RS Taylor & Sons Brewery (Salem, NY)

Did you know there's a new brewery in town?

Well, not town. But in the region. Middle of nowhere... but still close by.

RS Taylor & Sons opened up in early September and has already made its way onto the Adirondack Craft Beverage Trail. I left most of the beer talk to M, but managed to listen in from time to time while drinking my flight. The person at the bar was the owner/brewer himself, Richard Taylor. The background info you can find on their website, so it's not necessary to re-write it here. But I do like hearing about people who have been home brewing for years and make the leap to opening a brewery. 

  

Flights are $8 for four samples. Naturally we tried them all. The board on the left from back to front - Willie's Nut Brown Ale; Legends of the Fall IPA; English Ale; Belcher Town Ale. The board on the right - Amber Ale; (not in the pic, but in my hand) Oatmeal Stout; Mr. Crane's Pumpkin Ale; and the lone cider/guest tap Hidden Star from Slyboro. Of the seven beers, Legends and Belcher were my favorite. M enjoyed Legends as well so we bought a growler to take home. Lasted a day. Barely.

There is also a kitchen in the tap room, which I believe is run by Mr. Taylor's wife. The menu is limited and changes often. Most, if not all of the ingredients are locally sourced. If we had not just ate, I would have tried their cheese plate or chili. 

If you need a place to check out this weekend, definitely stop on by.

R.S. Taylor & Sons Brewery 

3602 County Route 30

Salem, NY 

Open W-F 4:00 - 9:00

          S-Su 12:00 - 6:00

Brown's Brewing Co. (Troy, NY) & Oliver's Beverage (Albany, NY)

M's dad and sister came out here for a camping trip. I didn't participate because 1) I'm not into camping, and 2) I had to take a review class. But I did watch the pets.

Both M's sister and brother-in-law are really into the homebrewing. Really into it. They sign up for homebrew contests, and even judge some. So M figured he would show them what we have to offer. I'm not sure if Brown's was the best place to take them, but compared to the Pump Station, it was a lot closer.

M and I split an order of onion rings, and it was unexpectedly good. As you can see, they are quite large (the menu referred to them as being "king-sized"), and battered. Not surprisingly, the batter incorporated one of their beers (Tomhannock Pilsner). These rings weren't very greasy, and we quickly gobbled them up. It would have been nicer if they gave us a dipping sauce to go along with it.

M as usual had himself a cheese quesadilla, and I got a bacon cheese burger... medium rare. It was okay, nothing spectacular. Wasn't really expecting much, since the focus I believe is on their beers.

Sis and BIL were not impressed.

After dropping M's dad back at the apartment, we drove to Albany make amends. I guess M's been talking up Oliver's and rightfully so... it's a great place. It's a drinkable beer library. There were a few labels that caught my eye and I'll be picking some up the next time I go there.

Sis and BIL took their time going up and down the aisles, and walked out with quite a few bottles. M bought a 36 pack for his dad, and BIL's daughter picked up some Stewart's root beer. I was tempted to buy some beef jerky, but I was good and resisted the tasty evil.

The night ended with us sitting around the living room, drinking the recently purchased beverages and watching movies.

Madison Brewing Co. Pub & Restaurant (Bennington, Vt)

Second day in April and I'm only getting to posting what I did for St. Patrick's Day? Sheesh. Talk about lazy.

The weekend leading up to St. Patrick's Day I had to work, so I missed out on Kegs and Eggs. Not that I was all that upset about it, I haven't done anything for KnE since senior year in university... and that was the one and only time I even cared about it.

Needing to get out of town, M and I decided to drive out to Vermont for lunch.

Things I really need to remember:

1. There is not really much in Bennington.

2. Sunday is worst day to realize this.

We walked up and down Main St. Nothing. Most of the places were closed, so our options were limited. We ended up picking Madison's because it wasn't as packed as the place across the street (chock full of St. Patty's Day revelers, I might add) and M was curious about their beers.

M ordered their Scottish stout, I had the Raspberry Ale. Both beers were decent enough, but not something I would have again.

M had very few options, and picked the nachos. Good sized order and tons of cheese.

I was thinking about ordering something from the Irish specials, but I went with the fish and chips. Beer battered fish is just so right. And the right amount- I actually finished my meal. Wait... didn't I give up french fries for Lent? Whoops...

Madison Brewing Co. Pub & Restaurant
428 Main Street
Bennington VT 05201
(802) 442-7397