Tag: Rochester NY

ROCtoberfest – A Review

On the final Saturday of September, Rochester brought a little piece of Germany to High Falls. Specifically the Genesee Brewery.

Ok, if you’re local to Rochester, you might have just gotten confused there. A brewery, known more for its Cream Ale and Genny Light than German heritage and strong beer doesn’t seem like the venue for an Oktoberfest celebration. Fortunately this was called ROCtoberfest.

My faithful companion and fellow beer enthusiast arrived at the Genesee Brewery earlier than the 3 o’clock start time. We decided to hit up the brewery itself, which offers tastings and growler fills on the bottom floor (it’s just past the gift shop). For a mere $2 you can sample four beers from their current selections. Added bonus? Most of the proceeds go to local charities.
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And, in case you were wondering, I was able to find four delicious beers that weren’t Genny Light.

After enjoying our flights, we walked to the festival, located across the street in a parking lot. It was a nice sunny, warm day, the perfect setting for an outdoor event.

After seeing online that the event was tentatively going to have a $5 cover charge, we approached the entrance with our IDs and cash in hand. To our delight, admission was free and I got to apply that cash towards a stein.

 

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It was bigger than my head and probably held a full six pack and cost me $17.

The band that began the day is Die Lustigen Almdudler, who played many traditional German songs and led the crowd in dancing, cheering and revelry.

It was a great excuse to get out of the house, enjoy the company of good people and honor my German heritage as well as some cold beer. Not to mention the venue has stellar views of the Genesee River and the Rochester skyline, for those of you into that kind of thing.

Jackie5 Comments

What I Found at Lost Borough Brewing Company

I’d heard the name Lost Borough Brewing Company tossed around a few times in conversation at other breweries in the area. They had some interesting looking brews on their website, but I finally decided I had to check them out in person when they showed their Sour Raz, a raspberry-flavored sour beer.

Located off Atlantic Ave in Rochester, NY, just around the corner from the original Sticky Lips, a local BBQ restaurant that doesn’t get nearly as much attention as it should. The tasting room isn’t huge. The walls are adorned with their merchandise, Rochester posters and an educational graphic about the process of how beer is made, a nod to the founders’ teaching background.

Another notable display is their Brew Crew, where for $100 per year, you not only get a spiffy stainless steel tumbler for your exclusive use every time you visit, but numerous other perks. Once the term ends, you get to take it home. Unfortunately for you, it’s sold out until March 2016.

What isn’t sold out (at least of this writing) is the Jug Club, where for $120, you get 12 free fills of a similarly spiffy stainless steel growler.

That aside, they had eight beers on tap on the day of my visit. The newest was the Sour Raz. As the brewery hasn’t been around for a full year, they’ve been playing with different styles and varieties of beer to see what Rochester is thirsty for. If you’re very polite, they will let you see their beer guide which lists all of the creations they’ve released since they opened.

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I started off with the $7 flight which gave me a chance to try four beers. I selected Sour Raz, Amber Ale, Borough Bock and Oblivion Black IPA.

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Sour Raz looked and tasted, to me, like a raspberry lemonade. They brewed the sour beer with 24 lbs of fresh raspberries. At 3.2% ABV, the low alcohol content and lightness of the brew makes it a natural summer beer. Sour beers are not for everyone, but I enjoyed it a lot. It came very close to Uberlin from Strangeways Brewing in terms of tartness. The color was a pale cloudy pink and barely resembled a beer, but that is by no means a criticism.

The Amber Ale and Borough Bock were darker beers that tasted similar. To be honest I couldn’t tell the difference. They were delicious but didn’t stand out to me.

The Oblivion Black IPA, however, was a standout (which we may see again on Brewelist). It resembled a porter or stout and was dark as night. It was heavy but not so much it beat you over the head. There was definitely hoppiness to it, and I’m finding that I do quite enjoy Black IPAs. My husband, who is into IPAs in general, said there was something about it that he didn’t quite care for but he couldn’t figure it out. Oh well.

The other really excellent thing is that they are very into education (it was founded by some Technology Teachers) and are more than happy to discuss it with people in the bar. They can likely recommend something you’ll like from their selection and don’t keep secrets about what they’re brewing next.

My husband and I are already planning our next adventure to The Lost Borough Brewing Company, and if you’re in the neighborhood, I’d encourage you to check it out as well.

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