Honest Hard Working Beer: A Visit to Catskill Brewing

My dad purchased land in the Catskills in 1974 when he was 22.  Four years later, he and my mom finished building a home up there.  Even though I was born and raised in Brooklyn, that home in the Catskills became an integral part of my life.  In between learning how to wire a gazebo for electricity and proper chainsaw technique, I would traipse all over our property and that of our neighbors with my sister naming all the landmarks we found.  It was a sanctuary that we rarely left when we visited except to pick up groceries at Pecks or supplies at Agway.  Recently, Katie thought it would be fun to check out the surrounding area of which I knew very little. I was initially hesitant because I was so used to staying in our bubble up there, but eventually agreed as long as a brewery could be one of our first stops. 

I’d passed by Catskill Brewery countless times driving up and down Rt. 17 without even knowing that it existed.  The brewery has only been open since the summer of 2014, but it is literally two minutes off the road I take to visit a close friend in Rochester.  My normally strong beer radar definitely let me down on this one. The building fits in perfectly with the Catskills landscape and the snarling raccoon on the silo out front adds to the rustic charm.  As we walked into the tasting room, I was struck by three things: the unmistakable yeasty and malty aroma of a working brewery, Alice in Chains playing on the sound system and a popcorn machine.  Any one of those is enough to put a smile on my face, but we had a hat trick here.

The bar area of Catskill Brewery stands off to the side of the building with nothing between the patrons and brewery operations.  It adds so much to the sensory experience when you’re dwarfed by the stainless steel fermenters and mash tuns that produced the beer you’re drinking while watching the head brewer mill about the room.  I ordered a tasting, along with the three other people who had drifted in, and settled in at the bar.

While I enjoyed all the offerings, the Ball Lighting Czech Pils, Floodwatch IPA and XX Pale Ale were the standouts for me. The beauty of Ball Lighting is its crisp simplicity. It’s the type of beer you’d want to be drinking in July while tending the grill.  So many craft beer drinkers, myself included, are drawn to complex flavor profiles and neglect the classics, which, when done well, are a breath of fresh air.  On the other side of the spectrum, the Floodwatch IPA, which is dry hopped with Simcoe and Sorachi Ace, presented such a unique flavor. The lemony and grassy character of the Sorachi Ace contrasts really well with the woodiness of the Simcoe and it creates an almost oaky quality.  It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by it.  Finally, the XX Pale Ale, the souped up version of their Darbee’s Pale Ale, called to mind the “New England” style Pale Ale that has become all the rage.  It’s unfiltered and juicy with a touch of orange and grapefruit.  What made it stand out from similar beers, however, was the incredibly earthy and resinous profile of the hops, as opposed to intense citrus. After the tasting, I stuck with the XX until the keg kicked and then moved on to its less intense, but equally tasty, pale ale counterpart.

Bars and breweries in New York City can be impersonal and cliquey places.  You get your beer, sit in your enclave and mind your own business.  The exceptions to this rule have become my favorite haunts because they inspire conversations with strangers and create a community of regulars who enjoy the company as much as the beer.  Catskill Brewery is one of those places.  Katie struck up a conversation with a guy wearing a Greenport Harbor Brewing t-shirt, because we had spent some time in Greenport the previous summer.  While he’d never visited, his friend’s father works for them which explained the t-shirt.  Turns out he graduated from the University of Scranton, my alma mater, and we talked about the dramatic changes that have happened there.  That led into a conversation about teaching, he was a former teacher, and the realization that he had a friend that teaches a block away from me in the city.

A bit later, we struck up a conversation with Steve.  He grew up on a dairy farm in the area, but later became an audiologist at nursing homes where he relishes the stories of his patients.  We chatted awhile about the wineries and breweries of the Finger Lakes and he offered quite a few recommendations, which we repaid with our recommendations of the same on the North Fork of Long Island.  After Katie went to the car for a work call, I let slip that I was a teacher which led to a rather lengthy discussion of Common Core Standards and how they’re impacting students like his 10 year old son.  It was comforting to see first-hand that teachers and parents can agree about the detriment that such policies have on youthful, exploring minds. Talking about my desires to transition my teaching career into the museum world, led to us bonding over a passion for woodworking and the importance of physical objects and in-person experiences in a world dominated by a virtual reality.  At this point, Steve picked up a growler of Ball Lighting (he agreed with me about the need for good pilsners) and we said our goodbyes.

We closed down the brewery, which was only open from 4-7 when we visited, with an older couple who was making the move to the area from New Jersey.  They, much like my own parents, had bought land in the Catskills decades ago and slowly built the home that they were now moving into.  After receiving an invite to the Annual Chicken BBQ on Memorial Day weekend and some options for dinner, we made our way into the early evening.

A visit to a local brewery to try some beers turned into fantastic conversations with locals and people passing through the area.  Some of that can be attributed to sheer coincidence, but the atmosphere created by the Catskill Brewery has more to do with it.  While we may have been first timers just passing through, we never felt that way.  Chris, the bartender, was attentive with the beer and popcorn, while keeping the good music flowing.  That friendliness rubs off on the patrons who share conversations over good beer instead of remaining isolated.  It’s been said before, but it deserves to be said again: The quality of beer as well as the quality of experience creates a brewery’s loyal following.  I’m looking forward to grabbing a few pints and growlers the next time I’m in the area.