Community Beer Works - Buffalo, NY

I'm a Buffalo native, and was VERY happy when I heard a new brewery was coming to town.  I've been to so many different breweries...over a 100 now and I saw what a brewery can and should be. Unfortunately I have never really been a huge fan of what my city has to offer us beer wise...Ithaca and Southern Tier are great but far away.  Fast forward 2 years and now we have Community Beer Works just killing it! 

-Their IPA finished second in the national IPA contest..and I will say I have tried the other 3 beers in the final 4 and I believe they deserved their spot.  The IPA..coming from a big IPA fan is very good..I do feel like some batches are better than others but I have never thought it was bad and sometimes it's been incredible.

-The Frank is better than most Pale Ales you will find, most people I know like the Frank, it's light and easy to drink.

-I'm not a brown ale fan but my girlfriend is and loves the Whale. 

-Their operation is small, only open 2 days a week, but I've been in there many times and they're nothing but polite. You can taste the beers in the small area and fill up half or full growlers. So glad to have these guys in Buffalo and my only request would be is to pump out a few different varieties like maybe a Choc Stout, a pumpkin beer and Christmas beer. For merchandise they have glasses, growlers, coasters, stickers. Check them out...www.communitybeerworks.com/

Woodcock Brothers Brewery - Wilson, NY

 On a long boring day we decided to take a ride out to the brand new Woodcock Brothers Brewery in Wilson, NY.  It isn't a short drive but a nice scenic one at least.  Once you get there and walk in you realize the place is HUGE.  They took an old service building and made it up to look really unique..including the giant table that used to be an elevator.

-I ordered the sampler and my favorite beer was probably their Pale Ale it was light and easy to drink.  The Amber was good, the IPA was really good too, The Summer Ale was good, the Porter was actually one of the better porters I've had, and I had one more which I cannot remember but I believe it was some type of blonde ale.

 

-We ordered pretzels which are made with the same malt used for beer...I must say these were horrible.  No taste, very thick and doughy but thankfully the mustard was good.  We had wings, which are dry rubbed and baked..I appreciate they aren't deep fried greasiness but unfortunately they didn't have tons of flavor that you typically get from a sauce.  Lastly the pizzas are the highlight..we had the hot banana pepper and the Margherita...both were extremely good, the dough was good, I was very satisfied.  

-They have some merch, including wine and beer glasses and a tshirt, I bought the red wine glass.

-The only big issue for us was the service.  From what I've been told the brewery hires mostly family and we have been stuck with an owners wife..maybe not.  Either way the service was horrendous...waiting 20 minutes for a water, never receiving a box for leftovers we asked for, and never even seeming happy to be there (mind you there were maybe 6 other customers in the whole place and she seemed to disappear for chunks of time).  This is just the type of behavior I see on Restaurant Impossible when a business is close to closing their doors...so I hope they train their staff or get an experienced staff cause I am not going back til I hear better things...but check them out and pray you don't get a bad waitress...http://woodcockbrothersbrewery.com/

Middle Ages Brewing Co - Syracuse, NY

Last stop on our mini brewery trip was Middle Ages Brewing Company. They are only open 11:30-5 so we wanted to make sure we got there early.  All they are is basically a small tasting room. From the outside it's just a regular industrial looking building. You walk in, there is a small castle like decorated walk way and then you're in the tasting room. Merchandise is on the walls and beers for sale all around. 

-They allow you to taste any and all beers for free which is very nice, but they only do growler fills so you can't go in for a pint or anything. We tasted the Apricot which wasn't bad and smooth, the Wit was light and tasty, Double Wit wasn't as good but not horrible, Rustics Rye was hoppy and decent, Session IPA was hands down my favorite real hoppy and light, Duke of Win Ship Porter was nice, IPA was just eh.
-The guys working were nice, they had some original merchandise like door mats with funny sayings.  I would recommend stopping in but make sure to bring a growler in case you find something you really like...middleagesbrewing.com/‎

Empire Brewing Co - Syracuse, NY

Once we got to Syracuse we stopped off at Empire Brewing Company.  They are located downstairs, but once you go down the dark stairway you walk into a really elegant, crowded restaurant.  We got lucky and got a seat at the bar. 

-We ordered a sampler, they pre select which beers go in the sampler but he substituted for me because I really wanted to try the IPA and rye IPA.  Fortunately for me those two were the only good beers I enjoyed in the sampler.  The Amber Ale was just eh, the Black Magic Stout was kind of watery, and there were to seasonal ales which I do recall the names but one was a coffee like porter that actually wasn't bad, and the other was some type of ESB of sorts which neither of us liked.

-We did not eat here but the food looked good, we planned on eating at Dinosaur BBQ down the road but there ended up being an hour wait there so I wish we would of eaten at Empire.
-If you're in Syracuse go check them out, maybe for lunch since it won't be so packed and try a couple of the brews...middleagesbrewing.com

Brewery Ommegang - Cooperstown, NY

Just East of Ithaca was Cooperstown, the location of Brewery Ommegang. Talk about being in the middle of no where...this place is hidden.  Just like Ithaca, the scenery is just gorgeous.  You won't have trouble parking since there is tons of it.  The building is massive, as you can see.  Once you go through the opening, you will find their gift shop and tasting room/restaurant behind it. From the looks of it, they do tours and have a tasting at the end of the tour.

-Since I don't really enjoy the tours, we went to the tasting room.  Sat at the bar as always and ordered our first flight.  They have about 6 or 7 of their own beers on tap, and then about 8 guest Belgian type beers on tap.  We did a mixture. 

-As for the Ommegang beers, we enjoyed them all.  My girlfriend being a Belgian beer fan she said it was the best place she has been.  We had the Witte it was smooth and nice and light, The Hennepin was both our least favorites..never a big fan of farmhouse ales, BPA which was really good and since my iPhone deleted my list I cannot recall the others however I will say I enjoyed them and I'm not even a Belgian beer fan.

-They have lots of original food, we split the frites which come with two sauces for dipping, and a ham and cheese crepe.  Never saw so many original types of crepes but I will say they were VERY good.  Alittle pricey, but the place was worth the drive (I would NOT go there in winter even though I bet the scenery would be amazing...unless you're a good driver).

-All in all a great visit, nice staff, big gift shop with lots of beer and original items for purchase.  It has limited hours so make sure to check them out ahead of time online...www.ommegang.com/‎

Ithaca Beer Company - Ithaca, NY

This week we decided to take the drive to fellow NY brewery Ithaca. Being a giant fan for years of Flower Power, I was very excited to check them out.  The building is newer and expanded greatly. From what I was told there used to just be a small tasting room, but this is just the opposite.  It is tucked very far back, plenty of parking, a giant bar, tables inside and plenty outside.

-They have plenty of merch from t-shirts to glasses, they also have a giant section where you can buy your favorite Ithaca beers in cases or six packs.

-As for the beer we did all three flights they have listed.  Apricot Wheat was the favorite of the lady...it has a great smell and you taste the apricot for sure, the Nut Brown was decent, Cascazilla was good as usual, Pale Ale was very nice..hoppy and light (we got two growlers of that to go), Flower Power just as good as I expected, Partly Sunny wasn't bad, and I lost my list but we had a couple others including an Imperial Stout they just put on.  All the beers were good, only 1 or 2 were just decent.

-We ordered a pizza in which some of the toppings are fresh and picked right from their own garden.  It was delicious and I would highly recommend it.

-Lots of space although we got there right around opening and by the time we left it was getting crowded.  I highly recommend making the drive if you can, the workers were really knowledgeable and really nice, the ambiance and scenery is just worth the trip I've never been anywhere like it. It's going into my top 5 favorite breweries I think. Check them out...ithacabeer.com/‎

Southern Tier Brewing Co - Lakewood, NY

I have been living less than 2 hours from Southern Tier Brewing Co and have yet to visit..until now.  It was a Saturday with rain outside and nothing else to do so we took a ride.  It is out there...a lot of farm land and whatnot, tucked away on a little quiet side road. Once we got there we realized Saturday maybe was a bad choice since it was slammed.  They have tons of parking which is nice, although it's awkward parking...a lot of the spots are a long a straight line so get your parallel skills ready!

-From the outside the place was massive and looked really nice. In the backyard they have some type of lawn game you can play and also tons of tables with live music.

-Upon entering you see a decent but kind of small taproom with a small bar and a LONG line.  We grabbed a table that just emptied and I waited in about a 10 minute line to order my samplers. The way the ordering process is set up is just a little weird because it's a small L shaped bar but you had a couple locals hanging out like it's a bar at one side and then confusion on the other side.   We also wanted to order lunch and they only serve 2 things...pulled pork and lobster bisque.  Well they were out of food and would have more in about 20-30 minutes...this upset us since it was 2:30pm and we hadn't eaten a bite yet planning on eating here. 

-As for the beer we had Steve which was light and nice, 422 not bad, IPA is good, Double IPA is real nice, Live is really hoppy and I like this one a lot, Unearthly is smooth, Iniquity Black IPA was good, and Double stout has a good after taste and wasn't bad overall. I've had most of their beers in bottles, unfortunately they didn't have either of their best beers which are the Pumking (best pumpkin beer I've ever had) and the Chokolat (best choc stout I've had).  Most their beers are good, not great, but those 2 I just mentioned are top notch if you get them at the right time. 

-Overall it wasn't a horrible experience..but it was over an hour drive, no food to eat, crowded line to wait in, but again it was a Saturday afternoon and being to over 100 breweries I should know that on a Saturday a good brewery will be packed. They have a merch area with a good amount of stuff..some of it overpriced I thought. If you have the time though they're def worth checking out...www.stbcbeer.com/‎

End of the trip (plus Fat Heads Brewery stop)

On our way back we stopped in at Fat Heads in Cleveland..I didn't review it because I have in the past but I will say we had their InspirationAle IPA it was OUTSTANDING even better than Head Hunter which is top notch.  Also tried the Holly Jolly for Xmas in July it was a great Xmas beer, and the Trailhead Pale Ale it was real hoppy, but didn't love the aftertaste. 

-But there you have it...8 cities, 45 breweries, almost 300 beers tasted, lots of great food and I wanted to include some fun pictures from the trip here that include visits to the Home Alone house outside of Chicago, Married With Children Fountain in Chicago,  Family Matters house in Chicago, and the Bronze Fronz in Milwaukee.

Family Matters house

Deep dish @ Giordano's in Chicago

Van Gogh's The Drinkers @ Chicago Art Museum

Married With Children opening scene

Home Alone house

Night time in Milwaukee

The Bronze Fonz aaaaaaye

Lego scene made of all Legos in Mall of America

Blue Tractor BBQ & Brewing - Ann Arbor, MI

Last stop of the night was Blue Tractor BBQ & Brewing. Double sided they have dining on one side and also a bar with plenty of seating on the other.  Being a BBQ fan we decided to eat here to end the night. 

-One thing I really like is they have the ice chiller around the bar in which you can set your glass on the ice and keeps it cold...never saw a bar in person with one.  I had the Bumper Crop IPA it was real nice I enjoyed it..I also tried the Smokehouse Amber it was light and smooth.

-For dinner I had the pulled pork, brisket, ribs, cheese grits and beans.  None of the food BLEW me away but it was good.

-If you're a BBQ fan hold out and drink/eat here last on your 4 brewery mini tour.  Or just stop in for a beer but it was a cool place with a redneck feel check em out...www.bluetractor.net