Tag Archives: brewpub

Davidson Brothers – Business must be Good

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Bill Dowd reported that Davidson Brothers brewpub headed for a fixup. This tells me that business must be good, which is a great thing for them, the city of Glens Falls, and us. Davidson’s has always been a favorite of mine for the beer and atmosphere. The city has put a good deal of effort into beautifying the streets and last fall I enjoyed a great evening meal out on their street side dining. As great as it was, I did note that while the streets have been improved, little has been done to the restaurant itself over the years.

Co-owner Rick Davidson says the project is ready to begin, with a $450,000 budget, once approvals are received for the exterior and interior spruce-up of the 15-year-old business. The plans call for replacing the wood facade on the front and side of the building with brick, repairing and painting existing brickwork, new windows and signage. Inside, new heating/air-conditioning and basement prep kitchen, and various touchups.

I hope it works out and I can’t wait to see the improvements. (perhaps I’ll bring the entire Hop-Talk crew at Oktoberfest!)

Watch City Brewing – Again

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This was my second visit to Watch City Brewing in Waltham, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. (My first trip recounts a return trip was warranted.) The bar room was not too busy, but not entirely empty early on for a Monday Night Football evening. I would have liked to stay longer, but it was a long day.

I enjoyed a couple of Hops Explosion IPA’s which were excellent, though maybe not quite up to the level of some of my other favorites; but a fresh brew in a friendly relaxing atmosphere is always better than something from a bottle.

My friend had a German dark lager that he described as “smooth”. He also had a second so he must have enjoyed it.

I had the Cuban sandwich which was just great. But again, the fries steal the show.

Do you think these are wood, or lined with stainless steel? I think another return trip is needed.

Davidson Brothers

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Davidson BrothersIt was a long time since I was last at Davidson Brothers (in Glens Falls, New York) and after finally re-visiting for the first time in probably 7 years I wonder why I don’t make the trip more often. Davidson’s offers real beer, great food, in a quaint pub atmosphere.

Monday afternoon was quiet as would be expected and service was friendly. We ordered the sampler and this is my one liner review of each: (in no particular order)

  • Brown Ale – Sweet and clean, text book Brown Ale in my opinion and my wife’s favorite Brown (at least this month)
  • Dacker – As in, AdironDacker, this beer (I am guessing) was designed for the gateway drinker. Light in body but it had more character, including hops, than I remembered from the bottled version I had many years ago. We liked this a lot.
  • Smoked Porter – Nice. Not thrilling, but nice (if you like smoked beers). This was our least favorite.
  • Oatmeal Stout – Very nice, on the sweeter side with a robust roast malt flavor and smooth. I would enjoy a full pint (or two) of this paired with the right food.
  • Double IPA (forgot the exact name) – Very good if a bit thin, and it could have been my favorite beer except for the nice surprise in the next beer…
  • Our favorite was their Alt style called CTRL-ALT-DEL. It had a much greater hop bite than I expected from an Alt, and was clean and simply delicious. We brought home a growler of that.

The sampler glasses were large enough that for a light lunch we never got around to ordering a pint of our favorite. At $10, it was well worth it. Next year when it is my turn to host Octoberfest I plan on heavily advocating the 40 minute ride up.

Barrington Brewery

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Located in Great Barrington MA, the Barrington Brewery brews up barrels of bubbly beer in the beautiful Berkshires. (try and beat that alliteration)

We started with the sampler made up of their: Blonde, Pale Ale, Brown Ale, Stout, & Oktoberfest. All of them were lacking body and seemed to be afraid of making a statement in flavor. Their conservative taste might appeal more to the masses but I was hoping for something a little more. They were, however, all clean and quality made.

A little investigation revealed a couple beers not on the menu. One was a dark amber and the other was an IPA. Both of these were the best beers there. (They also had a raspberry and something else we didn’t try) Still, these beers were only OK and nothing to write about. (unless you’re blogging about beer on Hop-Talk.com) 

The restaurant touts all of their home made food and overall it was pretty good. My home made split pea and sausage soup was great and the brisket wasn’t bad considering how far we are from Texas.

The dessert tries speaks for itself and the restaurant touts that it has been featured in magazines but as I walk out, I wonder why…

John Harvard’s – Long Island, NY

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About a month ago I was traveling around New York state and looked up a pub called John Harvard’s Brew House while out on Long Island. Looking at the website, it appears John Harvard’s is a small chain of brew houses. The one I visited is located in Lake Grove, NY.

While the restaurant was only mildly busy, the bar room was hopping with folk all watching the Islanders, the Mets, and/or the Yankees. Only a few didn’t seem to care what was on TV.

Danielle at the bar helped me out with my first beer choice, offering me a sample of a few brews to see what I liked. I liked them all and chose to start with something light, but I frankly can’t remember the exact style. I swear it was made with Amarillo hops, but the website doesn’t seem to list it. None-the-less, I recall enjoying it greatly. I was impressed with Danielle’s knowledge of the beers. Everyone had questions for her and she was ready with a descriptive answer each time. Not to mention, she was hustling her ass off as she seemed to be the only one to wait on customers.

I was in the mood for a steak and their menu was a touch more upscale than standard pub fare. I ordered a steak Belugi Style, which was spicy and heart consciously prepared with mango salsa and a side of rice. I’m always nervous when I step out of bounds ordering something like this at a pub, but they did a fantastic job with it… it was delicious.

Satisfied with my first beer and perfectly done steak, I decided it was a good time to try something else different, and for me, a first time ever. John Harvard’s offered a real hand pumped cask ale, something I’ve never been able to experience. Not carbonated, this ale is pumped with air straight from the cask to my glass. This IPA held a nice head of foam and went down smooth. Ahhh… now I know what I’ve been missing. It is too bad none of the brew houses near me offers real cask ale.

Normally I avoid chain restaurants like the plague, but this one is serving real beer to masses, with great food to boot. It is certainly a refreshing change. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend it.