Great Beers in the Great Outdoors

May 24, 2014 By Staff

NORTHEAST

Two Goats Brewing, Burdett, NY, and Climbing Bines Craft Ale Co., Penn Yan, NY

Hours from Manhattan, the 11 Finger Lakes are one of the most prominent features of the landscape, luring visitors to their scenic shores. For decades, wine was the drink of choice in this region, but more recently, breweries have popped up to offer thirsty travelers another option. Many of these newcomers have handsome taprooms, and two with some of the best views are Climbing Bines Craft Ale Co. and Two Goats Brewing, a pair of small businesses that happen to be on opposite sides of Seneca Lake. Northeast of the town of Watkins Glen, between Atwater Estate Vineyards and the J.R. Dill Winery, the wraparound deck at Two Goats offers a postcard-worthy panorama of the 38-mile long body of water. Order a mug of Goat Master Ultra Pale Ale or Danger Goat!, a blonde doppelbock, and arrive early—this spot can get plenty busy on summer Saturdays.

Across the lake and to the north, the trio behind a 1.5-acre hop farm started producing their own beer last year, converting a big old tool shed into a solar-powered brewhouse and tasting room that’s open to the public daily. Here on a hill at the top of Hansen Point Road, you can sample a number of satisfying ales including a blonde, an IPA and an amber, all while watching their Cascade, Chinook, Centennial, Goldings, Magnum, Nugget, and Willamette bines stretch skyward.

—Ben Keene

Birreria above Eataly, New York

When the retractable roof is drawn back, and the top of the Empire State Building is in full view, or the MetLife Tower, or the Flatiron Building, there is perhaps no better place to get the Manhattan beer experience while looking at iconic buildings from a different perspective. Fifteen stories above the bustling streets is the brewpub known as Birreria, a cask-ale concept spearheaded by Italian brewers Teo Musso and Leonardo Di Vincenzo and Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head. Tuck into the rustic Italian menu like the Tuscany-inspired blood sausage, or pork sausage. Rotating house beers, made just by the entrance, as well as a healthy number of rotating guest drafts make this more than a tourist destination. It is Manhattan, so it’s not cheap, but when the weather is clear, and the sun begins to set and the lights of the buildings twinkle before you with nothing in between, it’s clear to see why the people line up early and often.

—John Holl

Trapp Lager Brewery, Stowe, VT

Lodge visitors and day-trippers can enjoy Austrian- and German-style lagers on the Trapp Lager Brewery’s wooden deck overlooking Mount Mansfield and the Worcester Range while the sweet smell of wort from the brewery below wafts upward. A lager brewery on a mountain resort is perfect for après-ski, and it has perks for the brewers, too. “We’re a very outdoors-driven company,” says brewmaster JP Williams. “We like to ski in the morning and brew in the afternoon.” In the warmer months, Williams recommends a round of frisbee golf or an afternoon of mountain biking, followed by a mug of Golden Helles, a 4.8% crisp, dry and refreshing pale golden lager. The brewery will be sizing up and spreading out too, as they plan to open a new beer hall-style brewery by the start of the next ski season, complete with a beer garden and equally serene Vermont views.

—Heather Vandenengel

More in the Northeast

Northhampton Brewery, Northhampton, MA; Marshall Wharf Brewing Co., Belfast, ME; Jordan Pond House, Seal Harbour, ME; Oxbow Brewing Co., Newcastle, ME; Keuka Brewing Co., Hammondsport, NY; Hill Farmstead Brewery, Greensboro, VT; Long Trail Brewing Co., Bridgewater Corners, VT

This story appears in the July issue of All About Beer Magazine. Click here for a free trial.

See more great places to drink beer outside in Canada.