Syracuse (and Utica) Brewtour 2007 - LOTS of pics

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RoaringBrewer

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So, last weekend the SWMBO (Jackie) and I, along with our best friends (another Couple – Corey and Kate), took a weekend brew-tour excursion to central NY. We got a room in Syracuse, NY for free (hooray Hilton HHonors points!) and planned to hit all the local micro-pubs and good beer bars. What follows will be a little guided picture tour of our visit, along with some comments along the way regarding what we thought of the places (even if I bash a place, I would still suggest visiting most of them). All in all, it was a great time… Probably wouldn’t go back again, but I would definitely do something similar in another location with some tightly grouped micros, etc.

Anyway, we took the day off work Friday and headed on the 3-4 hour trek to Syracuse from Central PA. Arrived there around 4PM, checked into the Doubletree, and immediately got on the road to our sites… I’ll split the sites into separate posts so its easier to follow and I can post a ton of pics.
 
First stop was the Middle Ages Brewing Company in Syracuse. A few thoughts, followed by the pics:

This place was out in a pretty shabby looking part of the city. Rundown little building, etc. Wasn’t what I expected, even from a small-time brewery, but whatever. We knew there wasn’t food here, just the tasting room and souvenir shop, and they were only open until 6PM, so that is why it was destination numero uno. We got inside to a packed tasting room and me and Corey waited probably 15 minutes to get served a sample in a small plastic 2oz. Dixie cup. The place was definitely busy and was mostly people getting growlers to go, but plenty of people at the front of the lines just drinking samples for an hour on end.

We didn’t enjoy the atmosphere that much (there was like 3 goddarned cats running all over the place and I’m convinced they piss in the fermenters), the sample wasn’t that bad (although not great), and we came here to sample beer, so what did we do. We decided to hit the road, but take a stash with us to drink in the room in the evenings. We picked up 2 mixed 6 packs and 5 bombers and 2 cool imperial pint glasses for around $45. All in all, about $35 of that was wasted IMO, b/c most of the beers just were not that good. The Wailing Wench was OK, the Syracuse Pale was OK, and the Druid Fluid was OK, but nothing stellar. The Swallow Wit, the bitter, etc. were downright nasty IMO. We didn’t even get around to drinking the DragonSlayer bomber and the X anniversary Double IPA bomber, but I have them so hopefully they are better than the first offerings.

Anyway, on with the pics:

Jackie, Kate, and Corey under the MA sign
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Display case showing off some of the MA offerings
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MA Tasting Room
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To-go Stash
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So, by now we are hungry. Let’s hit up the Syracuse Suds Factory. Wasn’t recommended by some here, but my buddy insisted it couldn’t be that bad. The atmosphere of the place was cool, but dead at 5:30PM on a Friday night when we got there. It never really did get that packed.

Each couple got a sample and drank it down. It had a bland brown, a pale ale, a stout, a porter, a black cherry lambic, and something else. Honestly none of them were that memorable. The lambic wasn’t even soured at all, it was weird… The stout was OK, but overdone on the burnt/roast taste… the rest were just bland. To put it bluntly, we all drank water only after we finished the sampler.
My food was OK. It was fish fry night and I had fresh haddock and the girls enjoyed their food, but my buddy said he had the worst Reuben he ever tasted. Probably wouldn’t go here again. The best thing I got out of it was a pretty cool looking pint glass for $4.

On with the pics:

Exterior of the Suds Factory
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Interior – you see how empty it is?!
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He said it was the worst food ever, but you couldn’t tell from this pic, could you?!
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Being thoroughly disappointed with the first two stops, we walked down the street to Clark’s Ale House, about 2 blocks away. Hoping this would sway our opinion and put us on a positive note for the trip. Boy, did it!

This place was great. Nice, little, quiet type pub that served good beers and light bar fare (roast beef sandwiches on onion rolls and a few other items, but not much). I was already super impressed when I read the beer boards (written in chalk) with the 16-20 beers on tap. Lots of stuff I had never tried and lots of good stuff I have.

What even impressed me more was that the boards were broken out. One read, “Served at 52F” and another read, “Served at 42F”. I thought this was pretty sweet. Anyway, we put down a few beers and Lindemans lambics (full pint for like $5 or something) here before heading back to the hotel. I thoroughly enjoyed my 90 minutes there and we ended up going back the next evening while downtown.

Here are a few pics:

Clark’s Sign
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Me and Jackie with her Framboise (yes, she drinks beer – even IPAs and other beers I would consider “adventurous” for the average woman) – unseen is my Great Divide Titan IPA from the cask… it was tasty.
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Me, Corey, and Kaitlin – here you see my Great Divide and my buddy punking out drinking the Lindemans. I think Kate has Spaten lager.
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Oh, and before I forget, I know I look young, but the stop at Clark’s made the 3rd straight location in NY that I didn’t even get carded! W00t! Anyway, in summary Clark’s is a big A+ from me…
After Clark’s we went to the mall (Carousel), grabbed some Papa Johns, and sat in the room drinking the Middle Ages and watching House and other good shows until late. We never got back out that evening, but we had another big day planned for tomorrow, so no biggy.
 
The next day we were up and at em’ early. All 4 of us ready by 9AM and off to Denny’s for a power breakfast. Once we polished that off we had planned to leave for Sacket’s Harbor (brewers of 1812 Ale), spend the time in town there, eat lunch there, before returning. However, on a whim, I decided to call and ask for their hours. Luckily, I did bc they didn’t open until 4-5PM and that was NOT in the plans. So, we cancelled that shindig and headed for Utica – the Matt Brewing Company (referred to as Saranac from this point on). Best decision we made all weekend I believe?

We arrived there a little early before the brewery tour that started at 1PM, so we had an hour to waste. We found the only open pub within walking distance – rundown little ODonnells. Despite being a little less than what I would call “high-class”, it wasn’t too bad of a place. We each got a pint of Saranac Pomegranate Wheat for $2 each, so not terrible. The other stuff on tap was the normal BMC so we promptly exited after this back to the brewery tour.

Here are some pics at ODonnells:

Outside of the Pub
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Me and Jackie drinking our first draft Saranac – wasn’t too bad of stuff either. The pomegranate was barely noticeable so this definitely isn’t your normal fruit beer. It was a pretty solid American wheat.
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Me, Corey, and Kaitlin with the same Saranac draft.
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So, back at the Matt Brewing Company, we prepared for the tour. The brewhouse and gift shop, despite this part of Utica being an industrial looking place, was a beautiful site! The interior of the gift shop, early parts of the brewery, etc. were awesome and maintained from the late 1800s. The brewery tour would also blow us away. I wish I could have remembered all the misc. facts they threw out there, but there were too many. A few tidbits of info: it’s the 12th largest brewery in the US; they do contract brewing for Brooklyn, Sam Adams, Pete’s Wicked, etc; they survived prohibition by supposedly making some sort of near-beer/soda that specifically read on the label, “Do not add yeast and allow to ferment for 4-6 weeks or you will cause alcohol to form”; I could rattle on and on, but the place was just downright pretty cool.

After we took the tour and saw the somewhat mammoth operations – huge mash tuns, boil kettles, 1120 BBL fermenters, storage tanks, grain storage silos, etc. we received free drink vouchers and it was off to the 1822 pub upstairs. There was a reception going on for the Schultz and Dooley steins and the presidents of Matt Brewing were there, etc. The best part of this was they weren’t even taking drink tickets, so we definitely got more than our 2 drinks each. It was kind of just an open bar, dude was playing acoustic guitar, etc. It was pretty neat. Oh yeah, and they had food. Can you beat all of that for $5 per person for the tour?! Anyway, I’ll have to split these pics into the next couple posts due to the 4 per post limit.

Here they are:

Welcome to Syranac
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The F.X. Matt Brewery:
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Another shot of the huge Utica Club sign – a simple pils brewed here. We taste tested it in the pub and it was surprisingly good. I was thinking about getting a case, but they only had cans out and I didn’t have time to wait around for bottles to be dug out. It was pretty decent stuff though IMO.
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Inside the giftshop where we picked up about 2 cases, a case+ of sodas, and 4 pint glasses:
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Some pics of their large equipment, high-tech brewing controls, etc. Makes what we do seem so simplified. I think I would still enjoy what we do more than doing something this “macro” scaled – e.g. well, I’m not really brewing I’m just pushing this button or that button to dump some grain, setting a temp on this digital hi-tech equipment, etc. I understand why they do it (quality control la la la), etc. but I just think its more enjoyable keeping it smaller scale. Still pretty cool to see this side of it though:

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More equipment – bottling line, etc. and a few pics of SWMBO, the 1822 pub, etc. Overall, the beer here was the best we had all weekend. I’m not ready to claim they make the “best” beer b/c I’ve had better by far (definitely better than their standard Pale Ale, Lager, etc. offerings, but there was still some good stuff). Most of what we tried was pretty solid - These offerings included their Pumpkin Ale (left with a case), their High-Peaks series Imperial IPA (IIPA), Imperial Stout, among others. Also, their Root beer and orange creamsicle soda RULE. We left with a case and a half I believe. Also looking forward to trying their Winter 12 pack – had a Caramel Porter, Oatmeal Stout, Winter Warmer, Belgian Ale, and others. Haven’t cracked any of them yet, but I’m hoping they are better than the Season’s Best “Nut Brown Lager” seasonal we tried there while on site:

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While in Utica I did some iPhone research and supposedly there was another brewery there although they didn’t have a website. Backstreets Brewing Company. Plugged the address in the navigation and took off. Got there to find it was out of business – and no wonder based on location. It was in the middle of nowhere and even the industrial businesses in that part of town were defunct. So, we did the next best thing and took a leak there b/c we had drank so much at Saranac:

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After leaving Saranac, we returned to Syracuse to do a little more shopping for the ladies at Shoppingtown Mall, etc.We also headed into the Dinosaur BBQ per everyones recommendation. For a “dive” location (for the most part) this place has to make a TONNNNNN of money. It was packed. I bet we would have literally waited two hours to sit and eat in the crowded, 90F, restaurant, so we opted for takeout. The car smelled insanely good on the way back and we pigged out in the Doubletree. We ended up getting the Combo Meal that supposedly serves 7. Well, it served four. Hahaha… Full rack of ribs, full chickens, pounds of pulled pork, and sides. It was the best meal we had by far. Here’s everyone chowing down (except me taking the pic) – you see my friend Corey is once again stuffing his face hardcore:

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After that, it was some rest before heading out downtown for the night. We wanted to hit Empire Brewing, Blue Tusk, and a few other places down there (and as mentioned made it back to Clark’s to end in the coolest place we found).
Nothing too exciting IMO coming out of Empire. Maybe we were just stuffed with Dinosaur and sick. Some of their 8 beers I sampled were “OK” to decent, but I think their Kolsch was the best and most true to style. The rest just were not memorable and the atmosphere was more ugly hoochie land, with some bad music, b/c we got there late. Didn’t get to try the food either. I wouldn’t mind going back to try this place early in the evening sometime, but I doubt I’ll be in Syracuse anytime soon. If I went back it’d be for the Tusk and Clark’s moreso that the micros.

Blue Tusk was pretty dark cool with 50-60 taps. You name it, they probably had it on tap or bottled – we tried the Sackets Harbors brew, some Allagash, some Michigan Brewing stuff, heck I don’t remember it all, but it was a pretty good time.
Here are some of the last pics of our last evening in town – nothing too exciting as we were all too stuffed and busy drinking to take pics – not to mention it was too crowded for my taste to even enjoy the good beer to its fullest. Clark’s was great though, even at 12AM it was calm, quiet, and they still had the same great beers on tap!

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So, that’s it. After the pics end, it was back to bed and up in the morning for more Denny’s. Hahaha. We all pounded like the Lumberjack Grand Slam or whatever, it was hilarious. Anotehr 3-4 hour drive and it was good to be home. I feel spoiled to have some of what I consider to be great brewpubs within an hour drive of my home: Appalachian Brewing, Lancaster Brewing, Stoudts, and Selins Grove Brewing are all phenomenal compared to these Syracuse joints (no offense Syracuse HBTers!). Anyway, it was still a very enjoyable weekend (when is a 4 day weekend not?! – we also had off Monday for Veterans day) and look forward to doing similar trips sometime in the future – just not back to Syracuse.

In Summary.

High scores go to Clark’s Ale House, Blue Tusk, Matt Brewing Co. in Utica, and Dinosaur BBQ.

Low scores go to Syracuse Suds, Middle Ages, and Backstreets (who names their brewery after a boyband anyway – no wonder it was out of business!).

Middle of the Road scores to Empire and other spots we visited…
 
Slammin the 'Cuse are we??? Just kidding!!

That's too bad about Middle Ages, they usually are pretty good. Sorry, I probably should have warned the samples were small...

I tried to warn you about Suds. Their beer is gross!

Blue Tusk and Clark's are always good. The cool thing about Clark's is, they only buy like a keg or two of any one beer and when its gone its gone. So they constantly turn over the brews. Nice quiet atmosphere as well. Improper is the other big tap place, not in Armory Square with Suds, Clark's and Blue Tusk. Not as much traffic through there but they have an excellent tap selection.

Empire is improving. The first week it re-opened I didn't care for it. But they are making some headway.

Saranac is good. I admit, I like their Pomegranet Wheat too and I don't like fruity beers. You like the Utcla (Utica Club)? Growing up that was considered bottled p!ss. Other people recently have told tell me its good, maybe I should give it a second chance?? I've never heard of Backstreets!

Didn't know Sackets didn't open until later?!? Did you like their beer (1812 and 1000 Islands Pale) that you tried at the Tusk?

I also forgot, Ithaca Beer Company is South of Syracuse by 1/2 hr...Oooops
I am jealous that you have Appalachian Brewing near you...Water Gap man...Water Gap

Overall Syracuse isn't too bad for drinking...But then again I'm partial, I grew up here. Well I'm glad that you overall had an enjoyable time, even if some of the beer didn't shine through...
 
Mulcahey's Brewing said:
Slammin the 'Cuse are we??? Just kidding!!

That's too bad about Middle Ages, they usually are pretty good. Sorry, I probably should have warned the samples were small...

I tried to warn you about Suds. Their beer is gross!

Blue Tusk and Clark's are always good. The cool thing about Clark's is, they only buy like a keg or two of any one beer and when its gone its gone. So they constantly turn over the brews. Nice quiet atmosphere as well. Improper is the other big tap place, not in Armory Square with Suds, Clark's and Blue Tusk. Not as much traffic through there but they have an excellent tap selection.

Empire is improving. The first week it re-opened I didn't care for it. But they are making some headway.

Saranac is good. I admit, I like their Pomegranet Wheat too and I don't like fruity beers. You like the Utcla (Utica Club)? Growing up that was considered bottled p!ss. Other people recently have told tell me its good, maybe I should give it a second chance?? I've never heard of Backstreets!

Didn't know Sackets didn't open until later?!? Did you like their beer (1812 and 1000 Islands Pale) that you tried at the Tusk?

I also forgot, Ithaca Beer Company is South of Syracuse by 1/2 hr...Oooops
I am jealous that you have Appalachian Brewing near you...Water Gap man...Water Gap

Overall Syracuse isn't too bad for drinking...But then again I'm partial, I grew up here. Well I'm glad that you overall had a good time, even if some of the beer didn't shine through...

On Middle Ages: Yeah, I'm just not sure what it was with their brews. They all had a similar... gross... aftertaste/twang to them. I couldn't really place it. It was somewhere (honestly) between cidery and cat-pi$$. Which is ironic considering there were multiple cats in that tasting room crawling on the bar, etc. Can you say hair in the beer?! Wtf?! Haha... I'm hoping they somewhat redeem themself with the DragonSlayer and X Double IPA.

On Suds: You were right, sir.

On Blue Tusk and Clarks: Both great places. Wish we hit Blue Tusk earlier so it wasn't like a party atmosphere, but still a cool place, good selection. I figured out that Clark's only ordered a keg of each and rotated when I asked for a few that were kicked without replacement. There was a Flower Power IPA there I wanted so bad... no luck.

On Empire: Again, I think the Atmosphere killed it for me. It was PACKED wall to wall, not enjoyable. We luckily found a table, ordered a 1/2 pint of all 8 beers between SWMBO and I, and sampled them. Nothing jumped out at me though... Disappointed there was no IPA. Guess the hop shortage got to them already. Haha.

On Saranac: The gift shop, pub, and waiting area was beautiful and enjoyable. The tour guide was great. Most of the beer was pretty darn good... Can't really beat it.

On Utica Club: I saw this in the gift shop and thought, "oh my god, $14.99 for a case", it's got to be piss-water. But I gave it a shot in the 1888 pub and it wasn't all that bad! It definitely wasn't a top notch pils like Victory Prima Pils or Troeg's Sunshine Pils. It lacked any real hop bite and wasn't as dry or crisp as I would have suspected. It was still pretty crisp/dry compared to their normal ales, but it actually reminded me more like a... how do I describe this... a Pils/Kolsch hybrid of some sort. Overall I thought it was decent though for that cheap. I definitely would stick to the Saranac Imperial IPA, Imperial Stout, Pumpkin Ale, etc. but I would drink this much the same I would drink a PBR. Haha. Better than normal Bud, Miller, or Coors IMO.

On Sackets: Those were seasonal hours. Must not get much business in the cold months - understandable. I tried the 1812 Ale. Good, but not great... Glad I didn't drive 1 hour for it.

On Ithaca: We thought about hitting this on the way up, but passed to get there earlier. I've had some of their stuff before (is it Caskazilla that was so awesome?!) and its pretty high-quality. Would like to get there sometime or try more of their offerings.

All in all, a good time...

On Appalachian: If you like the Water Gap Wheat, you should try the Hoppy Trails IPA, Susquehanna Stout, and some of their seasonal offerings... They make some pretty darn good beers IMO. If you are ever in the area, let me know and I'll give you a tour of all the micros. Like I said, we have App., Lancaster, Stoudts, Union Barrel Works, SelinsGrove Brewery, and Market Cross Pub all within an hour drive... and we are getting a Iron Hill shortly.
 
SilkkyBrew said:
On Middle Ages: Yeah, I'm just not sure what it was with their brews. They all had a similar... gross... aftertaste/twang to them. I couldn't really place it. It was somewhere (honestly) between cidery and cat-pi$$. Which is ironic considering there were multiple cats in that tasting room crawling on the bar, etc. Can you say hair in the beer?! Wtf?! Haha... I'm hoping they somewhat redeem themself with the DragonSlayer and X Double IPA.

I have had a few middle ages offerings...they were ok, nothing awful but nothing all that special either.

What made you choose Syracuse in the first place?
 
brewt00l said:
I have had a few middle ages offerings...they were ok, nothing awful but nothing all that special either.

What made you choose Syracuse in the first place?

Yeah, the Swallow Wit almost made me puke-nasty, but the rest were just "OK"... borderline gross for me. Not sure if they fermented a bit warm for a week on all their batches or something, but they were just watery, cidery, cat-pi$$y aftertaste. It was weird.

My buddy suggested Syracuse b/c he was familiar with the area. He had been there 4-5 times before when he was dating a girl there, but he wasn't a real 'beer enthusiast' at the time so he had never visited the micros, etc. Plus it was only about a 2 hour drive from his place and we've exhausted almost every PA micro give a few out towards Pittsburgh that we are planning another trip to...
 
Why in the hell did you go to O'Donnell's? That place is a dive. And that part of Utica isn't the only part that looks like an industrial district, it's pretty much the whole city. As for Backstreets, I've seen their beers here but I don't know where in "Bootica" it is, hopefully you weren't walking around Corn Hill.
Now those pics of the FX Matt Brewery are nice....I could give that tour if they needed someone!
 
todd_k said:
Why in the hell did you go to O'Donnell's? That place is a dive. And that part of Utica isn't the only part that looks like an industrial district, it's pretty much the whole city. As for Backstreets, I've seen their beers here but I don't know where in "Bootica" it is, hopefully you weren't walking around Corn Hill.
Now those pics of the FX Matt Brewery are nice....I could give that tour if they needed someone!

We were 1.5 hours early for the brewery tour. We spent 30 mins muddling around in the gift shop and purchasing things, but then we just would have been sitting around on walking around that 'district', which didn't seem like the best idea. We walked up the block b/c we saw 3-5 other bars on the street, but apparently none of them opened at noon. O'Donnell's was our only choice. Not my type of crowd, but the beer was still pretty good! Had to be fresh coming from just down the street! :rockin:

Yeah, no clue what the deal with Backstreets is... Looks like its done for to me. Wasn't just closed, that place was locked down.
 
the nut brown from saranac is one of the few beers from them that I really like, but thats just me. you should have went to ommagang and cooperstown brewing I think you would have had better beers there. nice write up though!
 
killian said:
the nut brown from saranac is one of the few beers from them that I really like, but thats just me. you should have went to ommagang and cooperstown brewing I think you would have had better beers there. nice write up though!

Do they have a nut brown ale? What I had was called, "Season's Best Nut Brown LAGER". I never even really heard of nut brown lager before and thought it was weird... normally this style is brewed as an ale.

But anyway, I gave it a shot. It wasn't terrible, it was just bland, probably due to being lagered as opposed to fermented as an ale. I love nut brown ales, but you could definitely tell this wasn't an ale. It was too crisp and... untasty. Haha.

EDIT: Checking their website, they indeed have a Nut Brown Ale - called Nut Brown Ale - and then they have the Season's Best Nut Brown Lager (supposedly Vienna Style lager)...
 
You're fortunate that you didn't get to try DAX light.....that stuff was crap! Black Forest and the Pale Ale are my favorites.
 
Just wanted to chime in being from Syracuse, I agree it is too bad about Middle Ages, I usually think they are usually pretty good but the sampling room is very small and can get crowded depending on what time you go. Seems like there is a crowd of men that get out of work and go and sample there every day just after 5 PM. Also, I have always liked their stouts and porters and it does not sound like they were sampling any of that while you were there.

Clark's is a personal favorite of mine, a roast beef sandwich and a couple of pints for lunch always hits the spot.

I know you said you probably would not go back but for anyone else making a trip to the Cuse, being a SU student myself I have to recommend Faegans on the SU campus. Great beer bar and pretty damn good food.

Cheers.
 
daholl01 said:
I agree it is too bad about Middle Ages, I usually think they are usually pretty good.

Grail ale, Duke of Winship and Kilt Tilter are their best, I think...

daholl01 said:
I have to recommend Faegans on the SU campus. Great beer bar and pretty damn good food.

Yeah Faegan's is the only bar on the hill I'll drink at when I'm up there. They have a pretty good selection.
 
The next day we were up and at em’ early. All 4 of us ready by 9AM and off to Denny’s for a power breakfast. Once we polished that off we had planned to leave for Sacket’s Harbor (brewers of 1812 Ale), spend the time in town there, eat lunch there, before returning. However, on a whim, I decided to call and ask for their hours. Luckily, I did bc they didn’t open until 4-5PM and that was NOT in the plans. So, we cancelled that shindig and headed for Utica – the Matt Brewing Company (referred to as Saranac from this point on). Best decision we made all weekend I believe?

We arrived there a little early before the brewery tour that started at 1PM, so we had an hour to waste. We found the only open pub within walking distance – rundown little ODonnells. Despite being a little less than what I would call “high-class”, it wasn’t too bad of a place. We each got a pint of Saranac Pomegranate Wheat for $2 each, so not terrible. The other stuff on tap was the normal BMC so we promptly exited after this back to the brewery tour.

Here are some pics at ODonnells:

Outside of the Pub
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Me and Jackie drinking our first draft Saranac – wasn’t too bad of stuff either. The pomegranate was barely noticeable so this definitely isn’t your normal fruit beer. It was a pretty solid American wheat.
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Me, Corey, and Kaitlin with the same Saranac draft.
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hahaha, spent a lot of nights in college in that bar, pics bring back some good memories!
 
Man, I love Middle Ages beers. I bought $75 worth last time I went to Rochester to visit family. If anyone's ever in the Rochester area, check out Beers of the World on Winton Road. That place is re-goddamn-diculous. I've been to the Utica brewery as well. They have a summer outdoor concert series that is the bomb. Fresh draught Saranac for $2. Killer music.
 
Backstreets is a ghetto bar I don't even think they brewed just named their bar that, too many stabbings and shootings closed it down. Good riddance
 
I actually like Middle Ages stuff. I'm shocked to hear someone so offput by it. Dags.
 
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