1771 Dryden Rd, Freeville, NY - 13068
As of Friday, May 10th, you can add one more to that list - Hopshire Farm & Brewery. Excellent visuals and associations come to mind from that great name. Last week, my partner and I lined up for their opening night tasting.
Hopshire's claim to fame, in addition to quality beer, will be their eco/sustainability-friendly farm, brewery, and overall processes and ethos. The beer is brewed with as many local ingredients as possible (presuming many of which will eventually be grown on site), a sand bed under the tasting room stores waste heat from the brewing process to heat the main building. Tubing buried in a spring behind the building circulates water for cooling their fermentors and aging room. Plans are in the works for a biomass boiler, solar water heating, and other energy generation to become climate neutral. Great to have such 21st century minds involved with one of the world's most ancient of traditions.
The Beer? "What does all this mean for the beer they brew?", you ask. Well, the first few words and phrases I read are - "Honey", "Cherry", "Ginger", "Fuggle hops", "6 different barley malts", and "laced with hops". My dear readers, we are in for an excellent ride.
Beehave: Honey Blond Ale | 4.2% ABV | 10 IBUs
VERY light. A great start for a flight. The honey in this brew quickly brings out mead-like qualities a few sips in. Clean, dry, with a very quick finish. Solid summer beer or a gateway for dry wine or mead fans. Not sweet as you may expect from anything including honey in its ingredients.
Bloosom: Cherry Wheat | 4.5% ABV | 20 IBUs
We've got another light, dry one here! Not too wheaty, which is great for me. Puckered hints of cherry with prickly carbonation. Quite a nice, fresh taste and not minerally at all. A subtle, different ale.
Zingabeer: Belgian Pale with Ginger | 5.5% ABV | 18 IBUs
Two ginger brews in one week! This one presents itself with a much spicier nose than Left Hand's Juju (#007 review). Nice spice up front on the taste as well. The Belgian style really lends itself to this concept. As with the Beehave, there's a quick finish, so the ginger doesn't linger far on your tongue, though it is still noticeable on the noise-breath out. Rooty brew for any ginger lover.
Daddy-O: English Pale Ale | 6.2% ABV | 41 IBUs
Mmmm... a pleasant change of pace here. Malty, like an English ale should be. Bitter, but not hoppy. Lots of roasted flavor and deep character without trying to reinvent anything. Easy drinking... but not too easy. This is a real beer, boy, take it slow! Solid.
Shire Ale: Scottish Ale | 6.3 ABV | 30 IBUs
Whoa, now they're switching it up.... there's a lot going on in this one. Malty, malt, malts - there are hops in there, but I'm far too distracted by all the lovely, sweet, oaty goodness going on in this one. I'm going to need a few more tastes to pull everything out of this one (oh woe). Overall a rich, complex take on a brown ale - a sentence which doesn't spring from these lips much. Recommended.
Near Varna: India Pale Ale | 7.5% ABV | 74 IBUs
Laced with hops indeed! Bitter citrus with a wet finish (which is great considering the IBU's on this one). Longest finish of the batch for sure - adding hops five times during the boil and in the serving tank will do it. If you're looking for a big, bold American IPA that you can still put back several pints and not fret about your tongue turning to sandpaper - rock this one.
Overall, a solid first batch of brews with a little something for everyone - sessions, hop and malt-centric, and a few unique variations. All Hopshire beer at the brewery is tasting or growlers only at the moment - no pints - but they will fill half growlers in addition to your traditional American 1/2 gallon or your German 2 liter. Very much looking forward to how this new brewery progresses, especially considering their next three in the line up are called Sneaky Weasel, Shenanigans, and Dragon's Milk - with those names and their record so far, I'm sure more good, creative things are on the way.
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