Greetings, Great Beer Now fans! I recently embarked on a sports- centric brewery tour to the village of Cooperstown, New York, home to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The Great Beer Now Base Hits and Brews Beer Tour 2018 is all about the beer and the sports that have made this part of the country so popular. Pop open a cold one as I explore Central New York and take in the sights and sounds of the area. Cheers!
Cooperstown, New York is a popular travel destination for Major League Baseball fans, many of whom cannot wait to walk through the exhibits at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and pay their respects to the greatest players in the history of the sport. The theme of baseball is, naturally, an important part of the local culture in Cooperstown, and it extends to many other businesses, among them beer. There happens to be a brewery in the area that uses baseball as its theme and that brewery is simply named Cooperstown Brewing, located at 110 River Street in Milford, New York.
Baseball and Beer
Cooperstown Brewing is located just minutes south of its namesake city. It features a large, stand- alone building and from the outside looks more impressive than the typical craft brewery.
Walking through the main entrance, guests will find themselves inside the main taproom. In this room, it is pretty much standing room only, as there are very few seats. If you want to sit, you will likely need to head to the back room or outside, where picnic tables await. The backroom has cornhole and other games to play.
Cooperstown features brewing equipment in full view, but there is no beer brewed on site. The equipment is there, but it is only for show. The brewery is actually owned by a distribution business and they have determined that it is less expensive to brew the beer elsewhere.
Step Up to the Plate
Cooperstown Brewing has a modest number of beers available at any given time, typically four to seven. When I visited, there were four beers on tap. Here is a listing of the beers I sampled, listed alphabetical by name, followed by the style and my Untappd rating for each, on a 5- point scale:
- Back Yard IPA, American India Pale Ale, 3.50
- Bambino, American Amber, 3.00
- Bench Warmer, Porter, 3.75
- Old Slugger, American Pale Ale, 3.75
Overall average rating: 3.5 out of 5
Cooperstown Brewing served only a small number of beers when I visited. If I had to name a favorite, I would choose Old Slugger American Pale Ale. It has session qualities but also enough body and character to make it agreeable to most of the craft beer crowd. The Amber, IPA, and Porter are good overall and it is nice that they brew a decent cross- section of styles.
Stretching a Base Hit
Cooperstown Brewing is a medium- sized operation located just minutes south of the city that bears its name. Founded in 1995, Cooperstown Brewery is actually older than the larger and more recognizable Brewery Ommegang, which is located closer to downtown Cooperstown.
I didn’t know much about Cooperstown Brewing when I made my way south on New York State Route 28. Given its name, I figured it was in or close to Cooperstown. I didn’t know it was in a different city. A quick check of the odometer showed about 8.5 miles from downtown Cooperstown to Cooperstown Brewing, so even though it wasn’t quite where I expected it to be, it didn’t take long at all to get here.
Cooperstown Brewing has a nice size building and it isn’t located in an industrial complex or strip mall. It’s a stand- alone building and as you drive up, you do sense a feeling of anticipation. Given that it is quite a bit larger than the majority of craft breweries, you can’t help but wonder what lies behind those walls and you’re anxious to make your way inside and find out.
The tap room at Cooperstown Brewing is the first thing you see when you visit, along with smiling faces and hospitality. The latter is one thing you can almost always count on when you visit a brewery. The customer service is usually good and the personnel are more than willing to educate you on the beer and make small talk as long as the crowds are slim. We chatted it up about the brewery, the decision to open it in Milford rather than Cooperstown, and the place of Cooperstown Brewing in the local beer community.
Probably the greatest surprise at Cooperstown Brewing is the lack of any actual beer production. They still have equipment in place, but there is no actual beer inside the tanks, mash tun, etc. I was quickly told about the decision to do this and why it was purely economic in nature and while I understand fully the need to cut costs and improve margins, the lack of any actual beer production is a little odd, especially when the equipment is right there, for all to see.
Cooperstown Brewing beer is respectable overall. I tried the four beers available when I was there, but I was a little disappointed that there were not more available. I learned that they more commonly serve about six beers on tap so the reduced number of options was more a result of my own bad luck than anything. Judging the four beers they did have available, I liked them overall. There were no round trippers in the bunch, but Old Slugger American Pale Ale and Bench Warmer Porter were certainly good enough to reach third base.
Cooperstown Brewing isn’t quite like the other breweries I have visited. It’s more like an auxiliary beer tap room to a larger brewery than anything, due to the lack of any production. However, given the size of the building and grounds, it does have great potential and with the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff, Cooperstown Brewing manages to stretch what might have otherwise been a single into an extra- base hit. So pay a visit to Cooperstown Brewing the next time you’re in the Central New York region. And tell them Great Beer Now sent you.
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