In my last post, I reflected on the state of beer in Tompkins County, and there's certainly some major room for growth. Here, I'd like to take a quick look at what's going on nearby in the Finger Lakes (FLX) region. Is this going to be a comprehensive look at the rest of all FLX beer country? Not quite--and it certainly depends on what you define as Central/Finger Lakes/Southern Tier. But these are some of the counties where I think some big things are happening:
No. 15: Cayuga County
Cayuga County
Brewery licenses: 5
Per capita: 1 per 15,658
The take: This county defined by water -- from the Finger Lakes to Lake Ontario -- has a surprising number of noteworthy breweries.
Sprawling land mass for a county with Auburn being the central city. I've visited just 2 of the 5 in this county (Prison City Brewpub and Aurora Ales and Lagers), but both were fantastic. Prison City has a great rotating selection of in-house beer including their highlight acclaimed Mass Riot IPA and its variants. Aurora Ales and Lagers is what you might consider a nano-brewery, but they are packing a big punch in a number of the IPAs and Stouts, but so many other styles as well including a sour saison and a gratzer (so much smoke!).
No. 8: Ontario County
Ontario County
Brewery licenses: 15
Per capita: 1 per 7,304
The take: There's a boatload of breweries from the Rochester suburb of Victor down through Canandaigua and Geneva and into the lake country.
Photo: Beer menu board at GAEL BrewingCo. on Seneca Lake south of Geneva, Ontario County
My knowledge here is nil, which is a bit exciting to think about--so much to explore out this way. Perhaps the most exciting? Seeing what comes of FLX Table's foray into wild/sour beers. How there aren't more old-school farmhouse wild/sour breweries in FLX is perplexing to me.
No. 3: Seneca County
Seneca County
Brewery licenses: 7
Per capita: 1 per 4,976
The take: In the heart of Finger Lakes wine country, this is one of the three adjacent counties that together have the highest concentration of breweries, per capita, in the state.
Wagner Valley is the most established and well-distributed around ITH, but I've got exploring to do outside of them, including a new brewery that caught my eye: Fleur de Lis. These guys are planning to focus on french styles, so I'm thinking bierre de garde and hopefully some quality saisons. Bandwagon's farm brewery is here as well.
No. 2: Yates County
Yates County
Brewery licenses: 7
Per capita: 1 per 3,578
The take: The Finger Lakes wine region is also a strong agricultural region, and in this county, every brewery has one of the state's "farm brewery" licenses.
Abandon has done some nice things, and I'm interested in exploring more from Climbing Bines. The farm brewery focus here is fitting and hopefully will lead to some interesting beers. Again, I'd love to see more quality wild/sour stuff coming out of these regions.
No. 1: Schuyler County
Schuyler County
Brewery licenses: 8
Per capita: 1 per 2,273
The take: At the south end of Seneca Lake, centered on the village of Watkins Glen, is the county with the most breweries per person in New York state. That's one brewery for every 2,200 or so residents. And more are coming.
Watkins Glen is maybe where you'd expect the biggest cluster of breweries, but head further north along Seneca lake for a beer tour of 3 nearby spots: Grist Iron, Two Goats, and Lucky Hare. Some good beer, food, and views along the lake.
Okay--that's my quick recap of the rankings from NYup.com. As mentioned in the first post, there's a lot to be desired in the immediate ITH area. However, a 40-60 minute drive can get you to some of these other counties that are booming with breweries (at least in the per-capita sense). Many of these breweries are new, so I'm excited to see the continued growth in the region and how that pushes for innovation throughout the market.
Cheers!
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