A FLX Brewery & a NJ Brewery

In addition to the numerous wonderful wineries in the Finger Lakes, there are also many great breweries and distilleries. Before leaving the Finger Lakes, we got to try one of the fine breweries a short drive from a few of the wineries we visited. Like many of these wineries, Scale House Brewery has views of Seneca Lake (across the street from the brewery). We had lunch at this rustic and charming brew house. Like the sign says they make “gourmet pizza.” Ours certainly lived up to expectations. We weren’t sure if the pizza would fill us up, as we were hungry and the size was smaller than a typical large pizza ordered back home. So we ordered a side of meatballs. You could order one, two, or three and they put them on their homemade bread. We ordered two and were going to just eat the meatballs until we tasted the bread. It turns out the pizza was a thick, but delicious crust and smothered with broccoli and goat cheese.

How was the beer, you ask? Once again, luck was on our side. We did not know when we arrived that Scale House Brewery was awarded Finger Lakes Brewery of the year for 2021! They took gold and silver medals for their beers. We both ordered their Peanut Butter Stout, though I started with their Scale House IPA and drank my Peanut Butter Stout as dessert. What a wonderful surprise this find turned out to be! They even serve Finger Lakes wines, including some of the best reds in the area (Shalestone and Damiani). What could be better? On Tuesdays thru Fridays from 4-6 PM they have their Hoppy Hour with half price draft beer and reduced prices on wine and some of their food offerings.

Meanwhile, back in New Jersey…

Village Idiot Brewing in Mount Holly

I wrote about our Mount Holly trip to two winery satellite tasting rooms here: https://wp.me/p74VSa-dck

But I didn’t get to share our last stop of that day at the Village Idiot Brewing. We had already eaten a light lunch, so I just wanted to check out a couple of beers from a brewery that has garnered a lot of good press and buzz on social media.

I did a sampler of six of their beers: Mullen’s Irish Red; Rich’s Revolutionary Rye; Hoptimizer IPA; Folestephaner (Hefeweizen); Peanut Butter Cup; and Elvis in the Building (Banana Peanut Butter Porter). My wife just got a short pour of their Peanut Butter Cup. We both loved the Peanut Butter Cup (Chocolate Porter). My other favorite from this tasting was the Mullen’s Irish Red. I don’t typically like Reds, though I am Irish. This one was different. It was very flavorful with a nice balance of malts and hops. Of course I had to take home the Mullen’s!

This is a fun and friendly place. We were fortunate to go at an “off time.” There was only one other couple in the bar and we were able to get a table near the window. I would definitely like to revisit in the near future.

Cheers!

Coming Attractions

• Interesting Winery Innovations
• New Grapes, New Wines

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