Up in the hills on the west side of Keuka Lake you will find the Keuka Brewing Company. This is a charming little place on the outside with wonderfully landscaped frontage. You walk down the stone path under a lovely archway made from what appears to be vines and to your right is an attractive patio. As you approach the building, you are greeted by a clever sign made from tree limbs that grew in the shape of the nearby lake. Then, as you enter this little brewery…all the charm is left at the door. You are greeted instead by a lackluster performance from both the hosts and the beer.
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In previous reviews, we have discussed how the wine tasting party buses travel up and down the Finger Lakes. These buses are filled with folks looking for some laughs and a cheap buzz and there is nothing like the Finger Lakes to fulfill this. Unfortunately for the beer lovers out there, breweries are jumping on this bandwagon and cashing in on the bus tour trade. Keuka Brewing Company seems to be one of these.
Keuka Brewing Company started brewing in 2007 and opened their tasting room in 2008. Over the years, they have won several awards including the Best Brewery in New York in 2014. As we travel the northeast soaking in the experience of microbreweries from small to large, we struggle to place this stop in the upper echelon of breweries in New York.
As you enter the brewery, there is a very long L-shaped bar that is made to accommodate the tasting crowd. There was quite a crowd on this Saturday afternoon, and at one point there were around 35 people at or around the bar. There are no bar stools, no high tables positioned nearby, and only enough standing room for a quick visit. The only place we could find to sit was an overcrowded bench in a small room jutting off the main bar area. Their mantra seems to be ‘Come in, give us $5.00 each, and we will march you methodically down the list of beers giving a canned description of each’. (We may be paraphrasing a bit there). As each beer is poured from a small pitcher into your glass, you are told the highlights, the flavors and overtones to expect, and an anecdotal blurb about each one. Unfortunately, as you taste each, there is often so little difference from one to the next that you cannot be sure you actually got something new. The list of beers in the table below was being sampled on the day we visited.
| 607 Lager | Pale Lager | 4.5% ABV | |
| “Afterburner” Habanero Ale | Herbed / Spiced Beer | 4.2% ABV | 22 IBU |
| Briglin Road Red | American Red Ale | 5.7% ABV | |
| Oriannator | Doppelbock | 7.5% ABV | |
| Bluff Point Brown | American Brown Ale | 5.6% ABV | |
| Hoppy Laker IPA | American IPA | 7.6% ABV | 65 IBU |
In general we found the beers to be fairly unrefined. Our ratings in Untapped averaged an uninspired 2.1 on the scale with even one of our favorite styles of brew, the dopplebock, rated the lowest of any dopple we have tried at a 2.75. One brew that tasted unique was the habanero ale, but don’t expect this to match the pepper ales from Horseheads Brewing or Ballast Point’s Fiery Habanero Sculpin.
Your options for purchasing and sampling their beers are varied. Pints are available for $4.00 each and growler fills are $16.00. The tasting comprised of around 3 ounces of each of the six beers on tap and was $5.00. There are also 12 and 22 ounce bottles and 12 oz. cans available for a range of prices based on which particular flavor you choose.
We found the service to be, as mentioned above, a bit mechanical and scripted, but relatively prompt. There were three folks behind the bar working up and down the row pouring samples. As each of the three folks came by, they would ask what you had just sampled and then would provide the next one in line. It felt very much like the winery sample methodology of a “let’s just get hammered” place like Hazlitt and did not have the flair and polish of Wagner (or Ommegang).
It’s a Wrap
Keuka Brewing Company is a party tasting room. There is nothing wrong with that exactly. It’s just not going to be the same experience you will get from a brewery that is outside of the winery tract. A great way to prove this for yourself would be to do a tasting at Keuka Brewing Company and then drive to Iron Flamingo (only about half an hour away) and the difference will be seen (and tasted). We appreciate Keuka Brewing Company for what they are but we will not likely be appreciating them again.
| Overall Rating |  |
| Quality and Selection of Beer | |
| Quality and Selection of Food | N/A |
| Family Friendliness (For those who care) |  |
The Details
| Address
8572 Briglin Rd. |
Hours
Mon Closed |