Finger lakes area

Two Goats was easily one of the coolest breweries I've ever been...

Between the above average beers as well as the gorgeous location, I couldn't have been happier with the stop. Don't get me started on the roast beef sandwich!

 

Two Goats can't be beat when it comes to atmosphere. You get the true Finger Lakes vibe, run by a local team of enthusiastic dead heads.

 

I'll chime in on support for The North. Good stuff.

I just saw a brewery in Penn Yan that I've not gone to but looks interesting (to me anyway!). It is called LyonSmith Brewing and they specialize in beer styles of the UK. I was just up that way a few weeks ago but was not aware of this then so sadly did not get to check it out. So if you check it out please report!

 

Lots of good food options there in Endicott. If theres a particular style you are looking for, I can point you in the right direction. Just up the hill from North is the Little Italy area. Lots of good Italian places: Consol's, Oaks Inn, or Antonio's. All good, but Antonio's is known for their martinis and homemade gelato. Right on Washington Ave, there's Khan's Kitchen, Thai Basil, and Nirchi's (more Italian). Khan's has the best gyro I've ever had and the Lamb Karahi is awesome (call ahead, it's a bit of a wait). Unfortunately, none of these are big beer places. For that, you'd have to back track just a bit to Ale House in Vestal (bar food, but pizza is good), Food & Fire in Johnson City (BBQ) or Blind Tiger in Endwell (more bar food).

North has a killer lineup today. Hopefully these last until Saturday. Virtuoso DIPA is an excellent NE style IPA. Grandma, hoppy brown stout with mosaic hops. Double Ds milk stout. The Mexican, smoked with with limes. And Half Measures oatmeal stout. Plus, 3 bottles for onsite consumption: Banana Hammock (rum barrel aged hefeweizen), The King (stout), and the brand new 6-27 (stout with cocoa nibs, cumin, and chile peppers). AND there is a bottle release tomorrow: The Deed, a whisky barrel aged smoked stout. Unfortunately, their bottle releases typically don't survive a day, especially for barrel aged.

 

Hmm. I stopped @ The North on my way up to the Finger Lakes (stayed by Watkins Glen), and here was my experience.

Place was pretty dirty/unkempt, and I'm not hard to please. I know sometimes stuff is laying around, but it shouldn't have been this messy. Flights were cheap and comped if you get a growler so that was a huge plus. They had A-Cup (milk stout), Endorphins IPA, Moon Man barleywine, a pale ale w/ peppers that I can't remember the name of. The pale ale was the best but I wasn't super impressed with any of the beers. My group was the only people in there besides a regular, and the bartender, while friendly, didn't really interact with us outside of serving the beers and was just chatting up the regular the whole time. Reading this thread it seems like that was a pretty poor taplist, but that was my experience. Wouldn't go back unless I was in the town for some reason.

 

Pizza, go to Joey's Brick Oven Pizza. Domino's is right next door to North, but go get the good stuff at Joey's. Otherwise, for something quick, I'd still recommend a gyro from Khan's Kitchen.

 

And every now and then, the music can't be beat!

 

I thought the pulled pork was pretty good.

 

Roosterfish in Watkins Glen is good. Their blond ale, porter, and tripel are their best beers. The food is even better than the beer if you go to Nickel's Pit BBQ, which is just down the street from the main brewery and serves killer smoked wings and brisket.

 

We went to Lyonsmith when we were up the end of May. Here is my take...its a small family owned operation that only brews English style ales. Place is small with a few tables and a small bar in front of the brewery. I will add a disclaimer to my review that we were the first customers in the place that day and that they hadn't been open in several days. We got a tasting flight and just about every one of the 5 or 6 beers we had were really nasty, sour, bitter and a few were almost undrinkable. Now, hindsight is 20/20 and after we rushed off to find lunch, I thought about the experience and I wonder if since we were literally in the door as they opened, all of our sample pours may have been sitting in the lines for 4 or 5 days and this could certainly contribute to the off taste. So, I would definitely go back and give them a second try, the concept of all old English styles is cool, I hope we just caught them at an off time.

 

Lucky hare has been quietly making some decent beer and not over promoting themselves like other breweries you experienced. Prison City should also be on your list for the future.

 

Which restaurant was it? Because if it was Nickel's Pit BBQ that place is dooooope. I live 30 minutes away, but go there at least once or twice a month during the summer months.

 

Prison City Mass Riot #1 American IPA per Paste Magazine's blind tasting of 247 IPAs.

https://www.pastemagazine.com/artic...-best-american-ipas-blind-tasted-and-ran.html