Brewing Tour

By Mike O’Keefe

Somewhere amongst the Adirondacks, people are sitting down to dinner, opening up their menus and glancing over the drinks selection. Budweiser, Coors, Sam Adams…all the usual suspects are there. But looking at the list again, one would notice that some of the drinks have names that you’ve never seen anywhere else.

Brown Ales, IPAs, wheat, and blueberry beer?

Everything that is old is new again,” says Rick Davidson, part-time owner of the Davidson Pub and Brewery in Lake George, NY.

Davidson says that after the ‘80s “brewing revolution” all the local breweries that were lost after prohibition are making a comeback, and people are looking for a local alternative to domestic beer.

All throughout the North Country, it is easy to find the home-grown breweries, all of them dispersing delicious, locally brewed ale.

There are also some large scale, but still homegrown breweries, that dot the landscape around Plattsburgh as well.

All you have to do is find them…

1. Magic Hat Brewery

One of the biggest in the area. Located in Vermont, just about an hour away, Magic Hat started in 1994 and can already out-brew almost any of the local, and older, breweries in the area. “We really embody the spirit of Vermont, says Steve Hill, the Social Networking Voice for Magic Hat Brewery. With the No. 9 being their “flagship beer” as Hill put it, they have a whole selection of ales that continues to grow larger every year. Most recently, a summer beat red ale called “Wacko” was brewed for the summer season. “We appeal to a certain type of drinker,” Hill says. “The music and art lover particularly.”

2. Lake Placid Brewery

Another large locally owned brewery, the Lake Placid Brewery is located about an hour away from Plattsburgh, and distributes to a very large area throughout New York State.

3. Davidson Pub and Brewery

Located in Lake George, Davidson Pub and Brewery was established about a decade ago to compliment an already popular restaurant. Specializing in brewing IPAs and Brown Ales, this “British style” pub has a wide selection of brews to choose from, as well as fine dining on the side.

4. Great Adirondack Brewing Company

Also located in Lake Placid, the GABC is another small time, but locally crafted brewery that caters to the greater Lake Placid Area. In direct competition with Lake Placid Brewery, the small brewer has managed to stay afloat despite the economic downturn.

“Just because it’s locally brewed doesn’t mean it’s good,” says Davidson.

Hopefully these selections will light a path through the vast expanses of the Adirondacks and land you at a place where you can sit down and enjoy a beer…or two.