Inspired by this post, we decided to up the weekend challenge and attack the Hudson Valley in a 10 hours round trip. Now our itinerary isn’t for the beginning beerventurers, and it’s probably best to take your time and enjoy these great stops! But we don’t have a lot of free time, so one day in the Hudson Valley, here we go.
It was my birthday weekend and we decided somewhat spontaneously to take a trip up the Hudson Valley to hit some of the breweries we keep hearing about but haven’t gotten to visit.
Equilibrium Brewery (Middletown, NY)
First up was Equilibrium Brewery in Middletown, NY. Middletown is actually just about the halfway point between my house in Connecticut and Andrew’s in NY so we have both driven through many many times. Unfortunately, Equilibrium popped up just about when Andrew moved to Jersey so the trips on 84/17 were done and we just never made it back, until now! Anyways, we didn’t really do our research because I didn’t realize there was no taproom. Just a big brewery, some crowler fills and cans. Okay that’s fine I guess. We did get an ounce tasting of one of the cans available, Harvester of Simcoe, which was pretty good. We ending up buying a fourpack of that and Flucuation because we were there. But for $20 each, we hope we like them. I guess that’s one business model, but I’m not really fond of it. I value my weekends way too much to stand in line to pay lots of money for beer that I’ve never tried and post my haul on Instagram. But I guess that’s what some of you beer people love. Anyways, rant over as was this very quick stop.
Angry Orchard (Walden, NY)
Andrew decided hey were near Angry Orchard, let’s go. So we did. Sometimes our decision making is as easy as that. And that turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Just a have hour away we came across a big red barn with the familiar logo on front. Driving past lots of buildings and the orchards we finally came to the innovation center. We checked in and were offered a free self guided tour or their barrel aged tour for $10. Being on a time crunch, we stuck with the self guided which included a complimentary flight of 3 at the end. We learned some of the history and processes in making cider and got our flights which included Understood in Motion 3, Rose and Knotty Pear. The UIM3 was dry, done in collaboration with some guy from England but I don’t really know the details. The Rose was sweet, almost like a liquid gummy bear and just released nationwide. The knotty pear was the sweetest of the 3 with lots of apple and pear flavors coming through. We chose to sit outside but there was also indoor seating and live music with snacks and more ciders available to purchase. It was a nice day but im guessing in the summer this place gets packed. There is also a treehouse which was closed but looked really fun and was on Treehouse masters, so check that out if you go visit!
Suarez Family Brewery (Hudson, NY)
Next stop was Suarez Family Brewery in Hudson. The town seems to have alcohol tourism down as we passed Hudson Valley Distillery and a few wineries on the way. This was a cute little tasting room. Definitely a minimalistic hipster vibe. No flights here but they do offer half pints, pints, growlers and some bottles. We chose half pints of Quip and 100 Ft North. Both were good, lots of farmhouse country flavors in them. Andrew did not like the ordering system as it seemed kind of unnecessary and pretentious to give our name to call when the beer is ready, as we were the only ones ordering beer. There was a steady stream of people for a Sunday afternoon but it wasn’t packed. There was a sign on the door saying no dogs allowed so leave the pup at home before heading to Suarez family. We left with a few bottles that were reasonably priced ($14 each) so we’ll see how the flavor compares versus on tap. Both Andrew and I got a Forest and Main feel from the brewery, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Small, farmhousey, quaint.
Sloop Brewing Co (Elizaville, NY)
Sloop Brewing Co is just 5 minutes from Suarez, so it was a no brainer for us to head there next. Located on the farm Vosburgh Orchards, Sloop has a tasting room and farm stand. We saw that it was a little cramped but luckily found a seat at the bar. Sloop does offer flights of 5 so we had the task of picking which beers to try. I immediately had my eyes on Razzle Dazzle a bright red colored sour ale. I let Andrew pick from the rest which were all IPAs. He settled on Juice Bomb, DDH Juice Bomb, DDH Citra Bomb and Super Soft. Out of the IPAs Andrew liked the Juice Bomb best, and of course I favored Razzle Dazzle. There was artisanal meats and cheeses and snacks available in the back corner in the farm stand and live music in the front corner. Pups were welcome here so we made friends with a good doggo next to us. The flight was a nice $12 for a lot of beer. If you want beer to go, it has to be in growler form as there were no crowlers, cans or bottles we found. Just a heads up, when planning your trip, make sure to pick the Elizaville location on Google Maps. We saw another Sloop about a half hour south which apparently does not exist yet. But if you’re reading this after summer 2018, just double check because the new facility should be opening soon! Overall we were impressed with Sloop and would love to go back to visit both locations again!
Cousins Ale Works (Wappingers Falls, NY)
Our next stop was Cousins Ale Works, a relatively unknown to us brewery in Wappinger’s Falls. Checking out their social media, we realized that this baby brewery hasn’t even had its grand opening yet. (Although by the time this is posted, it should have happened). Anyways, this revolution themed brewery has a lot of potential but still needs some refinement. The space is decked out with lots of tables, a big L shaped bar, and Noshi’s corner for your food needs Friday-Sunday. Unfortunately, Noshi’s corner was closing up shop by the time we arrived so we can’t comment too much on that other than we are sad we missed out on dogs. We ended up with a flight of Mishap IPA, Powder Horn IPA, Wappingers Rises Live Free Stout, Sweet Revolution Brown. As with a lot of young breweries, some of the flavors in the beer were slightly off. I enjoyed the Mishap and Brown but nothing stood out as excellent yet from our small sample size. Hopefully, with time and getting used to the system the beers will improve. This seems like is has good potential to be a fun local brewery.
Hudson Valley Brewery (Beacon, NY)
Last but certainly not least, was Hudson Valley Brewery in Beacon, NY. Being on instagram all day, I am used to seeing the beautiful cans and haul pictures for people making the trek to this destination brewery known for its sour IPAs. Because we were going on a Sunday with no can release I had high hopes because I am not about that line life. There was a decent amount of people but lots of space at the bar. No flights so we settled on the three most interesting sounding beers Horizon Loop, Free Fall, and Syzygy (otherwise known as that pink one). Each was unique and complex sour flavors, which led me to understand the hype surrounding this brewery. If you have never tried a sour IPA, its definitely a refreshing take on a favorite and Hudson Valley seems to have mastered the science of this style. And from all the barrels lining the walls, it looks like there is plenty more beer to come. If you have the opportunity, I would definitely recommend a visit. Even though they had sold out of cans, there were still a few prefilled crowlers left of the cans available the previous day. Unfortunately we waited too long and the Syzygy was gone so we took home Horizon Loop and Free Fall. And then tragedy struck when our car attacked the Free Fall crowler but we were able to salvage most of the beer. Remember folks, safety first when packing your beer for the trip home!
