Beer help around Binghamton, NY?

Sam The Beer Man is your best bet

 

This brewery popped up in another thread...not sure if they're open or not...

http://thefarmhousebrewery.blogspot.com/

 

I think I read about the malthouse end of their business recently, but hadn't realized they were indeed brewing there too -- thanks for the link, kbuzz. To the OP, there aren't many (or any perhaps) local brewers that sell in stores within Broome that I know of. Check out the Water St. brewpub in Binghamton. There's a BA who has posted here who was starting a nano operation, but no updates to the webpage I can see (http://www.blackheartbrewery.com/Black_Heart_Brewery/Home.html). Best sizable breweries nearby are Ithaca Beer Co. and Ommegang. As the 2nd poster said, best craft selection, hands down, is at Sam's on Upper Front - definitely go there - you may get good answers to other questions you have from the staff there.

 

Did you stop by the Water Street Brewing Co.? I was staying at the Holiday Inn at the end of the block last winter and they were worth checking out.

http://waterstreetbrewingco.com/

As other mentioned Sam's is solid, and I was able to get stuff at the Wegmans in Johnson City that don't make it to Long Island.

 

I spent 4 years there at school, and was pretty satisfied with the beer I could obtain. As stated before, Sam the Beer Man on Front St. is probably your best bet in terms of variety, and I've found the staff there to be quite helpful. That said, the Johnson City Wegmans also has a rather good selection and sometimes offers the benefits of being a big chain (months after the release, there were cases of Bourbon County on the shelves there, while Sam's didn't have any).

My favorite two bars were The Ale House on Vestal Parkway (right by the University) and Cyber Cafe West. The former has something like 36 taps, so there's always something new to try, but it's otherwise a pretty standard bar. More often I found myself at the decidedly quirkier Cyber Cafe West. They're part coffee shop, part bar, part venue, and have at least a dozen taps to choose from. Probably the only place I've been to where you can order a beer to drink while you read in an armchair once you've decided you're done with coffee.

I went to Water Street Brewing just once, and thought their beer was pretty solid, but the food wasn't very good. For food, the Lost Dog Cafe was my favorite in the area, and has a decent tap list to boot (though I often wound up ordering their house beer, a pale ale brewed for them by Ellicottville Brewing Co.)

 

This is all pretty accurate. I was waiting for someone to mention Ale House and Cyber Cafe West. Cyber Cafe is a quirky place as mentioned before, but a fun time too.

I also think there is a nanobrewery on Washington Ave in Endicott.

And as far as Water St not having good food, no worries, Niechi's is next door! A Binghamton pizza institution!