh-Bah (5,512) Mar 6, 2013 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Flower Power's always been a favorite of mine. If you don't get Troegs, I'd suggest them highly. Should be at Wegmans.
     
    xare likes this.
  17. xare

    xare Initiate (0) Jun 11, 2006 Ohio

    Troegs is in ample supply here in Ohio. If it goes into a bottle or can and isn't super-limited, we have it. Nugget Nectar can still be had into summer (which isn't a good thing for newbies - it's best consumed when fresh, it gets too malty after the hops have dissipated).

    Someone should make a map of the United States (or at least begin regionally) with top brands you can get in that state. Maybe I'll start a project...
     
  18. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,071) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
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    Pretty sure that was only a briefly available revival of 12 Horse Ale a few years ago (and tasted nothing like the two different versions I had back in the late 1970s and again in the early-mid-1980s) and it is back on the "retired" list of Genesee. Unless they're brewing it in small batches at the associated Genesee Brewhouse.
     
  19. GreesyFizeek

    GreesyFizeek Grand Pooh-Bah (5,512) Mar 6, 2013 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I've gotten it on tap at the Genny Brewhouse in the last year, so they're definitely at least making some small batches of it. I'm really not sure if I've seen bottles of it, haven't really looked.

    The Brewhouse is an awesome place.
     
  20. Stignacious

    Stignacious Pooh-Bah (1,764) Aug 24, 2011 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Three Head's the Kind and Too Kind are good pickups, right from just outside Rochester, in Honeoye Falls. If you're getting something from Middle Ages, I've found that Beast Bitter is far superior as an ESB than ImPaled is an an IPA. I'm also partial to Ommegang's Nirvana IPA; it's not distributed throughout their total footprint.
     
    #20 Stignacious, Aug 20, 2015
    Last edited: Aug 20, 2015
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