Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Beer in the heart of Wine Country: Keuka Brewing Company


The Finger Lakes region of New York state is an absolutely beautiful place. It is here that you will find New York wine county with hundreds of vineyard and wineries. It is a wine lovers paradise. I enjoy drinking wine, but I am without question a beer lover. So I was very happy to find a brewery in the heart of wine country. If you ever venture to Hammondsport, NY and visit Lake Keuka you will find a very small, very local, craft brewery called the Keuka Brewing Company.

Established in October of 2008, this brewery's beers can only be found on draught at a handful of accounts in the Hammondsport/Keuka Lake area. They are brewing a rage of ales at the moment, ranging from a raspberry wheat, a Belgian witbier, a pale ale, an American red ale, and American India Pale Ale, a nutbrown ale, and a stout. If you visit the brewery for $3.00 you can get an unlimited tasting and $2.00 off the purchase of 1/2 gallon growler if you pay for the tasting. The brewery has a small gift shop/tasting area where you can purchase merchandise and growlers to go. When I visited last May, the brewer/owner stated that 22 oz bombers of their beers would be available some time in the future.

Stylistically their beers were accurate, and all their beers were well done, and very flavorful. I really enjoyed all their beers, with the stout and their IPA being my favorties. I wound up filling my growler with the stout, but would have been happy to fill it with any of their beers. If I lived in the area, I would be getting my growler filled weekly. This is very fresh, very flavorful, delicious beer packed with flavor and character. The true beauty of Keuka Brewing and small, local breweries like this place? If you want their beers you need to travel to the source. This is beer at its grass roots, and I for one love that. This place shows a lot of promise, and it is great to see a brewery on the Keuka Lake wine trail. This place is well worth checking out if you find yourself in the Finger Lakes. For more information about the brewery and its beers, visit their site at: http://www.kuekabrewingcompany.com/




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