A Peek into New York's Evolving Beer Scene, Featuring Peekskill Brewery

Brian York

Brewery Name: Peekskill Brewery
Type of Brewery: Brewpub

Location: Peekskill, NY

Website: https://www.peekskillbrewery.com/
Facebook: @PeekskillBrews
Twitter: @peekskillbrews
Instagram: @peekskillbrewery

Background: Before California was DC and before DC was New York for me. I grew up just a few miles from Peekskill and know it pretty well. Took my driving test there when I was 16 and worked some early-in-life food service jobs in the area, too. I hadn’t been back in quite some time, and while I was gone the beer scene arrived.

It’s no San Francisco or Burlington but I’m glad to see the craft brewery movement starting here. I won’t lie, I’d have been pretty bummed if this brewery was disappointing, but I’m happy to say that it was extremely enjoyable. Really glad I was able to stop by and am looking forward to increased distribution and maybe another visit in the future!

Growlers: Growlers are available, but for a pretty limited amount of the taps. About half of what’s pouring is available to take home growler-style at any given time, it seems.

The Beers: Peekskill has a pretty wide-ranging taplist, which is always a fun way to go into tasting. I have become so accustomed to super hoppy beers that I sort of expected to be a little lower on their IPAs and pale ales, but to my pleasant surprise they were some of the best ones I tried. As you can see, I decided to try every beer they had (13 when I was there), but here are a few of the highlights:

• Paramount Pale - Pale Ale - SUPER crisp and tropical. Definitely not the flavor I expected to come out but so happy it did. I think this must've been an especially fresh batch, because the floral nose and hoppy finish were about as obvious as can be.

 

• Black Beatle - Black IPA (Personal Favorite!) - Another good black IPA--maybe this is actually a style I like after all. In fact, this was my top beer from Peekskill! Hoppy but roasty in a really effective balance. The roast of a stout with the body of a pale makes for a really enjoyable brew in my book.

 

• Moscow on the Hudson - Porter - Perfect beer for the snowy weather I had to get through for this visit. Full bodied, with just enough coffee, cocoa, and smoke to make a really delicious pint. Especially good with food, I’m sure!

 

• Shotgun WIllie - IPA - This is PB’s “West Coast” IPA, which I think is a bit of a stretch style-wise, but nonetheless is a really great beer. It’s got a relatively big hop profile for the region but is still largely profiled by the malty backbone. This would likely be the pint I went back for more of.

 

• Born to be Mild - English Ale - Most definitely not in my wheelhouse but this is an absolutely perfect beer for a brewpub to have. Low-ABV, non-assertive hop profile, and an approachably malty mouthfeel make this an obvious go-to for pub fare or watching a game at the bar.

Vibe: Peekskill Brewery has a pretty successful industry-chic vibe going for it. Lots of black metal, stainless steel, and large scale wall art and drawings. There is an upstairs seating section for a meal-oriented experience and a decent size bar with additional seating on the main level. ​

They seemed a bit short-staffed when I visited, but the folks who did help me were great. They encouraged small pours and spent a good amount of time talking us through their recommended tasting order. It’s always a major plus to have a craft brewery experience that involves staff being excited about their product.

Once you get past all the visual aspects, there is a little bit of a pub vibe going on with big, long wood tables, big beers, and a really good level of noise when they fill up. The chalkboard beer list, wall drawings, and extremely well-done can art confuse your senses once more into more of a studio vibe this time. All of these different elements somehow work really well together and give Peekskill Brewery a really great vibe.

(image source)

​Dogs: No dogs inside, but this was another cold weather visit for me. It looks like they may have some space outside for seating when it's warmer, but was hard to tell with snow on the ground

Price ($ to $$$$$): $$$. Truly middle of the road. I expected everything to be about a buck cheaper, but certainly wasn’t put off by the pricing. Full pours run between 6-8 bucks and food is fair as well. The small pours are affordable if you’re going for a full spectrum too!

Food: GREAT food menu here. In my mind, a best-of-both-worlds menu as far as brewpubs go. They’ve got that upscale bar menu going, with apps like beer mac n cheese, carnitas nachos, and fried pickles, but also offer wings, burgers, and a few larger scale dishes like fish and chips. Everything is priced pretty fairly, and portions seemed real solid (admittedly I did my classic liquid dinner, unfortunately).

Final Thoughts: Really happy to see a good craft brewery pop up in my original stomping grounds. For whatever reason, it seems like the huge swath of New York between the finger lakes and the city are late to the beer game, but hopefully Peekskill Brewery is a sign of good things to come. Without a doubt some of the better beer I’ve had from the region, and the brewery is a great place to stop and hang for a while.

​-- York

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