Lewisboro / Connecticut

I'd never seen your user name before, but I ❤️ a good Simpson's reference, even if this is one I had to look up. Besides, @Xerlic vouched for you, and that's always going to give someone automatic credibility in my book.

Not knowing the region, I've nothing to add in response to your original query, @RauchbierFan33, but I sincerely hope you and your family find life better and more livable up there in Westchester County. @bring is absolutely right on the beer front. It's all about appreciating the ubiquitous quality that exists in almost every market, rather than constantly chasing the latest bright, shiny object in your social media feed. That's truly the path to beer nirvana, and it's more easily done in a place with less clutter and noise. Perhaps this'll be an unexpected blessing of life outside the clamorous city?

But if you ever encounter a spandex-clad Scotsman with a sardonic wit up there in the countryside, will you please tell him he's still required to attend future meet-ups in Brooklyn? And that we still need to go running together some day in Prospect Park? These wretched tose bombs and pastry concoctions aren't going to burn off themselves, and beer's just a vehicle to engage with like-minded friends around deeper and more important interests.

Godspeed, M—. You will indeed be missed, even if I know you're not truly leaving.

 

Good luck to you. I don't miss living in Brooklyn at all. It will be interesting to see where you land beer-wise, 'cause it seemed like your neighborhood played a big role in your drinking habits.

I will echo a bunch of what's already been said, but hopefully I'll still add something regardless... and I didn't notice anyone addressing the above. People will always just say "go to Decicco's," but that's not a clear picture. There are actually two separate DeCicco chains: DeCicco & Sons... and DeCicco Family Markets. Decicco & Sons are the "upscale" stores that are known for their beer departments. DeCicco Family Markets are not the same... and that's what's in Katonah. Regarding DeCicco & Sons (which is what you'll want), there are multiple stores and some have a unique character depending on the physical size and the year built. Taken as a whole, the beer staff has a high percentage of great folks. The Ardsley store you mentioned is an older store without the conveniences of a fully dedicated bar. It's a very good store. You'll be close to Armonk and Somers. Somers is a new store. These two places were built as if to be store flagships. Each one has a lot of refrigerated beer on the main floor and a genuine beer bar on the second level. Tap selections are typically excellent. Stay in the loop regarding the various beer events they'll host. Try both spots out for a drink and grocery shopping. You'll be happy if you like cheese. Regarding the earlier comment in the thread that "your wallet will thank you" - it'll only thank you if it's trying to lose weight.

I've been to the original Beer Noggin' in Bronxville. They opened up a second location in Mount Kisco. I haven't been to the new Mt Kisco spot, but you should eventually check them out. The Bronxville location is a small shop/bar. The fridge is filled with 16oz can singles (for to-go or to have there) from breweries that would appeal to people who type posts on BeerAdvocate. It's probably the place that has Suarez on tap more frequently than any other in the area (with perhaps DeCicco & Sons being a close second if you split them up). The Bronxville spot is essentially like a Brooklyn store but smaller, cleaner and with worse roads and parking. Wrap your head around that. You can also really count on spending a LOT there.

If you need a beer that tastes like pancakes with maple syrup, pineapple sauce and pistachio crumble, you're in luck. For NY breweries, you're not far from the somewhat new Decadent Ales spot. They opened up a brewery in the same building as the Half Time Mamaroneck store. Half Time used to be like a Staples for beer. It was incredible despite any obvious issues with pricing and having a huge selection. They've since scaled back a lot and lost some of their distinctiveness... but it's certainly still worth a look. Decadent now takes up a lot of what used to be store real estate.

On the CT side, keep in mind that it's the wine stores that sell beer. You'll have access to a bunch of distributed breweries that don't make it to NY... both new school and old school (many of which will be CT breweries, but some coming from other parts of New England). You can go to a Total Wine there if you want a big store with a lot of filled shelves but with (likely) lower prices than the NY options above.

I haven't been to a single brewery in CT, but options include Two Roads (w/ Area Two already mentioned) - which I assume has good hospitality and will probably cater well to more than just the BeerAdvocate-type, Beer'd - which is much further away but gets a decent amount of praise on this site (I never had a beer from them... the name doesn't help me want to correct that), OEC - which I'll redundantly mention in order to include that I've seen a lot of good things written about beer releases there, and the frequently mentioned in this thread Fox Farm. I've had very little Fox Farm, but I really enjoyed what I had from them. I was impressed, and I'm a guy who can be grumpier than most here about "locals".

 

If you're willing to drive 1-2 hours for beer, there are a ton of great spots in the lower hudson valley. Beacon has Hudson Valley Brewery and Industrial Arts. Right across the bridge is Newburgh Brewing which doesn't really stand up to current day standards, but they're old as shit and it's an cool place to visit.

A 15 minute drive north of Beacon is Obercreek Brewing which IMO is making some of the best IPAs right now. They remind me so much of Monson era Tree House. Growler fills only and they have pretty low limits.

15 minutes north of that is Poughkeepsie. The beer scene up here isn't amazing, but we have Plan Bee, Zeus (just opened recently), King's Court Brewing, Mill House (which IIRC you are very fond of) among others.

If you go an hour south to Rockland, they have District 96 and the original Industrial Arts location. D96 has really blown up during the quarantine. They announce releases on social media and you have to call in to place an order. It gave me flashbacks to being 15 again and trying to win Korn tickets by calling Krock.

If you ever go over to Equilibrium, you can also hit Tin Barn, Drowned Lands, and Rushing Duck.

I'm friends with the buyer at Half Time. If you ever stop in, ask for Adam and tell him that you know me either by Xerlic or my actual name. He'll treat you right. He also used to go to OEC quite often due to being a full blown lager and lambic boi. He was running Magic: the Gathering at OEC every Friday before Covid happened if you happen to be into that.

 

I am guessing you are a short 2 hour drive to Treehouse also so that could help with your Other Half withdrawals. I am just concerned since I bet the over (#190) on the OH 2020 thread and that now would appear to be in serious jeopardy being you were the catalyst there. Good Luck in your new home!

 

Welcome up north @RauchbierFan33! I’m one of the owners of Beer Noggin and we can confirm that northern westchester is not quite as blessed as BK on the beer establishments density front.

up here you’ve got a couple worthy spots: DeCicco’s is excellent for hitting both the grocery store and a couple 4-packs, Brew & Co for a chill little bottleshop & bar combo that leans a little more shop.

And you’ve got us in Mt. Kisco. We were inspired by some OG bottle shops in the city like Bierkraft & Brouwerij Lane. Tight but right selection and some relaxed vibes.

Feel free to stop in at any time during the week and ask for my partner, Doug. He’s the man and will take very good care of you. Our bartenders are Rob & Zack on the weekends. Also very cool people and always willing to talk beer.

 

We will see you around homie

 

They also have a big bin of goldfish crackers to help yourself to... Maybe covid has killed that though.

 

Haha yes the goldfish have been sadly removed.

 

There's a liquor store off exit 2 of i-84 in danbury in the trader Joe's plaza. Pretty good selection. I've found fairgrounds wine and liquors off exit 3 to be a solid bet as well. Deciccos in armonk and somers have the nicest beer bars. The one in Brewster is smaller but still excellent.

 

Yeah, thanks for the heads up. I started following them on IG a few weeks ago, I like what I see. Somers got a nice drop this morning. Probably gonna stock up Sunday or Monday, I’m bringing enough beer to get me through the weekend, at least.

 

Thought I'd jump back in here and ask how the move is treating you beer-wise. What's been working for you? Obviously it's still an odd time to be able to really judge such a thing regarding bars and the like.

Regarding the post above, last I was there (which was quite a long time ago by now), Armonk had the beer split between the cooler on the ground floor and shelves on the bar level. Back in the days of bombers and more imports, that store seemed to carry a wider range of product. Last I was there, the upstairs felt like it had thinned out considerably. Could have been an illusion though. That upstairs area was also a graveyard for old beer though. Even though Somers is the shiny new one, the one time I was there I noticed plenty of old stock. Stuff way older than the store. This could be coming from the distributer, but I have an unfounded suspicion that they simply circulate old stock from store to store to fill the shelves up for the sake of appearance. I was noticing old bottles in Somers that also collected dust at their other stores. From my POV, those Deciccos carry some products for the image of being a special beer retailer rather than because they expect them to sell. Sometimes that approach works for me though. Workers there always told me I bought stuff that no one else was interested in.

 

@rozzom - News of Shelton Brothers coming to an end. Some items in their portfolio:
- Struise
- Fyne
- Timothy Taylor

It's not like any of those could ever be regular purchases if even around in the best of times... but still quite a loss.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/shelton-brothers-to-cease-operations.649695/

 

I wish that Schilling stuff would sneak past those DeCicco’s. Alexandr is the only lager that seems to make it to LI.