Hudson Valley Uncorked Book Research

This past weekend I spent out and about in the Hudson Valley researching for my book that will be coming out in the late Spring.  The book will be about day trips and weekend itineraries visiting the wineries, breweries, cideries, distilleries, restaurants and some sites along the way.

I am pretty familiar with the wineries, so I spent the weekend at the distilleries, breweries and a winery or two.  Look for longer informational posts coming in the next few weeks, but I wanted to give you a preview of what is to come.  The one common denominator that everyone I spoke with has, regardless of winery, brewery or distillery was PASSION for what they do.

Don't get any ideas with the above picture of me John and Bryan at Orange County Distillery, I was not mixing any drinks.  What began in 2014 with 6,000 sugar beets sitting in John's warehouse became a full time business with Bryan. Their connection, their wives are first cousins.  They do all the distilling at Maloney Lane where they also have a tasting room.  We met up with them at their cocktail room at Brown Barn Farms where you can try cocktails, listen to music and enjoy a cheese plate.  They produce Sugar Beet Vodka, Gin, Corn Whiskey, Single Malt Whiskey, Rye and Bourbon,

I stopped in to see Tiffany and  Ryan at Robibero Family Vineyards where things are always changing.  They like to keep you on your toes and coming back to see what's new.  I tasted their 87 North which is one of their most popular wines and very refreshing.  A real treat was their Petit Verdot. I wish I left with a bottle.  Lots of black pepper in this wine

A visit Tuthill House Restaurant on the site of TuthillTown Distillery which they purchased 2 years ago.  Here I met my favorite mixologist Patrick and he makes many of the tintctures. We tried the As You Wish made with their Half Moon Gin and Femme Fatale made with their Indegenous Wheat Vodka.  My favorite was the Femme Fatatle.

I went to find my favorite winemaker/brewer Kristop but I had texted him to a  cell number he doesn't have anymore. My bad, but I got to have a great conversation with his partner James and see their new facility in Gardiner, NY.

A trip up to Germantown to Hudson Valley Distillery where I found out that Tom grew up with my cousin Kathy in Newburgh.  Small world! Here I got a tour of their facility and spok with Tom, and Jen.  It's a beautiful place and they want to make it a place where families come for the day have a picnic, sit by the fire pit and enjoy.  Their mixologist made me a Cherry Blossom with Hudson-Chatham's Empire wine and their Adirondack Applejack.

A stop in to visit Kimberly Peacock at Tousey Winery to catch up on what they are up to. I love hanging with Kimberly, she has me laughing so much.  Her and Ben are constantly working on improving the entire experience, their wine, their website and now they have a private tasting room for large parties. I now have a great understanding of their Tiger Scarlet Brand and I wish I had purchased all the previous vintages. (stay tuned for blog post to find out more of that story)

Not to far down the road is Sloop Brewing. At first we thought we were in the wrong place and at someone's farm.  Yes we were at someone's farm, but on the other side of the garage is the brewery. A hidden gem. The tap room just opened in August. They specialize in Sours and Farmhouse Ales.

Under construction is Taconic Distillery set to open late Spring. We got to go on an ATV ride from their home down to the Distillery. I wish it was warmer, but it was a fun ride! They produce Bourbon, Rye, and Rum, They want to become a family destination as well.  Bring your fishing rods as they have a trout stocked pond.

We headed to Beacon where we stopped at Dennings Point Distillery. Back in the late '80s and early '90s I worked in Beacon and had brought my car to George's to get worked on.  Now George's garage is Dennings Point Distillery, the only Urban distillery in the Hudson Valley.  Distilling Vodka, Gin and Whiskey.

While in Beacon we stopped at 2 Way Brewing company. A young engineer who decided to move back to the Hudson Valley from Colorado and opened 2 Way Brewing Company all before he turned 30.

Heading over the bridge we went to Pine Island Brewery.  The tap house just opened in October in an old firehouse. Mike had a short career as a CPA and had always homebrewed.  The day came when he decided to do what he love. Their two most popular beers are the  American IPA and Scottish Ale.

Rushing Duck Brewing Company is quite hidden in the hamlet of Chester, NY.  Make sure you park along the brewery building and not across the way. It is made quite clear.  The brewery began 3 years ago.  Dan Hitchock started home brewing in college and decided he liked it much better than his PolySci major and began working at brewery, went to brewing school opened Rushing Duck. They brew the beers they like. A lot of IPA's.

That was my weekend in a nutshell or should I say blog post.  Stay tuned as I go into more detail on each of the places I visited.

This month I began having a segment on Hudson Valley News Network it will be turning into a video segment twice a month in the new year.

This appeared yesterday under Food & Wine.

The one thing I would add to the list that was omitted is Ashley Routson (formally of Montgomery, New York) book for the beer lover The Beer Wench's Guide to Beer, An Unprententious Guide to Craft Beer. Let's face it, after a day of wine tasting you need a good beer to cleanse your palate. Ashley has been involved with evolution of craft beer from the beginning. She explains everything you want to know about craft beer from terminology to measurement scales. The different types of craft beers, what they pair with and if you like a certain type of wine, what craft beer you will enjoy. There are food and cocktail recipes included as well. Definitely THE go to book for understanding beer

Wine Lovers – Gifts of Knowledge

Posted on: December 2, 2015.

Debbie Gioquindo: HVNN’s Wine Goddess

Wine Lovers and Enthusiasts have a never ending thirst for Wine Knowledge.  Here are some great books that they will not only enjoy but help them to become even better wine enthusiasts.

THE WINE BIBLE by Karen MacNeil

It’s that time of the year again when we are all looking for that special gift for the person who loves wine.  There are many wine books, yes books, not a kindle download, something that will look good on the coffee table and are very informative.  I’ve reviewed a few that I think will make wonderful gifts this Holiday season.  Oh and I have to throw in the craft beer book.  After a day of wine tasting one needs a good pint of craft beer to cleanse the palate.  Besides, you might now of a friend who will enjoy the Craft Beer Guide.

We will begin with The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil.  I had the great opportunity to meet her at the Wine Bloggers Conference this year. This is a great book that explains the building blocks of wine, wine regions, wine terminology and she even explains what you need to know to purchase, store and serve wine.  A must for a wine lover whether seasoned or a newbie.

 THE HISTORY OF WINE IN 100 BOTTLES by Oz Clark.

If you are a history of wine buff discover the innovations and discoveries that have impacted the evolution of wine and wine making. Travel back to 6000 BC where it all began. It’s quite amazing, the history and transformation of wine through all the cultures and countries and bottles.

THE GRAPES OF THE HUDSON VALLEY  by J. Stephen Casscles. 

Steve brings an educational book about history of the Hudson Valley wine region along with grapes of the region.  He talks about cool climate grapes that are grown in the Hudson Valley and other regions in the US and Canada.  When I say talks about, he goes in-depth to the biological parents of the grapes to the producers and innovators of the region.

THE EXES IN MY IPOD by Lisa Mattson

For the female on your list who thinks working a winery is glamorous and must be easy, this book is a one woman account on her journey from high school to wine country and the men that gave taught her life lessons along the way.  Is it a “woman’s trashy novel” yes but is is non-ficton and a true account of someone’s life and the men that influenced her of NOT along the way. It will give the reader the strength to follow her dreams.

Hudson Valley Native Ashley Routson Publishes "The Beer Wench's Guide to Craft Beer"

Ashley Routson grew up in Montgomery, NY and attended Valley Central schools.  After high school she attended Ohio State. It was after she graduated, while she was studying for her Sommelier test that I met her. I have to say I am so VERY PROUD of her.  I have been with her on her journey from wine (which she still loves) to her relationship and studies of and with beer.

It was Twitter that brought us together back in 2007.  Yes twitter, discussing wine.  The following year I was in need of volunteers to help me in the first Hudson Valley Wine Competition I would run. Ashley responded and told me she would be in town then and would love to help. At the time she was 23 or so and trying to figure out where life would lead her.

In her book which I think anyone who likes beer or wine should read, Ashley goes into great detail explaining beer terms and the different types of beer.  I do like craft beer, especially after a day of wine tasting, but I never really knew what I was tasting and why I liked a certain type of beer over another.  This book explains it all.

While reading the chapters on the different styles of beer, one of the things it got me to realize is dark beer isn't always heavy.  In fact, I attended my first craft beer festival after reading this book in Lewes, Delaware and enjoyed many dark colored beers especially stouts.

One of the things (and there were many) that I loved about this book is that she has a wine element in it.  You might say what? With every beer she writes about, she tells you a little of the history, how it looks in the glass, the aromas, the mouth feel and the type of glass it should be served in and what it pairs well with.  Very similar to wine.  BUT...she tells you to drink this beer instead of x wine or mixed drink.  So if you like x type of wine or spirit you should like this beer. It's all about the flavor profiling.

If you think of a beer pairing such as chili or wings, think again.  There is an entire chapter devoted to beer and food pairings.  From lobster to steak to cheese to pizza.  Do you want to cook with beer. That's covered too complete with recipes.

Beer cocktails, Ashley has that covered too!

This is a great, fun and educational read.  You will look at the craft beer industry very differently after reading this book.  It will have you seeking out and trying beers that you normally wouldn't.

Put this on your Christmas list.

Yard Owl Craft Brewery Expansion Project

When I first met Kristop Brown, he was working at Millbrook Winery and had long hair, well it was much longer than mine.  I am probably dating both of us right now.  Kristop moved from Millbrook Winery to Benmarl and then took some time out in the state of Washington.

Missing the Hudson Valley he and his family soon returned and Kristop made a name for himself as an award winning winemaker in the Hudson Valley.  He does make wine for at least 2 wineries in the region.

In his spare time he hangs with his best friend and chef  James along with their combined 5 kids. What do they find themselves doing in the kitchen with 5 kids running around, they begin to make beer.(I would too!) Hence, the birth of  Yard Owl Craft Brewery. (They always say it takes a lot of beer to make good wine)

I've know Kristop a long time and I am so proud of him and all his accomplishments!  He is not one to boast about what he is doing, so I am here to do that for him.  Not only is his wine award winning, but his beer is right up there with it!

I did seek out his beer while dining at the Mountain Brauhaus in New Paltz. You can read my thoughts on it here http://snip.ly/2BHY.  I enjoyed every sip!

Now Kristop and James find themselves with the need to expand from the shed in the backyard and take this baby to a tasting room for all to enjoy, taste and purchase.

They need your help!  

They have created a Kickstarter campaign in the hopes of raising enough funding to move their operations from shed to big boy brewery with a tasting room for all to enjoy.

Please visit their Kickstarter page https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yardowl/yard-owl-craft-brewery watch the video, listen to their story and make a contribution if you can.

Notes From the Captain Lawrence Tasting Room - THE CAPTAIN’S LOG: Benches, Bocce, Beer…Beverage Tax???

THE CAPTAIN’S LOG: Benches, Bocce, Beer…Beverage Tax???

Big things are happening at Captain Lawrence Brewing, says owner Scott Vaccaro, most of them quite good. The four-month-old facility in Elmsford features an expanse of green space (well, greenish, at least), and plans call for benches, tables, and even a bocce court to be set up to enhance your beer sampling. (Bocce, involving heavy wooden balls, an asphalt court and, typically, older Italian men, is an even better partner to beer sampling than softball.)

The building permit for the outdoor space should be in hand this week. Captain Lawrence is also applying for a permit to serve beer outside.

And as you’ve probably noticed if you’ve been in a beer distributor or grocery store or Whole Foods recently, bottles are rolling out of the brewery, and into a retailer near you. Freshchester Pale Ale, Liquid Gold and the Captain’s Kolsch are currently out in six pack form, and Captain Lawrence Brown Ale hits the 12-ounce bottles for the first time this week.

“The bottles have been selling well,” says Scott. “We’re seeing enormous amounts of orders.”

This week should finally see some action in the new facility’s much ballyhooed experimental brewhouse. Finishing touches to the electricity and plumbing are being applied, the new vent stack will break through the roof, and the first brew should be underway this week. “It’s taken longer than expected,” says Scott, “as all good things do.”

The beer blogging community has been abuzz about what Captain Lawrence might stir up in the 15-keg experimental space. Scott isn’t quite sure yet, but says the short list includes offshoots of the Imperial Pale Ale-inspired Drew’s Brew, the black ale Five Years Later and a white or wheat IPA. It’s a game-time decision for the brewery. “Maybe we’ll do all three,” says Scott.

So it’s all smooth sailing for Captain Lawrence? Not so fast. Some onerous legislation has been passed down to craft breweries from Albany. The New York State Supreme Court, ruling on the Shelton vs. NYS Liquor Authority, has lifted a longstanding tax exemption for small brewers. (Shelton Brothers, a Massachusetts beer importer, is no stranger to litigation. It had previously sued the NY State Liquor Authority over some off-color Christmas beers, including a winter porter called Santa’s Butt, that the Liquor Authority sought to keep off New York shelves, believing Santa’s Butt was being marketed to minors.)

The short of it is, unless the lobbyists and lawyers representing New York’s growing craft brewing community can pull off a Hail Mary, it will be a lot more expensive for small breweries—those brewing 6.2 million gallons or less per year, such as Captain Lawrence--to brew and distribute their beers, and probably more expensive for people to enjoy these beers too.

Scott says the new law would mean close to $100,000 in extra fees for Captain Lawrence per year. “The New York State brewing industry is doing really well,” he says. “This is a great way to stop it.”

So if you happen to be chatting up your local elected official, you might mention this egregious new legislation to them.   

You might also invite them down to the brewery for a locally brewed Pale Ale, Family Meal or Smoked Porter—as well as a game of bocce.

Captain Lawrence Brewing, at 444 Saw Mill River Parkway in Elmsford, is open Tuesday through Friday (retail 2-7 p.m., and samples 4-7 p.m.); and Saturday, with retail and samples 12-6 p.m., and brewery tours at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. The author is paid by Captain Lawrence, partially in beer, for “Notes From the Tasting Room.”

Notes from the Captain Lawrence Tasting Room

Beers That Defy Description

Enjoying a beer is easy. Describing exactly why you enjoy it? Not so much. Sure, it’s good, and it’s bubbly, and it’s a pleasant color. But what does it taste like?

Those stuffy wine reviews, with their “oaky” and “jammy” and “gamey,” show just how ridiculous descriptions of potent potables can get. Reviews for cigars (“earthy,” “toasty”) and scotch (“tastes like an old leather boot”) aren’t much better.

The guys at the brewery admit that, even as professionals, it’s tough coming up with meaningful descriptions for the beers. So we asked the good, creative folks in the tasting room to pitch in on this front. There are no wrong answers, they were told. Just have a sip, and spit out the first descriptive words that come to mind.

It’s a cloudless Friday and the mood in the Captain Lawrence tasting room is, as usual, upbeat. There’s a hulking man in a kilt, a handsome black lab, and some sunburned Yankee fans riding high after an Opening Day shutout at the Stadium. The Allman Brothers are on the stereo. There’s Captain’s Kolsch and Imperial IPA and Liquid Gold, among others, on tap. Vinnie Crodelle and Kurt Gabel are fresh off a day’s work for the Department of Environmental Protection in Valhalla. Crodelle clearly has a knack for slinging it around, describing his Freshchester Pale Ale as an “austere and sinister explosion,” leading to a feeling of “general well being.”

Gabel laughs—he too is experiencing the general well being—before toning it down a few notches. His Kolsch is “crisp--like a nice fall afternoon.”

Nearby, Sophia Ressler of White Plains sounds as though she’s auditioning for a DEP job with Vinnie and Kurt, tapping an array of flora and fauna for adjectives. Her Liquid Gold is “piney and citrusy,” with a “definite hops taste.” (Not bad—this very site goes environmental as well in describing the Gold: “Aromas of orange, spice, and green grass.”)

To Ressler, the Liquid Gold--a mix of German malts and American hops--is a “spring walk in the woods.”

Speaking of heady German-American mixes, Zoltan Gall says the Captain’s Kolsch is the only American beer he’ll drink. (Before settling in Pleasantville, Gall lived in Hungary, Cologne and Transylvania. “At midnight, my fangs start to come out,” he says of his time in the latter.) A recently retired research scientist (“Not beer,” he laments), Gall quaffs his beloved Kolsch and ruminates.

“It has body,” the stone-faced sipper says. “It is as bitter as I like it. Very refreshing. A clean aftertaste that cleanses your palate.”

His son, an aspiring lawyer named Ian Sebastian, shakes his head and smiles. “The fact that he likes an American beer, period,” says Ian. “It’s surprising.”

Ian samples an Imperial Pale Ale (“Intense,” he says. The Captain Lawrence site says “citrus and pine,” with “some hoppy bitterness.”) His law school pal Ryan Nolan--no relation to Nolan Ryan, if you’re scoring at home--has just walked in, and Ian says Ryan is as savvy a beer connoisseur as one might hope to meet.

Yet pressed for some winning adjectives to describe his Liquid Gold, Ryan, visiting from Rye, fairly freezes up.

Moments later, he paints a picture like his inverted namesake painting the outside corner of the plate. “Yeasty, a little floral, a little tingly,” he says. “Some spice on the back of the throat.”

At another barrel, Michelle Tuzzio and Art Bartosch, easily the best dressed couple in the tasting room, enjoy their glasses of Kolsch. Michelle, of West Milford, New Jersey, offers up “freshness.” Art, from Yorktown, does her one…two…three… better. “The beginning of the weekend, how better to start off than with a fresh, cold tantalizing beer that stimulates the palate and gets the endorphins rocking and rolling. Gears you up for the weekend, makes you look forward to the next glass.”

Michelle laughs. Art catches his breath.

OK, maybe the Kolsch-loving Transylvanian had it right.

“A great beer, you love it, you enjoy it,” says Zoltan. “You don’t describe it.”

Captain Lawrence is open Tuesday through Friday (retail 2-7 p.m., and samples 4-7 p.m.); and Saturdays, with retail and samples 12-6 p.m., and brewery tours at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. The author is paid, partially in beer, by Captain Lawrence for “Notes From the Tasting Room.”

Notes from the Captain Lawrence Tasting Room

Barley and the Chocolate Factory

The beauty of the brewery tour, whether it’s Guinness in Dublin or Heineken in Amsterdam, or Captain Lawrence right here in Westchester, is that it’s a day at the brewery--plus an education. You walk out not only having sampled some of the freshest beer you’ll ever taste, but you’ve nourished your intellectual curiosity as well.

It is, in modern business parlance, a win-win.

And so I embarked on my first guided tour of the Captain Lawrence brewery, with a special wingman in tow. Every time I visit the place, with its silos and tubes and mouth-watering smell all around, I come back to reading about Willy Wonka’s beloved chocolate facility as a kid. And since my six year old son also adores Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I brought the boy along.

Our tour guide John walks about 20 of us through the brewery’s modest beginnings (owner Scott Vaccaro, as a teen, brewing out of his parents’ home on, yes, Captain Lawrence Drive in Lewisboro), to the 8,000 barrels (a barrel equals two kegs) brewed last year, and the 10-12,000 that are on pace to roll out of the Elmsford digs for 2012.

My son Gavin enjoyed hearing about the malt being pumped in from the giant silo out front, and the hops mixed in, to create “the beginnings of beer,” as John put it. He enjoyed touching, smelling and tasting, samples of hops, staring at the silver skyline of brewing silos, hearing about the fermenting process.

But, let’s face it—the kid is 6, and it’s beer, not chocolate. Almost as if sensing my son’s flagging interest, John pointed to a hose spitting bubbles into a bucket. “The yeasts are living organisms,” he said. “They eat the sugar, and fart out CO2.”

Living organisms! Farts! Gavin’s eyes got wide. He grinned. He was all in.

John then walked us over to the experimental brewhouse; if that has a sibling over in Wonka World, it would be the Inventing Room, where stood a “mountain of gleaming metal that towered high above the children and their parents,” with “hundreds and hundreds of thin glass tubes” hanging over a giant tub—all in the service of creating the next crazy confection.

The Inventing Room spawned the famous chewing gum meal that did in poor Violet Beauregarde. For its part, the experimental brewhouse will soon start producing some creative brews—some of which may work their way into the regular lineup in the tasting room.

“It’s whatever our imaginations come up with,” said John, as if channeling Gene Wilder in the ’71 film.

From there, it was on to the barrel aging station, where beers are stashed in wine, rum and bourbon barrels, among other infused vats, for up to a year. Then, finally, the kegging line.

My son tugged at my pant leg.

“What’s a keg?” he whispered. A fine mist coated my eyes; if only I could preserve him at 6.

The kegs represent the end of the line for a newborn beer, and the last stop of the tour as well.

We traded notes with our fellow tourists. Jason and Suzi Tipa of Millwood live to taste stellar beer. Both sported Guinness shirts and were quick to note that their last name is but one letter different from Double Imperial Pale Ale’s initials. One letter!

What did they learn? “I’d probably take a job here if I could,” said Jason with a wide smile.

Nada Tosto, having visited just about every brewery on Long Island, made the trip from Patchogue with her friends. She appreciated the Captain’s creative tendencies. “They try new things,” she said. “They have the standards that people love, but they still try seasonals and other out of the box things. You don’t see a lot of other breweries trying to be inventive.”

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory of course ended with a glass elevator, so it was fitting that the tour party made its way to the tasting room, to elevate glasses of Liquid Gold, Imperial Pale Ale, Ginger Man, Smoked Porter.

That was all boring grown-up stuff for my son, who simply wanted some chocolate.

Thankfully, a sweets-bearing bunny was due to arrive in a matter of hours.

--Michael Malone (malone5a@yahoo.com)

Captain Lawrence is open Tuesday through Friday (retail 2-7 p.m., and samples 4-7 p.m.); and Saturdays, with retail and samples 12-6 p.m., and brewery tours at 1, 2 and 3 p.m.