Professor Good Ales

Written by Franz D. Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard

In the midst of the Finger Lakes, Ithaca is an ideal base from which to explore the veritable explosion of craft breweries, micro-maltsters, and hop farms of the Finger Lakes region. In the first article of this series, I recounted the story of Ithaca’s first craft brewery, Ithaca Beer Company.

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Profiled by Maria Devan for PGA

Poured what I thought looked dark orange but then upon further inspection proved to be a nice reddish orange with a soft golden hue deep within it. Hazy. Head was off white, fell reasonably and did not leave much lace to speak of.

Nose is gentle but fruity. Orange citrus and a berry like tropical scent that is hard to pin down. Candy malt and a bit of graham cracker too.

Taste is lovely. Full taste on a soft creamy mouthfeel. Crispness in the drink and a sweet tropical fruitiness. Orange and orange pith. Finishes sticky and with a lazy bitter that lingers for a bit and then flourishes a little. Big malt flavor but not heavy. A bit of spice pops up on the nose as it warms and in the finish. Some apricot tartness takes you by surprise and the caramel comes forward more and more with a little honey to go with that orange.

I have never said this before but this beer would be perfect with a chile pepper. This drank big like a barleywine and if they put a little ancho chile in this it would be fantastic.

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Welcome to the PGA beer rating system: one beer “Don’t bother.” Two: Eh, if someone gives it to you, drink. Three: very good, go ahead and seek it out, but be aware there is at least one problem. Four: seek it out. Five: pretty much “perfecto.”

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Maria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY and is frequent reviewer of beer and a beer lover deluxe.

If Ithaca is Gorges, it is also rapidly becoming a craft beer destination. In the first article of this series, I recounted the story of Ithaca’s first craft brewery and tasted a few of their beers. Here I introduce readers to the new breweries that have attracted the attention of both Ithacans and people passing through the Finger Lakes.

Breweries and Brewpubs (Part Two)

The past decade-and-a-half has witnessed a parade of restaurants and even a barber shop make valiant but ill-fated attempts to gain a foothold in the subterranean space at 114 North Cayuga Street. Would a brew pub have enough staying power where so many other businesses had failed to capture the attention of passersby? Right out of the starting gate, the owners of Bandwagon seemed to have grasped that ambience would be as important as the food and beverages they’d be serving.IMG_0829 They converted their downtown location into a contemporary dining establishment a cut above the average brewpub, creating a bustling but still intimate seating arrangement with warm, subdued light falling on roughly-hewn stone walls and rustic wooden floors.

Now, as for Bandwagon’s liquid offerings, I’ll qualify what is about to come by stating that I have a soft spot for the place. As inconsistent as Bandwagon’s beers can be, they can also be of high quality when all goes well. Their brewing setup––almost a museum piece, really––is viewable through a window in the cozy lounge area set off to the side from the restaurant. Couple that with an insistence on brewing ten-gallon batches––ten gallons, not ten barrels––to supply a thirsty crowd of regulars and out-of-towners, and you get a not insignificant number of beers pushed through the system well before they’ve matured. But despite all that, I keep going back. Maybe it’s the nostalgia of sitting down there with Papazian’s classic to plot my first few homebrews. Or maybe it’s all those orders of Belgian-style frites and mayonnaise shared with friends.

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Call it a new twist on the old “teach a man to fish” adage. A group in Vancouver, British Columbia, is teaching inveterate alcoholics to brew their own beer and make their own wine, in an attempt to keep them from drinking unsafe liquids to get an alcoholic high.

The project is the work of the , which works to help people who suffer from mental illness and addictions in downtown Vancouver. News of the beer and wine project is spreading weeks after the publicly funded group’s Drug Users Resource Center unveiled a coin-operated machine that .

The Portland Hotel Society’s leaders say they want to provide safe alternatives to people who might otherwise be forced into risky and unsafe behavior — everything from shoplifting booze to drinking any substance they can find that contains alcohol.

“Obviously, we’d rather they didn’t drink,” the society’s executive director, Mark Townsend, tells the . “But if they do, we’d rather they didn’t drink hand sanitizer.”

The brewing program, which began about six months ago, requires participants to make several commitments in exchange for about five liters of home-brewed beer. Townsend says that in addition, they also get a sense of pride and achievement in making their own beer.

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