One of the first places I checked out upon moving into the Hudson Valley was Peekskill Brewery. Nestled along the Hudson River in Peekskill, NY this brewery was a place I’d heard good things about the beer and the food. At that point they were distributing draught beer to some bars or selling growlers out of their brewery down by the river (though not in a van). I wasn’t disappointed by the food, the location or the beer and have been back several times. Recently their beers are more readily available on tap at many places around NY. I’ll admit this has cut into my trips up. Then they started canning their beers. Unfortunately, I completely missed the first release. What can I say? Life, ya know… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I wasn’t going to miss out again when 2 of my favorite PB beers were being canned for the first time. It was such a good time and experience. I’ve even included a little gallery of pics at the bottom.
First the beers:
Higher Standard is a great imperial IPA. I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying it several times and have never been let down. It packs a punch at 9.5% ABV but with Simcoe and Citra hops it has a little west coast/east coast thing going on. It’s not all bitter or juice. There is some resiny bitter, unmistakable citrus and a malty character that comes in late. It’s a great beer from start to finish.
Amazeballs may be my new favorite PB beer. I know I had it in the past but I don’t remember enjoying it so damn much. First, gotta love a fun name for a beer (The can is equally as fun). Second, Galaxy hops. This American pale ale is crushable on so many levels. It goes down smooth, it’s lower ABV of 4.7% means you can down several and it tastes amazing. It’s fruity, juicy deliciousness. Light bitterness, not malty and those Galaxy hops are more than enough to make this a fast favorite.
Now about that can release. I don’t know what it looked like later but I got there at about 11am and there were a few people milling about. By 11:15 my cold beer was in the car and I was enjoying their outdoor festivities. They had a T-shirt stand, which was also where you paid cash for your beer, a tap stand with a few beers available and a BBQ stand ready to server a plate of chicken or pulled pork with 2 sides for $10. With picnic tables in the shade and an amazingly comfortable late July Saturday at our disposal my wife and I each got a beer and kicked back to relax for a bit. I enjoyed the tried and true Eastern Standard while my wife was introduced to C.R.E.A.M. ale. She had 2. I think she might have found a style of beer she enjoys besides dark stouts and porters. We also split a plate of the BBQ. It may have been the most succulent pulled pork, ever. I don’t know if they were cheating with that au jus it was being served in but it was well worth the $10. My wife is still trying to figure out what made that potato salad.
The only negative I can point to was the fear I had for the poor guy working the cooler. After we gave our order and paid at the T-shirt/cashier stand we were directed into the brewery and cooler to pick up our beer. The guy handing out the beer was doing his best Spider-Man impression. He was jumping around on kegs and seemingly dangling from the pallets of beer cans while collecting and placing orders into cardboard carriers. It was impressive and kind of terrifying. I assume he lived as I heard no news of a tragic beer avalanche and the ensuing search for a missing employee.
All in all it was possibly the most enjoyable beer release I’ve been to. Good times.
Recently my local grocer started carrying bottles from 
What really struck me about this beer was the lightness of the flavors. That is not to say it lacked flavor, not in the least. It was slightly tart, lots of sweet fruity (mostly pear) notes dancing around that funkiness of a wild ale. There is no question pears were involved as they bring a slight sweetness forward to even out the tartness. The balance was so pleasing to a novice to this style. It poured a bright straw yellow color that was partly hazy and with a thick, bright, fluffy white head that dissipated quickly to a lingering thin white foam covering from edge to edge of my stemmed “wine” glass.
On a recent trip into the heart of NYC my wife and I decided to swing by 
On first appearance it comes as expected, a tight half-inch tan head and jet black in the snifter glass. The nose is robust. Roasted malts and dark chocolate present first, there is certainly a coffee-ness to the smell, but then a sweetness comes through as well. It was a pleasantly complex aroma. The taste matched what I smelled. There were roasted malts at the start with some chocolate on the back end. The mouth feel was pleasing in its viscosity. Some Central Waters stouts I’ve had in the past seemed thin but this beer felt thicker, like a stout should feel. It was velvety smooth start to finish. I would say the overall experience of the body was medium to slightly thick. The sweet chocolate notes balanced nicely against the dark roasty flavors of this imperial stout. I cupped the glass in my hand, to help warm it a bit quicker, to get the full experience of this beer warming and opening up to reveal its true self. Overall I was very surprised at what an enjoyable beer this was. Nowadays, if it’s not some limited release, or brewers reserve something-or-other, standard styles end up being rather generic. Not this beer.
