Hudson Valley Hoppenings May 2018
The 4th annual Too many Cooks Collaboration IPA was tapped at TapNY. These are the HV Brewers from 2017
By Mark A Marnell
May 12, the Catskill Beverage Trail breweries join forces at the Rip Van Winkle Wine, Brew, Beverage Fest at Historic Catskill Point. May 19, the Albany Institute of History and Art will hold their 7th annual Hudson Valley Hops craft beer fund raising event, featuring the Capital Region Breweries. Mark Peffers, former Bull and Barrel Brewpub brewer has landed a head brewer job on the other side of the world in Seoul, South Korea at brand new Jafa Craft Brewing. He started on May 7 and will initially make four flagship beers: a German Lager, a Hefeweizen, a Belgian Saison and a session IPA. Scott Kollar is the new brewer at the Gilded Otter Brewpub in New Paltz. He replaces former brewer Darren Courier who left the Gilded Otter and is now head brewer at Rip Van Winkle Brewing in Catskill. He replaced Colin Coan who took over at Norwood Farm Brewery in Colebrook Connecticut just down the road from where he grew up.
Late Hudson Valley Brewer John Calen’s Poughkeepsie Porter was resurrected by Keegan Ales and it is available for a short time at the Brewery
Keegan Ales in Kingston released a very special and historic beer at TAP® New York. They got their hands on a copy of the late Hudson Valley Brewer John Calen‘s Poughkeepsie Porter recipe and resurrected it. It clocks in at 7%, has notes of raisins and dark fruit and will be on tap for a very limited time at the brewery in May. Bourbon Barrel Aged Joe Mama’s Milk Imperial Coffee Milk Stout aged on espresso is now on tap as is Monkey Trial #002 Hazy NEIPA hopped with all New Zealand hops. Sloop Brewing in Elizaville just shipped beer to Thailand for an exclusive event with Mikkeller and from May 11-13, they will be pouring beers in Copenhagen at the Mikkeller Beer Celebration Copenhagen. They just introduced their new Sloop Jam Series that consists of fruited lactose sours, each made with lactose and multiple fruits. The first in the series is Razzle Dazzle made with red raspberries, malbec grape must and tart cherries and in early May, they will release a collaboration beer made with Sand City Brewing called Up from Downstate IPA. Starting May 14, Newburgh Brewing will be distributed throughout the Massachusetts and Rhode Island markets by Craft Collective. The latest beer in the Boss Collaboration Series is BeetBoss, an IPA made with beets, in collaboration with Kent Falls Brewing in Connecticut. Rushing Duck Brewing‘s latest beer is the first in their new Malaphor Series of rotating sour ales. It is 4.9% Test Pig light sour made with South American soursop fruit and tangerines. New Paltz Brewing in Wawarsing has a new 6.4% traditional Bock Beer and released, on Cinco De Mayo, a 5.1% Mexican Lager that is a traditional European influenced Mexican Lager made with barley and corn.
Mill House Brewing in Poughkeepsie just brewed 6.7% Grocery Getter NEIPA in collaboration with Whole Foods and it will be on shelves sometime in May. They are now distributed in NYC and Long Island. New 16-oz cans include HUBAR and North West Territory and with a new labeller, they will be pumping out plenty of different canned beers throughout the year. Their brewpub just released their 400th batch of beer called Cuatro Cien Cerezas. It is an 8.7% Brown Ale that was re-fermented on sour Morello cherries from Italy and will be available in the NYC area as well in the Hudson Valley. Brown’s Brewing released a new rotating New England Style IPA series of 16-oz cans this year and first up is Citra and Mosaic hopped #SuchTaste IPA. They also released a Wild/Sour Ale bottle series and the first release is Terra. Terra is a blended wild ale that was aged in French Oak with Cabernet Sauvignon grape juice.
Chatham Brewing’s Shillelagh Ale raised money to help firefighters families
Chatham Brewing hosted the 14th annual Too Many Cooks IPA brewing on March 30. The IPA was made by over a dozen Hudson Valley Breweries and was, by tradition, featured and tapped at the TAP® New York festival. It will be on tap at each participating brewery in May. Chatham recently rolled out the second version of a lager made in collaboration with Irish band Shillelagh based in Yonkers and the Bronx. The beer raised money for a charity that provides transportation for families of injured or deceased firefighters. The first check for $1,000 was presented on April 21 at Tilly’s Beer Fest in Brewster. Expect a third iteration soon. Their May Same Day Series 5-10 is a Mexican Lager made with agave and lime. Honey Hollow Brewing in Earlton put in a pizza oven on the patio and will have monthly specials while the weather is nice. Their annual open house took place on May 6 with musical fanfare, and local food various crafts.
Hudson Brewing has been renovating and expanding and in May, there will be a second service window, plenty of new seating, a food truck and 12 beers on tap. Table 41 Brewing in Latham is up and running with an open air taproom at Lanthiers Grove starting May 3. The starting beer slate will include OG 15 IPA, a Double ESB, Freckles Strawberry Pale Ale, Plain Jane cryo Citra IPA, French Press Chocolate Cheesecake Espresso Stout and a revisit of Take Five Candy Bar Stout that you can wash down food with, from various visiting food trucks and remote popup restaurants. Arrowood Farms Brewing in Accord just turned two years old on April 28 and they celebrated with much fanfare including live music and of course plenty of their Farm Beer that included their first batch of Farmhouse Table Beer, a white oak aged mixed culture farmhouse that re-fermented in the bottle. The bottles are available for purchase throughout May. Glenmere Brewing will be turning two in late May and have dubbed their series of celebratory events as Seven Weeks of Cheers for 2-Years-of-Beers. May 26, they will be giving out a pint glass with each growler fill to commemorate the first day that they ever served up their beer. Their latest beer is 6.6% Dragon Fly IPA, an American IPA made with Mosaic and Citra hops, that was a recent runner up at the Gilded Growler Craft Beer Tournament at Pennings Farm that won them 200 pounds of malt from Black Dirt Malt in Pine Island. May 23, they will host a Pairing Dinner at the Iron Forge Inn in Warwick that features a multi-course dinner prepared with local seasonal products. Pine Island Brewery has added Thursdays to their summer schedule. Look for new May beers like a Russian Imperial Stout and Citra dry hopped Milkshake IPA and on May 19, they will host a Cigar Bar Night in their beer garden. The Beer Diviner in Cherry Plain and Troy has their new PsychoSour Heather and Mango Ale on tap, with Heather imparted sourness and it joins Tom’s Blueberry Hefeweizen and Mostly Mosaic Session IPA. At Fox N Hare Brewing in Port Jervis, the latest spring beer is 7.1% Spring is in the Hare Saison. At Hyde Park Brewing, brewer John Eccles has on his seasonal barrel nine 6% Spring Maibock. At CH Evans Brewing in Albany, several new beers will be on in May: 5.8% Citra, Comet and El Dorado hopped 20 Ton Pale Ale brewed with Pilsner, Wheat and Rye malts, 4.8% Not Your Momma’s Oats Nitro Stout that was aged on Coffee from Monkey Joe’s Roasting in Kingston and 5.5% Kellerbier styled Knickerbocker Lager hopped with Citra, Calypso, Cascade and Warrior. Their first 2018 beer dinner will feature wild game sometime in late May or early June. Hutch Kugeman with The Brewery at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park has collaborated once again with Scott Veltman at Indian Ladder Farms and this time they have made a Vienna-like Lager Beer for the summer. It is made with all Hudson Valley Malt and Cascade Hops straight from Indian Ladder’s Hop Fields. Look for it in June. Indian Ladder Farms Cidery and Brewery in Altamont just brewed Don’t Call Me Sprinkles IPL. The NEIPL was made with waffle cones, Hudson Valley Pale Malt, Hudson Valley Red Wheat, and ILF grown Navarro Naked Oats as well as ILF Nugget, 3 Cs Blend, Helderberg hops and some Vic Secret. Yard Owl Brewing is featuring a Friday Night Happy Hour through the summer. Look for music to start at 5pm, BBQ and new beers like 4.7% Petite Saison with notes of bergamot and lime and Coppersea Distilling Rye Barrel aged 10% Casa Diablo Belgian Strong Dark Ale. Helderberg Mountain Brewing in East Berne collaborated on two all NY ingredient Kellerbiers with Mad Jack Brewing in Schenectady Both beers, a lager and an ale, will be released at both breweries in May. Look for an Amber Ale as well that can be quaffed in their recently opened outdoor pavilion.
