I'm reporting in from Northeast where they are currently experiencing the first freeze-your-balls off storm of the season. Thankfully it is staying south of my current position so I might get lucky and avoid the snow all together for this trip. All Syracuse, New York is something of a refuge from the insanity of the rest of the region, something I think most locals would admit that they don't hear a lot.
Speaking of locals, I was working with a crew from Syracuse and we soon found out that we had a common love for fermented barley and hops. Once we finished our tasks for the day, it was suggested that we all go down to Walton Street in downtown Syracuse. There is quite a vibrant microbrewery scene here because, as one of my crew members said, "It's Northwestern New York. There's nothing to do but drink beer."
Fair enough, even if that is my choice activity wherever life happens to drop me.
Three pubs were pointed out to me as choice establishments for the exploration of New York beer. I only had time to visit two out of the three, but I will mention the third here. The Blue Tusk is one of those bars that apparently has a ridiculous amount of beer on tap. I talked about one such bar a few months ago, the Falling Rock pub in Denver, CO. I always mean to include more beer bars in this blog, but I always seem to get sidetracked... much like a am today. So anyway, it is up to another wandering soul to seek out this particular site for now.
Instead we opted to go in for dinner at Empire Brewing Company, suggested because it supposedly had the best food. Without having a couple meals at each establishment, I don't think I can confirm that, but I will say that the food was pretty awesome. It was mostly Cajun and southern inspired dishes often taken one step beyond their traditional ingredients. To put it another way, one item on their menu is a pheasant sausage po-boy sandwich. Enough said. Personally, I went with the grilled fish tacos, and they were excellent.
I only had a couple of beers at this bar, opting to actually enjoy a beer in a social setting as opposed to my normal habits of getting a small sample of each and then consuming myself with making notes. I started with the Empire Cream Ale. It was a nitrogen beer so it had an incredibly smooth and full mouthfeel. The sweet creamy flavor is punctuated by herbal hops and a slight lemon flavor.
Keeping with a theme, I had their other nitrogen offering, the Black Magic Stout. This is a traditional dry Irish stout very much in the spirit of the quintessential Irish drink, Guinness. This, however, had a very sharp flavor from the dark roasted grains. That, in and of itself, is not a bad thing, but when combined with the heavy herbal hop load in this beer the result was a very full, creamy beer with long, unpleasant aftertaste.
I bid goodnight to my new friends and made one last stop before I called it a night, the Syracuse Suds Factory. The difference between the two microbreweries is striking. By looking at the menu and their beer selection, it looks like Empire is one of those brewpubs that specializes in the subtle art of pairing food and beer flavors. Syracuse Suds is the place to grab a pint and watch the game. This is also probably due to the fact that it is Halloween weekend and Syracuse Suds is gearing up for a party. As I type this, ghouls, ghosts and goblins are piling into the bar for the part of the night that they will remember. There is a DJ rapidly setting up, and all I can do is sigh and quickly down a few pints before bed.
That being said, the beer available at Syracuse Suds is weirder than they give themselves credit for. I started with the Blackberry Lambic. Not a true lambic, in that it is not spontaneously fermented, but not one of those overly sweet wine coolers posing as a lambic either. It had a dryness and a aroma made me think of a carbonated Merlot. There was just a hint of bitterness at the back that came as a bit of a surprise, but was not an unwelcome addition.
Next was the Irish Red, and this is where it gets a little strange. I picked up a lot of strawberry or cherry in this particular beer. It was slightly tart with almost no detectable hops. At first I was convinced that the Lambic had ruined my palate, but as I worked my way through the pint, those flavors never faded. About halfway through I started detecting some roasted malt flavors, but it was mostly dominated by a light fruit sweetness.
Finally I had their Pale Ale. After one taste I swore the woman working the bar had misheard my order and brought me the wrong beer. The smell was heavy on clove and banana. The flavor was the same with some malt sweetness that melts to spicy hops that complement the clove and banana flavors and ended with a banana-nut aftertaste. It was pretty good, but it had more in common with a Belgian whit beer than an American Pale. The bartender confirmed, however, that this was their pale ale. Overall this beer was like Syracuse Suds itself: very good, just not what I was expecting.
Quick turnaround this week. I'm heading back to Detroit next weekend. I have no idea if I will have time to add to this blog or not. I guess we will have to wait and see.
Cheers!
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