On Saturday, May 23, Ray and I headed out bright and early with a cup of coffee and a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich from the Delran Coffee Shop. We were on a mission: 4 breweries in 9 days, culminating in a graduation party/Ward family reunion. This would also be the first time Ray met most of my family, which consists of about 20 people. Needless to say, Ray did survive the Ward-Wilson-McDonald meet-up, and enjoyed himself. But he can tell you more about that.

Our trip began in Ithaca, where we first stopped at Ithaca Beer Company. On the outskirts of Ithaca, the brewery is easy to find and greets beer-seekers with a good-sized tasting room, complete with a corner dedicated to homebrewing equipment (go you, Dan Mitchell, for encouraging folks to brew their own!)

After inquiring about a brewery tour and grabbing a sample, Ithaca Beer’s Gina Lola (Gina, if I spelled this incorrectly, please leave me a comment or e-mail and I’ll get it fixed!) gave us an excellent tour, not only explaining about Ithaca’s specific equipment, but also including information about how beer is actually made — this was beneficial to some of the folks who were not familiar with the process, and allowed Ray and me to look like know-it-alls.

Ithaca Beer Company employs 12 people, and distributes in 10 states. Much like Dogfish Head, Ithaca also provides its spent grains to farmers. We got to take a peek at the oak barrels the brewery has, some of which had chalk-writing indicating what beer was residing inside.

Gina Lola wrapped the tour up after showing us the bottling line, and we ventured back into the tasting room. Standing alongside other Ithaca natives and Cornell and Ithaca College kids, we tried a few more samples of beers such as Partly Sunny, a wheat beer brewed with coriander and lemon zest, and Willard’s Stash, which I think was a really bold saison. We also revisited some of the flagship beers — Ray discovered that he actually really likes CascaZilla, and award-winning Flower Power was pure liquid refreshment.

After purchasing a 6-pack of Partly Sunny, 4-packs of Ithaca’s Root Beer and Ginger Beer, and two of its Excelsior! beer series: alpHalpHa and TEN, we had the chance to chat with Gina Lola and give her our blog card. It was great to talk with someone so passionate about beer, and it sounds like she’s interested in homebrewing (do it!).

Next, we headed to my Uncle Larry and Aunt Susan’s house. First off, they’re two of my favorite people, and second, the moment you meet them they’ll become your favorite people, too! We planned to have a BBQ with them, and my folks drove down from Syracuse to join. We shared some of our homebrews and got good reviews — my dad, a light-lager kind of guy, even told me that he really liked the Kölsch.

Ray managed to survive a discussion of politics with my dad and uncle, and there was enough steak, chicken and grilled veggies to feed an army. Typical Ward gathering.

Next up, I’ll tell you all about the brewpub on the corner of Clinton and Walton in Syracuse’s Armory Square, as well as the 21-year-old brewer we met in Rochester.

Breweries, Craft Beer, Miscellany 1 Comment »