Based on the name alone, I must admit that I didn't have very high expectations. However, once I perused this new brewery's tap list and story, I was sold. As a matter of fact, I was pretty sure this place was going to be awesome. Fortunately, I was correct in my assumptions. Beer Tree is legit!
We arrived at around 10:30 a.m. (yes, they open at 10 a.m. people!) to a pretty empty house. There was a guy tending to a huge grill, prepping items for the impending food truck opening. So, first off... points for having a taco truck! Unfortunately, it didn't open until noon, and I made an executive decision to skip breakfast so we could eat at Beer Tree.
Situated in the small town of Port Crane, NY, about 15 minutes NE of Binghamton, Beer Tree Brew Co. is a farm brewery highlighting beer brewed with local ingredients and hops sourced from Willet Hop & Grain a neighboring raw ingredients provider based out of Willet, NY. Sometime in the near future, Beer Tree also plans to offer a variety of local farm goods and products for sampling and purchasing. Inside, the place was much bigger than I was anticipating. We set up shop at the large, wrap-around bar, which was the focal point of the tasting room. I also noticed that they host live music regularly. More bonus points! Once we settled in, we checked out the beer menu. We both quickly discovered that we wanted to try too many beers, so we had to choose wisely and share the wealth.
 |
| Tap list at Beer Tree during our visit. |
After a few seconds of perusing the list, I honed in on my first selection: Morning Timber - Blueberry, a breakfast stout brewed with coffee and wood-fire evaporated maple syrup from Willet, and conditioned on blueberries. I'd been on a blueberry kick for a few weeks, so that sealed the deal. What better way to kick off the day (on an empty stomach, no less) than with an imperial stout? Well, it was a coffee stout, after all.
 |
| Pleeps getting his share of Morning Timber. |
Meanwhile, Brewslut worked on her beer: Slightly Fuzzy, a mixed fermentation ale conditioned on strawberries, rhubarb and limes. This beer was crazy good! So good, in fact, that Brewslut had to take home a 4-pack, which she rarely does when we travel. So it's gotta be good, right?
By this time, we were both sufficiently impressed enough to order a second round. I was actually pretty giddy on this particular day, even more so than usual. For our next two beers, we decided to head into the hoppy end of the spectrum and try a pair of IPAs. There were several that sounded awesome on paper, so it was a tough decision. Ultimately, we went with Euphoric Colors and Feeling Cute.
The former is a mixed fermentation sour NEIPA. The malt base of oats, wheat and barley combined with the addition of milk sugar creates a soft canvas onto which a generous whirlpool addition of Michigan Copper hops shine. Double dry-hopping with Amarillo, Citra and Mosaic create a waft of dank citrus fruit and hard candy. But wait, this beer isn't finished yet! This sucker was then conditioned on passionfruit, almonds, and vanilla. Yes, there's lots going on here, folks. Almost too much, actually.
The latter, a milkshake IPA, features a similar malt backbone with the sweet addition of milk sugar. This time, Beer Tree double dry-hops with a combo of Idaho 7, Citra, and Belma before aging the beer on a blend of strawberry, banana, and vanilla. Belma is a newer hop variety said to impart an ambrosia-like melange of orange, melon, pineapple, and strawberry. My mom calls it "heaven" instead of ambrosia, and it's delicious!
 |
| Pleeps is always feeling cute! |
The two IPAs were pretty solid but didn't wow us like our initial beers did. Still, these came across as forward-thinking flavor combinations, which we both appreciated. I really enjoyed our visit and can't wait to get back to Beer Tree next year... or even sooner!
We first visited to The Farmhouse Brewery back in 2016 during the very same "Memorial Day Trail" as we've come to call it. Situated in the quaint town of Owego, NY, the original location was on the outskirts of town and reminded me to drinking in someone's basement. The place was adorned with assorted chachkies you'd expect to find in your grandma's parlor (not living room, mind you... parlor; you know, the place where the Davenport resides). They even had a Nintendo Wii set up for customers to play, and we enjoyed some competitive 100-pin bowling during that inaugural visit. Last year, Farmhouse had moved and since set up shop on the main drag in Owego, which must have given the business a boost, as the town is brimming with little stores, boutiques, eateries, and antique shops.
 |
| Farmhouse loooooves the cock! |
Speaking of eateries, I'd remembered a great meal we had during one of our previous visits at a place called The Owego Kitchen, which is basically two doors down from the new Farmhouse location. We were hungry, so we decided to order food and eat it at Farmhouse while we enjoyed our beers. I opted for the Gourmet Gobbler featuring turkey, Brie, cranberry chutney, and lettuce on a baguette. I'm a sucker for Thanksgiving sandwiches and typically order one when its available.
 |
| Back at The Farmhouse in Owego, NY. |
Back to beer, though. Since we spent a little extra time at Beer Tree, we decided to slow down and share a sampler flight. Here's the skinny:
- Grinder - Saison brewed with 100% NY ingredients and aged in wine barrels with Aronia berries (aka chokeberries)
- Don't Miss a Beet - Saison brewed exclusively with NY ingredients including locally grown beets.
- Momma Maple Llama - Porter brewed with maple syrup, coffee and sweet potatoes. This one took home the gold medal at 2017 TAP NY.
- Peat & Repeat - Wee Heavy brewed with peat smoked malt.
 |
| Pleeps in his natural habitat. |
Of the four beers we sampled, two were familiar and two were new to us. We'd both had Grinder and Don't Miss a Beet on previous occasions and remembered liking them quite a bit. The other two were up to snuff with the usual quality of their beers. Peat & Repeat wasn't too terribly "peaty" (good for Brewslut but not-so-good for me) and Momma Maple Llama might have been my favorite of the bunch. I mean, coffee and maple syrup? Come on.
 |
| Another angle of the ever-pleasant Pleeps! |
The beers at Farmhouse are always full of flavor and experimental in nature. I usually stray from the "regular" beers such as IPAs because honestly we just don't run into too many beers brewed with ingredients like beets or peat smoked malt. That's what I love about this place. The beers are fun and whimsical, and Marty (the brewer and owner) definitely thinks outside the box. Sadly, he wasn't around this time. When he's there, he's always good for a few funny stories and available for you to pick his brain.
 |
| Tap handles at The Farmhouse Brewery. |
After our flight at Farmhouse, we ducked into a cool little place on the same block called The Goat Boy. Yup, there was no way we were leaving Owego without a quick visit to this place. Because goats, of course! Turns out the coffee shop was situated next door. Featuring local art, live music and a variety of drinks, this place (actually now called Carol's Coffee & Art Bar; Goat Boy is a gift shop) was worthy of a stop. There's a lot to soak in, and it was welcome deviation to our typical rinse-and-repeat agenda of brewery followed by brewery.
 |
| You had me at GOAT! |
As usual, I was most excited to return to The North. We'd first visited this small brewery based in the somewhat depressed town of Endicott, NY, back in 2017, and I loved the rough and tumble charm of the place. At that point, they'd been churning out some amazing beers on a pretty small system for about five years, and seemed to have a penchant for bold, complex barrel-aged stouts. To be honest, I can't believe the brewery had eluded us for so long! Still, better late than never, right? Now it is a place that we HAVE to visit at least annually.
Since our last visit a year ago, the North added a small enclosed patio area (basically right outside the brewery's front door on the sidewalk), which added space for an additional ten people or so. I happened to be wearing my Mastodon tour shirt, and upon walking up to the entrance, I received acknowledgement from a fellow fan. I gave him the horns aka \m/ and we grabbed some beers at the bar.
 |
| Whatever this is, it's pretty METAL! |
I started off with a pint of Eye Candy, a sticky, hazy IPA hopped with El Dorado and Azacca. After grabbing our first round, we decided to check out the patio and strike up a conversation with the Mastodon guy. He was visiting with his son, and they were chatting with a random young guy about his recent Tesla purchase, which was parked a few feet away. We spent a good deal talking about our beer travels as well as music (including Rush, of course), so it kept me occupied while we worked on our beers. The weather was perfect and conversation was plentiful, so we kept to the patio until everyone had to leave. Once our new friends vacated the patio, we decided to head back inside to see what was going on.
For my next beer, I went big with Pastry Klouds, a delicious whiskey barrel-aged Russian imperial stout aged on Vietnamese coconut and cinnamon. This kind of beer is what The North excels in. I first became enamored last year with one of its barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stouts called Big Bad Leather Daddy, which was one of my favorite beers of 2018.
 |
| The North is like a museum of strange toys. |
I also sampled God Complex, a stout brewed with coffee, hazelnut and chili peppers. Tasty it was, but it was no Pastry Klouds. I love the name, though: God Complex. Of course, they have a few different variants of this beer, as well they should. Two years ago when we visited, someone bought a bottle of this beer - then apparently called Loaded God Complex - and cracked it open for all to share. I recall liking it quite a bit, although it was heavy on the hazelnut (not a problem for me, as I love the flavor of hazelnuts). The version we sampled during this most recent visit didn't have the same prominent hazelnut oomph. Perhaps it was because we'd just finished Pastry Klouds and this one paled in comparison.
As per usual, a small group was congregated at the back end of the bar and cracking open a variety of cans and bottles, some from The North and some from other breweries. Of course, I was quite prepared for this eventuality and had a few Splinter beers in tow. Here's what we sampled (the first three are from The North):
- Eight Banners - whiskey barrel-aged stout
- Oreo Klouds - imperial stout brewed with Oreo cookies
- El Chupracabra - rauch roggenbier brewed with smoked rye and habanero
- Triple Citra Daydream from Other Half Brewing - DIPA brewed with oats and lactose, and triple dry-hopped with Citra and Citra Lupulin powder
- Double Dry-Hopped Double Mosaic Daydream from Other Half Brewing - Imperial IPA brewed with oats and lactose sugar
The El Chupracabra was a 2016 vintage, if I'm not mistaken, and was drinking quite nicely. Oreo Klouds was a little too sweet for my liking, but it was better than the one The Veil did when we visited Richmond a while back. As for Other Half, they do a fine job with the dry-hopped IPAs, so no complaints there.
 |
| Another random oddity at The North. |
All in all, it was another fantastic visit to the North. We always have a blast here, and Brewslut even got to talk shop with a fellow English teacher, who also happened to be one of the guys sharing beers with us at the bar. This is exactly why we love "pour traveling." Drinking the beer might be the cake, but meeting cool locals is definitely the icing!
Since its located in Montrose a few miles from the festival, we always finish up our day of brewery hopping at Endless. Endless is a great example of the kind of brewery every small town should have. We always encounter friendly patrons each time we visit, and the owners (Jon and Morgan) are incredibly nice. Morgan is always tending the bar, while Jon is usually in the brewery concocting his next libation. And you'd think by now that I'd remember the name of the big, fluffy white dog who's always there... but nope, I suck.
 |
| Tap handles at Endless Brewing in Montrose, PA. |
I started off with a pour of a new IPA called Texahio Armadillo. I found it to be an odd name for a beer, so I inquired. Like the name of the dog, I also failed to save the story behind the beer to my memory banks. But hey, I got to try a new beer! If I recall, it has something to do with the hop variety, Texas and Ohio. It was the end of a long day of drinking, so excuse me if my mind was a little hazy. On a side note, armadillos are weird.
I followed this up with another new-to-me beer called Dunkel Yum, a dark German wheat ale. I like me a good dunkel, and this one was kind of middle-of-the-road. But it served as a quick diversion from hops so I could then move onto another hoppy beer.
That beer was Bombshell Blonde, a traditional West Coast style IPA. This is Endless Brewing's flagship beer for a reason. It's always fresh, tasty and consistent. It might be my favorite of their hoppy beers too, except maybe for Grasshopper, a really good pale ale that has eluded us for the past few years. We always seem to miss its release by a week or two. M'wah.
 |
| Full tap list at Endless! |
After our visit to Endless, it was time to head over to DetFest to play some drums for a few hours. Although attendance was lower than usual and the weather was a bit spritzy, we played an awesome set and it was good to see some peeps I only get to see once or twice a year.
Typically, our journey wound end there. This time, however, there's a brief post-script. We stopped by our hometown of Shamokin on Sunday to visit my mom and take her to an appointment in Danville, so we hit up Old Forge for lunch. It had been a while since our last visit, but my mom actually likes that place (for the food, though... not the beer). I always joke that I drink more beer in a day than my mom has consumed throughout her now 74-year existence. I enjoyed a pour of their new-ish IPA called Hopstache, which I'd never had before.
Anyway, it looks like Pleeps is already anticipating his next adventure. Until next time...
No comments:
Post a Comment
The Pour Travelers thank you for following us on our beer adventures!