Through our traveling we’ve been fortunate to visit many breweries, some craft great beer and others are great hangs. Here is an account of the more memorable experiences we’ve had!
Before we get to the brewery list, my friend and home brew genius Michael Chapman is busy crafting truly world-class beers. No doubt some day he’ll man a proper brew house, but until such time he has been very generous with me, sharing bombers and growlers of his remarkable beer. Recent highlights were his very elegant Agave Belgian Dark and a brew he calls the Low-Low, which is an easy drinking beer. His coconut stout was perfection and the IPA he brewed on demand for his brother, my brother, and me was as good as any of the robust American IPAs. (I must offer this quick side note, all of his brews have been outstanding, I’m not sure there is a limit to his willingness to experiment and learn more about beer craft!)
Take a look at some of Michael’s beers.
Michael Chapman’s Coconut stout. I’m in love with this beer.
Michael Chapman’s wonderful Irish Red!
Michael Chapman’s IPA (shared with my brother Pete) Delicious!
Michael Chapman, Agave Belgian Dark. Really exciting, Mike’s Belgian crafting is spot on!
June/July
Cortland Brewing Company – Cortland, New York. Maybe because it’s quality craft close to where I grew up, but CBC as it’s known has expanded their tasting room to selling pints and flights in addition to filling growlers.
A selection of Cortland’s high gravity brews.
Wagner Valley – Lodi, New York. The beers and location are outstanding. Nestled in a vineyard overlooking Seneca Lake, Wagner Valley Brewing Company crafts excellent true to form beers. The IPA and Summer Sail Hefeweizen were stand outs the last time we stopped.
Flying Dog – Fredrick, Maryland. Being one of the first craft beers I ever had, Flying Dog holds a special place on my palate and in my heart. Having made many trips to this brewery, I am familiar with the beer and feel comfortable sampling their experiments and limited releases.
Flying Dog Imperial Single Hop (El Dorado) IPA – on cask!
Limited Belgian release at Flying Dog
Troegs, Hershey, Pennsylvania. Their regular year round staples are great, but we were treated to the small batch “scratch” brews and wow, every one was outstanding.
All six of our Troegs Scratch brews
Troegs Dark Fest Lager, 4.6% abv.
Troegs India-Style Session Ale 4.8% abv.
Troegs, Triple Mango IPA 11.3% abv.
Three Brothers – Harrisonburg, Virginia. One of the best Black IPA’s I’ve had. They feature very true to form beers with some wonderful creativity and their tasting room is gorgeous.
Three Bros Black IPA.
Three Bros Flight.
Let’s stop here and plan to reconvene next week, ’till then cheers!
Pearson
