Horseheads Brewing Company, Horseheads, New York

Horseheads, New York, is a small town on the Pennsylvania border nestled between Elmira and Corning. The name conjures images of the Godfather in our minds and stuck fear in the hearts of our kids when they were small. We have, however, never seen any horses, let alone disembodied ones anywhere near. What we did see was Horseheads Brewing Company where we sampled seven of their brews and experienced their hospitality.

Cheers:	Jeers:
The beer selection was quite good with some very tasty and one very exciting beer on tap. Excellent pricing on flights, pints, and growler fills.	The music is too loud, too heavy, and too vulgar for many and will send some of their guests running for the door. The service was distant and lacked the welcoming feel we are accustomed to.

Just at the edge of town, on Old Ithaca Road, you will find a tan metal clad building housing Horseheads Brewing Company. This little brewery has been racking up the awards since 2008, winning trophy after trophy at state and even some national competitions. There is even a congressional award signed by Congressman Tom Reed on the wall. Horseheads opened their doors on July 3rd, 2007 and has continued to expand and grow both in the physical size of their tasting room and in the quantity of beers produced. While the tasting room does not serve food, they often pair with Gemini BBQ for events and bring in live music.

The tasting room itself is fairly sparse. There are tables with glass tops placed on whisky barrels which have a nice look. There are stools around each table which didn’t encourage a long stay. The bar is in the back left corner and is just small enough to encourage patrons to get their pints or flights and take them to one of the barrel tables. The beer list is displayed on a large flat screen on the wall and all of the pricing and ordering options are mounted behind the bar. If you would like a snack to go along with your drink, there is a vending machine stocked with the usual assortment of junk food.

The thing about Horseheads Brewing Company that struck us as we walked through the door was that only one of us was going to be happy with the music and the other was going to feel audibly abused. Taste in music is as varied as taste in beer. Even within our review team, one prefers scotch ales and one prefers stouts, one prefers Billy Joel and one prefers Disturbed. The music playing in this small tasting room was loud, not to the point of making it impossible to hear your companions but loud enough to make you raise your voice to be heard. The music itself was a mix of heavy metal and grunge metal from bands like Panterra, All That Remains, Disturbed, and the classic “She F&$@in’ Hates Me” by Puddle of Mudd. The lyrics of last one would have sent us right out the door had the kids been with us. We actually had a conversation with the owner about the music selection and don’t expect anything to change even though we believe it is a detractor for their clientele.

In general, our interactions with the guy behind the bar and later with the owner were fair at best. We didn’t feel very welcome when we arrived and questions were answered in what felt like the least number of words possible. There was none of the typical warmth and fun of so many microbreweries. Later on when we were talking to the owner, again, we felt like we were not being engaged or welcomed. Not every patron can be made to feel welcome in every brewery but from when we walked in the door to the moment we left, it just didn’t feel like we belonged as it has in so many other places we’ve visited.

The selection of beer was varied and there is something there to meet just about any taste. Flights are sold for $5.00 and include three ounce samples of all eight beers they have on tap. On the day we visited, one of the beers had run out so we were offered a second sample of any beer of our choosing to make up for it. You can also buy pints for $4.00 ($6.00 will get you a logo glass to keep with your pint) or half pints for $2.50. Growlers are filled for $8.50 or $10.50 depending on the brew and two sizes of kegs are also available. The pricing felt very reasonable. The list of beers from the day we visited is listed below:

Chemung Canal Topath Ale	Cream Ale	7.0% ABV	22.9 IBU
Pumpkin Ale	Pumpkin/Yam Beer	6.9% ABV	14.4 IBU
Brickyard Red Ale	American Amber/Red Ale	6.8% ABV	27.2 IBU
Newtown Brown Ale	American Brown Ale	6.8% ABV	34.7 IBU
Barrel Aged 12-21-12	Imperial Oatmeal Stout	10.5% ABV	40.0 IBU
Horseheads Double IPA	Imperial Double IPA	8.9% ABV	94.3 IBU
Hot-Jala-Heim Beer w/ Bite	Chili Beer	6.9% ABV	14.5 IBU
Domination Ale	American Barleywine	12.0% ABV	80 IBU

Overall we enjoyed their beers. The styles varied greatly and all had unique and complex flavors. One that stood out to us was the Hot-Jala-Heim Beer w/ Bite. This is a chili beer brewed with jalapeño and Anaheim peppers. This was a fascinating flavor with spicy heat and the undeniable nacho flavor made us want to have this with Mexican food right away. Someday we will develop the “most interesting beers in America” list and this will be on it without a doubt. (Spoiler alert, also on that list would be; Tropically Thai-ish IPA from Breaker Brewing, Local Grind from Empire Brewing, and Palo Santo Marron by Dogfish Head). Outside of that particular one, look to Horseheads Brewing for some quality barrel-aged stouts, a nice Barleywine, and highly rated Double IPA.

It’s a Wrap

We have mixed feelings about Horseheads Brewing. The beer was quite good overall and had nice variety for any audience. We felt, however, that the tasting room was sparse and overpowered by the sound system. We were underwhelmed by the service. There was none of the excitement and welcoming attitude that we expect from a craft brewery; it felt cold and distant. I believe that the next time we are passing through, we would stop for a growler fill but it would be unlikely we would stay for a pint.