New York State is a lot of things. First off, it is a big, beautiful sate, geographically. Like Massachusetts, it has the ocean and the mountains. Being close to Canada, it potentially has more fresh water. Politically, it is a mess, full of corruption and leaders who undermine their own parties.
But briefly I will discuss something good and fun about New York State - its beer.
In my mind, New York State beer isn’t as elite as California, Colorado or Vermont (and increasingly, Australia, Japan, Iceland and Denmark). But it absolutely goes toe-to-tie with my home state of Massachusetts and its next door neighbors, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut. And as you will see from my picks below, some of the beer here in New York is exceptional and significant in craft beer culture.
Photo by Andpna’s, Ridgefield Connecticut
When discussing New York State breweries, it is best to start with what is arguably the most significant brew, Flower Power by Ithaca. It brought a west coast style IPA to the state. Back then, it seemed dramatically over-hopped. But it is mild compared to the hazy IPAs that followed 10 years later. Before Flower Power, the hoppiest New York beer was Brooklyn East IPA. But on the heels of Flower Power, we saw stronger ales like Bengali by Sixpoint. The race to release the next super-hoppy IPA in the northeast was officially on. And it hasn’t stopped. It needs to be acknowledged, that the contemporary era of northeast IPAs was started by Dogfish Head (from Delaware) in 2001. New York jumped into the game 3 years later with Flower Power.
Brooklyn has too many breweries. So much that some don’t really good breweries don’t survive, like KelSo, a maker of German and Czech style pilsners. But one has hung on on the northern tip of Greenpoint and bears the neighborhood’s name. While they survived the worst years of the pandemic, their beer selection has shifted more towards lagers and pilsners than the double IPAs and pale ales they used to make. But their quality and expertise comes through both on draft and in their cans. And they still have their kitchen in operation, which serves a great hot chicken sandwich, bratwurst and a massive 8oz burger.
Sloop Brewing operates in a big concrete factory building where IBM machines and semiconductors used to be made. It’s in the middle of an industrial park in East Fishkill, New York, somewhere between Poughkeepsie.and West Point. Sloop has a simple philosophy: just make hazy juice bomb IPAs. There’s no juice in these ales, though. The juicy flavors come from the genetically-modified hop varieties. They can emulate flavors like kiwi, citrus, peach, grass, and various variations of bitter hops. Whenever I see a Sloop can available at a venue, I know I immediately have a first or second choice. It’s easier to get larger volume brews in my part of Manhattan, like New Belgium. But Sloop is more popular than ever.
Five Boroughs Brewing Company has a diplomatic name, but they are based in Industry City, in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Industry City is one of the nation’s first zoned industrial parks. The brewery is in a big, well ventilated warehouse building on 47th Street. With a wider selection than Greenpoint, I have to give the edge to Five Boroughs. They have summer and winter seasonal brews, as well as four core IPAs. I pledged my allegiance to IPAs in the early 2000s, and Five Boroughs is committed to that craft. I know the market for juicy hazy IPAs has cooled a little. But I’m sticking to the breweries that still develop them. I need to visit this taproom more often.
And finally, I can’t mention great New York ales without including Other Half, now in it’s 11th year. I didn’t buy into the hype and the brewery’s cult status 10 years ago when white bankers and tech bros were buying these cans by the caseload at about $4 per 16oz can. But I came around in 2017 or so when they started their local home delivery service. The ales they make are close together on the flavor spectrum. Most are New England style IPAs. Some, like All Citra Everything, are a little sweeter. Others, like Green City, are a little creamier (and they are even made with oats). And some of their best ales, like Stacks On Stacks, strike that perfect balance between bitter and juicy. All of them are hazy. All of them represent the best of New York.