While California and Colorado are well-known as great craft beer destinations, New York is proving itself a noteworthy home to some awesome breweries.
Sarah and Giancarlo Annese, authors of "Beer Lover's New York," visited nearly 100 breweries all over New York State scoping out the bright stars among the craft beer scene. They shared their picks for the 10 best breweries from Niagara to the North Fork.
The Anneses operate under the Brewers Association's definition of craft brewery — a brewery with an annual production of fewer than 6 million barrels of beer — but they mainly support drinking any fresh, local beer closest to where you live.
Barrier Brewing Company
Founded: 2009
Evan Klein and Craig Frymark had just expanded to a 30-barrel brewhouse when it was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. The New York beer community rallied around them, with Simon Thorpe, CEO of Brewery Ommegang, inviting them to brew at his facility. The resulting beer, Barrier Relief, raised money to rebuild.
Blue Point Brewery invited Barrier to join other Long Island breweries on a collaborative brew, Surge Protector IPA, which brought in $29,000 for Barrier, and another $29,000 for Sandy relief.
Bridge and Tunnel Brewery
Founded: 2012
Bridge and Tunnel is a one-man, Queens-based nanobrewery started by Rich Castagna, a lifelong New Yorker who has been homebrewing for over 10 years. Each of his beers is named for a neighborhood story. For example, his flagship beer, Angry Amel Dunkelweizen, recalls a neighbor he had growing up who would threaten to cut the ears off the children playing in the street.
Brewery Ommegang
Founded: 1997
Ommegang started out with only one beer, Ommegang Ale — now called Abbey Ale — a rich, brown Belgian-style Dubbel with notes of dark fruit. Now they offer a long lineup of other styles, and are experimenting with sour beers. The brewery recently partnered with HBO to produce a line of "Game of Thrones"-inspired beers, including a "Take the Black" Stout, an "Iron Throne" Blonde Ale, and their newest "Fire and Blood" Red Ale.
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