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!
Any visit to the small village of Cooperstown almost always includes a stop at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. After all, this is one of the most popular shrines in all of sports and many Major League Baseball fans consider a visit to the Hall a must at some point in their lifetime. But one cannot spend all day walking through the Hall of Fame. There needs to be time taken for sustenance and one Cooperstown establishment ready to quench your malt beverage thirst is Red Shed Brewery, located at 817 Butter Bowl Rd in Cherry Valley with a tap room located at 709 County Hwy 33 in Cooperstown.
Two Locations
Red Shed Brewery is one of a small percentage of craft breweries with multiple locations. The Cherry Valley facility is more remote and includes the actual brewhouse with a small tasting area. The larger tap room is located south of Cooperstown very close to brewery Ommegang. Beer is brewed at the Cherry Valley location and then shipped to the larger tap room, with some of the beer also served at Cherry Valley during certain times of the year.
The brewing at Red Shed Brewery is accomplished using a 10 barrel system. At the County Hwy 33 location where most of the beer is tapped, they also have a small kitchen serving food from a limited menu. Live music often fills the air at this location and the interior has a nice ambiance.
Step Up to the Bar
Red Shed Brewery taps about 8 to 10 of its own beers and offers wine as well as beers from nearby breweries. Here is a summary of what I sampled, listed alphabetically by name, followed by the style and my Untappd rating on a five point scale:
- Cherry Valley Smoked Porter, American Porter 4.00
- Geordie Boy Brown Ale, English Brown Ale, 4.00
- H. Clausen & Son Henry’s Hefe, Hefeweizen, 3.50
- Jessica’s Red Ale, Amber Ale, 3.75
- Otsego Golden Ale, Golden Ale, 3.25
- Stone House Stout, American Stout, 3.75
- Witbier, Wit Bier, 3.00
- XO Sour, Sour Ale, 4.00
Overall average rating: 3.66
Red Shed Brewery brews and serves several solid, all around offerings. I would be hard pressed to select a personal favorite, as I liked several of them almost equally, as my ratings indicate.
Come to the Shed
Red Shed Brewery was one of several brewery adventures I experienced in the Cooperstown, New York area and it was the only place that included two separate facilities. The Cherry Valley facility, where the beer is brewed, was not yet open to the public in 2018 due to its seasonal nature, but I was able to meet up with one of the owners and sneak a peek anyway before making my way south of town to the larger tap room. The brewhouse is in the original brewery and was opened in 2015 while the tap room on County HWY 33 is still relatively new, having opened its doors in the fall of 2017.
While I did spend some time at the original brewhouse and got a chance to look around, most of my time at Red Shed Brewery was spent in the newer tap room. The space is significant, with room for about 100 people and a somewhat dark, yet romantic and cozy feel. They had live music playing when I visited and everyone present seemed to be having a great time listening to tunes and sipping on their beer of choice.
Red Shed Brewery is a farm brewery, not just in the sense that the original location is found in a rural area, but also because the owners hold a New York Farms Brewer’s license. To get this license, a brewery must source the bulk of its ingredients from New York farms. This helps vitalize the state economy and keep things local, which is something Red Shed strives to do. Beginning January 1, 2024, the standards will toughen further when the standards for a Farm Bureau’s License will require that at least 90 percent of beer ingredients are obtained from New York farms.
Red Shed Brewery got its name from a small red milk shed located on the original property. The newer location maintains the look of a shed on the exterior, while the inside is country- like but fresh and new. I appreciate the commitment to the local community and economy and I can see how local residents would rank this as one of their breweries of choice when they want food and beer and possibly some live music as they wind down the week.
Cooperstown, New York is first and foremost a destination for lovers of sports. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a bucket list destination for millions of people and vacations are often planned around a visit to the famous hall. Once the floors of the Hall of Fame have been walked countless times and the thirst starts to build, Red Shed Brewery is the place to be. It’s a cool place for beer and food with agreeable brews and friendly folk so pay a visit to Red Shed Brewery as part of your Cooperstown vacation. And tell them Great Beer Now sent you.
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