Beer in Rochester NY

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erockomania

erockomania

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Heading to Rochester tonight. Any good breweries or good beer pubs I should check out?
 
So the OT20 cask IPA was so good at the old toad that I never made it to tap and mallet. It was easily one of the best IPAs I've ever had. Cool people in Rochester.

image-387260920.jpg
 
Dino BBQ has excellent food and a pretty good selection of beer, except it gets packed quick. They attract everyone from bikers to the "6 pm after corner office" crowd. I have enjoyed going to Rhorbachs brewpub, just outside Rochester.
 
I used to live in The Roch and was recently there on business. I was floored by the OT20 but now I live 1200 miles away- cant take a Growler on the plane!

Anybody tried to clone it? Here's what the website says:

OT 20 features Citra hops, a fairly new, high alpha-acid (10-12%) variety designed in 2008 that is known for releasing particularly fruity aromas. This certainly is one for the hop-heads! 8.3% ABV.
 
The Old Toad is awesome (I worked there in 2008 for a year on internship).

The OT20 gets awesome reviews, someone bought me a bottle back from there and it even held up on trip across the Atlantic.

Can't remember if they said it had amarillo in it or not...
 
Hit up one of the frats at the University of Rochester. They have all the beers...Milwaukee's best, Genesee and Genesee light, rolling rock, and maybe PBR if you're lucky!
 
There's a new brewery, ROC brewing just a couple blocks from the Old Toad. They have a bar at the brewery where you can have a few drinks. I haven't had a chance to taste their stuff yet but if you're going to the Toad you may as well head over there too.

Quite a few places in Rochester have Three Heads beers on tap now, they make some great stuff.
 
Roc brewing is worth checking out. The head brewer is definitely somebody who does it for the love of beer instead of the love of cash and he's usually begind the bar pulling pints
 
bovineblitz said:
There's a new brewery, ROC brewing just a couple blocks from the Old Toad. They have a bar at the brewery where you can have a few drinks. I haven't had a chance to taste their stuff yet but if you're going to the Toad you may as well head over there too.

Quite a few places in Rochester have Three Heads beers on tap now, they make some great stuff.
Click to expand...

Three heads doesn't make beer, Custom brewcrafters makes it for them. Just a little pet peeve of mine. There are so many breweries in this area now that pretend they make beer when they actually contract with someone else. Some will actually lie to you when you ask if they make it themselves.
 
nyer said:
Three heads doesn't make beer, Custom brewcrafters makes it for them. Just a little pet peeve of mine. There are so many breweries in this area now that pretend they make beer when they actually contract with someone else. Some will actually lie to you when you ask if they make it themselves.
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Lol.

Contract brewing = not their beer? What kind of logic is that? Sam Adams contracts out almost all of their brewing but it's still their recipe and process. Brooklyn got started via contract brewing. It's still Three Heads' beer.

Besides, I didn't even say anything about "who brews it", I said Three Heads is on tap at various places and it's good stuff.
 
bovineblitz said:
Lol.

Contract brewing = not their beer? What kind of logic is that? Sam Adams contracts out almost all of their brewing but it's still their recipe and process. Brooklyn got started via contract brewing. It's still Three Heads' beer.

Besides, I didn't even say anything about "who brews it", I said Three Heads is on tap at various places and it's good stuff.
Click to expand...


Exactly. BTW, Rohrbachs contract brews for Roc Brewing.

Go ask Bruce at CBs or Dave at Naked Dove if they think Dan Nothnagle is a brewer.

One more thing: it takes far more skill, knowledge, and guts to commercially brew a 60 barrel batch of great beer than it does to produce a 10 gallon batch of average (at the very best) beer.
 
I guess I have a problem with a place that calls themselves a brewery but they don't make beer. It's not that I don't like the beer or hate the idea of contract brewing. Just be honest with customers. I probably replied to this at a bad time, I was recently at another local "brewery" listening to them as they lied about how they brew all the beer in house in the building where the tasting bar was. I know for a fact that they don't brew beer and don't plan to ever brew themselves. It really bothered me that they were lying to me and the other customers there.

I thought I read that it was custom making rocs beer, but I think you are correct that its rohrbachs. Again, I'm not putting down rocs beer, I buy it whenever I find it on tap.
 
Another vote for dinosaur. I spent a winter up there (bad idea for a texan) and ate there every friday night. It's usually pretty packed, but they have a good beer selection and the meat is close to epic.
 
nyer said:
I guess I have a problem with a place that calls themselves a brewery but they don't make beer. It's not that I don't like the beer or hate the idea of contract brewing. Just be honest with customers. I probably replied to this at a bad time, I was recently at another local "brewery" listening to them as they lied about how they brew all the beer in house in the building where the tasting bar was. I know for a fact that they don't brew beer and don't plan to ever brew themselves. It really bothered me that they were lying to me and the other customers there.

I thought I read that it was custom making rocs beer, but I think you are correct that its rohrbachs. Again, I'm not putting down rocs beer, I buy it whenever I find it on tap.
Click to expand...

Well, that's either then going to be Rogers Beer or Three Heads. If it's Rogers, well I can see how opening a brewery might be a little much for a business just run by him and his wife. Great story, though.

If it's Three Heads, two things I know. First, they are fully involved in the initial brewing process. If it's one of their new beers, they are right there with CB's head brewmaster, making sure that their recipes are followed through and completed within their parameters. It is my understanding that the only thing the brewmaster works with them on is scaling their beer up. They still brew and design beer in 5 gallon batches so the scaling, especially when it comes to availability and price of hops, requires some conversation and alteration. But they are fully engaged and responsible for that process.

Second, they ABSOLUTELY are committed to brewing their own beer, owning their own space. They've stated it in numerous articles and I've bumped into Dan at various functions and he's all about eventually opening a brewery. It's been their plan since Day 1.
 
NHornblower said:
Well, that's either then going to be Rogers Beer or Three Heads. If it's Rogers, well I can see how opening a brewery might be a little much for a business just run by him and his wife. Great story, though.

If it's Three Heads, two things I know. First, they are fully involved in the initial brewing process. If it's one of their new beers, they are right there with CB's head brewmaster, making sure that their recipes are followed through and completed within their parameters. It is my understanding that the only thing the brewmaster works with them on is scaling their beer up. They still brew and design beer in 5 gallon batches so the scaling, especially when it comes to availability and price of hops, requires some conversation and alteration. But they are fully engaged and responsible for that process.

Second, they ABSOLUTELY are committed to brewing their own beer, owning their own space. They've stated it in numerous articles and I've bumped into Dan at various functions and he's all about eventually opening a brewery. It's been their plan since Day 1.
Click to expand...

The place I was at where they are lying isn't in Rochester and it's none of the ones you mentioned. They actually have pretty good beer, but, they don't make it and didn't come up with the recipes. It just seems so dishonest to call yourself a brewery but you really buy your beer from someone else to resell it. I know several local wineries that are doing the same thing.
 
nyer said:
The place I was at where they are lying isn't in Rochester and it's none of the ones you mentioned. They actually have pretty good beer, but, they don't make it and didn't come up with the recipes. It just seems so dishonest to call yourself a brewery but you really buy your beer from someone else to resell it. I know several local wineries that are doing the same thing.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Now you have me guessing. I think with contract brewing being so popular, I think you're always going to run into people that front when it comes to the brewing process. I see that you brew so, for your own peace-of-mind (and because you have the knowledge to do so), I think that it's great you can question the "brewers", and determine which are engaged in the process and which are less involved.
 
Would be remiss if I didn't put in a plug for my brother Scott's place in Fairport - Donnelly's Public House.

Very interesting, ever changing beer selection (30 taps) and great food (I'd drive 218 miles for the pulled pork and tater tots).

Check it out: http://www.donnellysph.com/.

Nepotism aside, I love the Old Toad too - great beer bar.
 
Wish I saw this last month. I'd have recommended Nick Tahou Hots for the Garbage Plate. Their original place is pretty run down and the floor is almost dirt but it's some really good stuff! Especially after a night of drinking homebrews.

I went to school at RIT for a 5 year Engineering program from '93 to '98. I really wish there were some good local breweries to frequent back then.

I actually rented a place near the downtown area within walking distance of several good local pubs back in '96-'97 I believe. My roommate was a homebrewer but back then, I was just trying to finish up college and never thought of getting into it myself.
 

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