This is Beer in Front, part of the Odd Pods Media Network. Sometimes
the beer in front of you is the best one yet. I'll talk about
some old school beers that maybe you've forgotten about, some new beers that have
the potential to be a classic. I'll also talk to various people around the
beer world and get their stories all about beer. That's Beer in Front and
it's coming up now. Welcome to episode one hundred and eighty two, the
October sixteenth edition of Beer in Front. I'm your host, Dave Zatlatoris,
and Beer in Front is a proud Odd Pods Media Network member. On this
episode, I talked to Mark Strong from the Syracuse area about the breweries in
that region, and we also had a fantastic pilsner from Uarez Family Brewery.
Mark sent over a few more of their pilsners and I'll have those later on
in the show. With Octoberfest winding down and Christmas beers already coming out,
I'll have the Octoberfest from Firestone Walker as well. If there is a brewery
from your region you would like more people to talk about, send me an
email. Dave atspeerinfront dot com and I'd love to hear about them. There's
going to be two shows this week, not one, but two. On
Friday, I'm going to have a special Sober October episode and I'll review some
different hopwaters, a hop tea, and a non alcoholic beer as well.
If you're participating in Sober October. If you didn't catch last week's homebrewing episode
with Julia Hers from the American Homebrewers Association, have a listen. The pale
ale I brew will be bottled sometime this week, and I'll review my beer
along with some other pale als once that one's ready. In Beer News this
week, Molts and Cores is buying back two billion dollars in stock, effective
immediately, and this is going to be executed over the next five years.
Don't get me started on stock buybacks. Don't just don't get me started.
Hockey season started last week in Jackalobe Brewing out of Nashville is coming out with
a Cult in celebration of the Nashville Predators twenty fifth anniversary. Revolution will be
releasing three beers from their deep Wood series on Friday, the twentieth. You
could pre order on their website starting Tuesday, the seventeenth, The Ramova Theater
will open in Chicago in November, along with the Brewery tap room featuring beer
from New York's Other Half Brewing. I'm really excited about that. And the
owner of the building that houses the brand new Guinness facility in Chicago just opened
up brand new. The owner of the building is selling it. So if
you've got to spare twenty million bucks in your sofa cushions, you could be
the landlord of Guinness. Okay, welcome back. I'm happy to have on
my friend from the Syracuse area, Mark Strong. We're going to have a
beer from Suarez Family Brewery and talk about beer out in Syracuse. Mark,
what's going on today, sir, Hey, good to see again. It's
been it's been a while. Yeah, I been a fit once. I
think what December? Yeah yeah, yeah, one of those one of those
we're just fall days out here. So it's perfect, perfect data, have
a have a Deli pilsner and talk about beer. So it's great. Yeah.
The weather's beautiful here too, that perfect like late summer day where you
could still wear shorts. Yeah, yeah, it's it makes it makes a
huge difference. What started you off into being beer person you are? Yeah,
I mean it's I think, like a lot of people, it's my
dad. My dad was got into Canadian beers, which living in upstate New
York is not weird, but you know, I grew up in the shadow
of Genesee Brewing Company and that's what everyone drank. And my dad got into,
you know, fancy Canadian beers, and by fancy, you know,
it was Molson and the Bat and yeah moo said and stuff like that,
but it was it was different. And so my dad was always adventurous.
And then when I went I went to Germany when the year I turned sixteen,
and that was that was kind of it. My dad was, you
know, let the let me off the leash and let me enjoy beer over
there. I was like, oh, okay, this is this is the
thing I'm going to you know, get into and really have never never looked
back. Yeah, think, Yeah, once you've been there, especially it's
such a young impressionable age. Yeah, you're not going to have a jenny
unless you know there's really nothing else to have. Yep. Yeah, and
I've had my share, but yeah, you definitely always go looking for something
else once you once you've kind of experienced that and gone, beer can be
really different. And really interesting, and you know, you drink a half
of ice inting or something like that over there and go, this is this
is not anything I'm used to it. Yeah, it just definitely set me
off on this path. And you know, here I am a lot of
years later and still on it. Mark and I would talk, and you
know, a couple of weeks ago when Off Color put their wattle out with
the glass and we're going back and forth. Then I sent him an Off
Color and then a sour for more, and Mark graciously sent me over a
couple from Suarez Family Brewery and we're going to crack open the palatine pills now
from here and you talk about this, I'm really looking forward to it.
Yeah, it's you know, they're they're there. Pills anders are are really
they're second to none in the US in my opinion. They're just you know,
and you know, they're just they're they're perfect. I mean, and
there's other perfect ones out there, don't get me wrong, but you know,
just from from everything they do, the color of the head's always great.
They're just beautiful beers. Yeah, I mean it looks great because I
was pouring it. The aroma hit you, right, up front. You
just had that nice clean malt smelled smelled great. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
and this is one of four or five pilsners. Oh yeah, that's
really good. Yeah, that's just like the perfect beer. It's I mean,
you get a little bitterness on there, not a lot, but like
enough to know that it's there. It's just well balanced, super clean.
God, this is fantastic. Yeah, and it's you know some of the
others I sent you, so, I sent you the Peloton, Qualify,
Cabana, and I forget what the fourth one was, but Peloton and Qualify
were kind of the first two. They they really got known for. And
at least around here where it's it's it's a couple hours away, but at
least around here where we get it pretty regularly. You know, you're either
you know, your your Team Palatine or Team Qualify. For the most part,
I bounce, I bounce back and forth a little bit. It just
depends in the day, depends on where my palette is. But I think
overall, Peloton is probably probably my favorite of the main ones they have.
Yeah, like this, I could drink this every day, I get I
would have this since they have a permanent spot on my beer fridge. This
is just excellent. Yeah, yeah, and that's uh, you know,
I think you'll find with rest of them. I mean, you won't find
an off flavor anywhere. They're they're all great, and you know, I
think one of the things that's impressive is if you were to drink another one,
uh, you know, and kind of do them side by side or
do a few of them, you go like, yeah, this is also
a really great pilsner. Different different flavor, different level of malt, different
level of bitter. But they're all that, you know, really clean,
really you know, just well balanced and you know exactly what you want in
the pilsner. Well, I'm not going to drink all four of them tonight
because I have to go put my wife up from the airport. But after
we disconnect, you know, before I put this show out, I'm going
to have the other three you sent, so I'll have like a more in
depth review of the other three, because if they're half as good as this,
I'm gonna like them. Yeah, No, I I i'd be.
I haven't met anyone who likes pillsers that doesn't like them, So yeah,
I think you'll let you be in good shape it's they've been. They've been
kind of one of my one of my go to like heads. I want
to go drink some beer this weekend, or I'm going to take half a
day off from work and go enjoy a nice day and drink beer. And
they're they're in that you know, just touch over two hours range, and
so it's it's the perfect let's take an afternoon, go go drink some beer.
Bring some stuff back because you know friends are always going to want it.
You say you're heading to Suarez, and you circuit in texts of like,
hey, can you get me you know some of this and some of
this, and you knows as it works in the beer world, so it's
a regular stop. Now. From their website, it looks like it's a
pretty small operation, Mom and pop. Do they distribute at all that you're
pretty much you have to go there to get it. Uh, yeah,
no, no distribution at all. I mean you will see it, you'll
see drops occasionally, and you'll see some bars in the area that we'll have
it on draft. But yeah, I mean it's it's pretty much only only
from the brewery, which is why you know, we've got a regular rotation
of you know five or six friends that are out there, so there's always
some of the fridge or they're they're wilds and sours are are fantastic. So
my uh my, my shelf has a has a whole lot of Suarez beers
that sitting around for a while. How have they been around? It's I
mean it's at least ten years at this point, because I know I've so
yeah, they've been around for for a while. And you know it said
Dan Suarez and his wife you know, started it and run it and they've
got a pretty small staff. But Dan actually, you know, came up
from Hill Farmstead. So Dan worked worked with John Hill at Hill Farmstead and
struck out in his own and you know, this was this was his first
stop to do his own thing. And he's really just he's nailed everything I've
ever had from him. It's been been a past life. My in laws
lived kind of in a Neeburg Goshen area. Yeah, and I remember,
like this was fifteen twenty years ago. The only craft beer you could get,
like Sara Nac was all over the place and I think, what was
it a flower Power made a flower Power Oh yeah, yep. It's still
around Okay, it hasn't actually changed much. It's still had I had one
not that long ago. It was like, all right, this is still
you know an early you know, two thousands i PA, you know,
kind of when the IBus were working off and yeah they're still around. Yeah,
that area has has gone crazy with some some great beers. Uh.
So you've got Suarez. You've got Plan B, which is not too far
away, which is all all wild, all open fermentation, mostly regional stuff,
so they do great fruit beers. So between those two you can get
all the you know, all the all the wilds and sours and and different
different fruit beers you can want. Sloop has its has its roots, so
you know, Sloop juice Bomb gets pretty regular distribution. They have their roots
that they were originally just a few miles from Suarez. They've since moved down
a little further south, closer to Equilibrium, but you could you could really
make a make a day of Suarez Plan B, Sloop and Equilibrium and uh,
you know have just pretty amazing selection across some great I p A s
uh you know, pretty pretty early hazy stuff with with Equilibrium and Sloop and
then hit all the wilds and sours and the clean beers. That's yeah.
I think Equilibrium is the only one that distributes here to Chicago, So I
know that one I've had before and is pretty good like the ones you mentioned.
Are there any others, like if somebody were to, you know,
come into town, any others that you would recommend people trying to hit up
the other one that's making really big waves, and again it's a little further
north of Suarez, but it has been just a huge reputation if you like,
If you like I pas is Fiding's okay, and they're just they used
to have a line around the around the block when they when they did when
they dropped a beer. They've gotten their production up a little since then,
so you can actually go in and get beers. But uh, if you
like, you know the I pass as they stand right now, which I
do at times, but it's not what I drink a ton of anymore.
But every one of them has been delicious, Like they haven't had a miss
yet of the eight or ten I've tried. So, you know, up
and down that Hudson Valley, you've really got a pretty good run of styles
and selections. Is would you say, like the Hazy still probably the most
popular one in the area. Oh yeah, yeah, I mean it's uh
and the other one different part of the state, but still you know,
same region is we have we have Mortalus which is out towards Rochester and there
on the other end of it there see this nicely because it's not a style
they care for, but they do the fruit slushies like the real heavy,
you know, fruit thick beers that I don't love, but their stuff moves
like crazy when people go nuts for it. And I long ago moved into
the don't yu someone's young camp and try not to say anything bad about someone's
choice, but not my thing. But they're just a huge presence one of
the ones that I set you Mark, did you get a chance to try
that mango sour for more? Not yet? So I have a regular Thursday
night beer share with a group of you know, two to five folks that
come over. So I'm seeing that to share it with multiple people because that's
you know, one of the things we love about Sharon beer is, Hey,
here's the thing you're never gonna have again. So let's let's spread this
out. So I will I will crack that one on Thursday. Yeah,
because I'm kind of the same way, like the four fifties of the world.
Hey, if you want to drink it, you know, God bless
you, but not my thing. But No More puts out a lot of
good stuff, and I'm like, mango and chili like a tahem, all
right, yeah I try that. And the place I go to the bottle
shop, you could buy singles so you don't have to commit to a four
packer whatever. So I grabbed a couple and I'm like, oh, yeah,
this is pretty good. You get that nice like chili powder at the
end. It's not strong. I don't think it's something I could have four
or five watching a football game, but one every now and then. It's
not bad. Yeah, I'm looking forward to trying, and I like,
uh, I like to I like to explore. You know, you can't
be can't be afraid of new stuff because you know, I mean, heck,
eighteen years ago I was I was afraid of anything with fruit. Yeah,
if you put a fruit beer in front of me, I wasn't going
to touch it. And now you know some of the wild you know,
wilds that have fruit and things like that are some of my favorites and stuff
I really look forward to. So uh yeah, you gotta you gotta try
it to know if you like it or not. Yeah. I remember the
same thing back during you know, the Ibu Wars, probably eight ten years
ago. Yeah, I met some people and they were talking about Gozas and
stuff like that. I'm like, no, no, you know, let
me have this hundred Ibu palette wrecker you know. Oh yeah, now,
yeah, give me all the go gos now, yeah, oh yeah,
it's it. Goes is one of those styles that especially summertime and we've got
to pool out in the backyard, like sitting by the pool on a hot
day, and they're just they're they're perfect. And you know, I can't
do the Shandies they run a little too sweet for me. But the Goozas
have all the you know, all that turt citrus that I love and they're
super refreshing. So yeah, I'm all in on those. Yeah, And
they're lowering alcohol. So you could sit outside by the pool or you know,
out on the grill or whatever and have a couple of them and not
be hammered, right, yeah, which which you can't do with most of
the ips out there now. As much as my tastes have changed, you
know, and you know, I definitely seek out like I'm looking at labels
like if it's you know, five or below, I'm probably gonna give it
a whirl because that's what I'm that's what I'm after now. So I shot
by by ABV, you know, opposite of a lot of people like I
shot for low EV. And you were to make a mixed path and beers
to send somebody from your area, what would be in your mixed packs?
Obviously, yeah, I mean as far as would be for sure. There's
a sorry, my dog just went bonkers. So there's a local brewery here
h called Barried Acorn that's a favorite of mine, and I was, I
was really pretty happy. They actually got a really nice mentioned at the Great
American Beer Festival, uh day one it was uh, I forget I think
it was porchs drinking that put them in there is like a you know,
a pleasant surprise, you know, one they hadn't heard of. So they're
doing some really really good stuff they do. They do a grisette, which
I love. That's you know, three point two percent, that's you know,
but it's a it's a barrel age grisette, so it's it's really nice
and wow. So I put that out almost anyone I can put it in
their hands. So uh, they're they're they're a big part of it.
Plan B that I mentioned their their bass beer, their barn beer is just
this beautiful, uh you know, wild with some some good funk to it
that that I'd probably put, you know, putting in anyone's hands and go,
this is you know, if you want to know what I'm drinking,
this is this is it. And then you know, there's there's some some
of the good ones, syracuses, you know, it's it's an okay beer
scene. But I would i'd actually uh, you know, there's some uh,
there's some uh there's a place in Rochester not too far down the road
called Strange Bird that is doing some some really great stuff and they've done a
couple of different season variations that I absolutely adore, So I'd probably throw one
of theirs in there. They did a pink Peppercorn Seyson right when they opened,
and it was just delightful that pink Peppercorn played with the flavors and Seyson
that I love so well. I probably probably rounded out with one of theirs.
Is I'm trying to think. I think the last time I was up
there was probably right around this time of year, maybe closer to the World
Series, and we did the whole Cuperts Sound experience, which was a great
drive, especially in the ball when all the lee's returning. It was spectacular.
What was Oh my god, are they still going strong out there?
Yeah? Yeah, they they're still doing really well. They've had some some
personnel changes, so some of their stuff is has dropped off a little bit
in my estimation, but it's funny you mentioned them. They just released a
a a Nitro, Three Philosophers and a can and Three Philosophers is one of
the one of the Belgian beers that obviously not from Belgium, but one of
those that style that I grew to love early on, and so I'm actively
in the hunt for for some of that that Nitra or Three Philosophers because I
still love it as a beer. So yeah, they're still doing really well.
They make a Creek that that I absolutely love, so they've gotta they're
super creek that they that they release that's that's just delicious. So yeah,
they're still doing really well. Like everyone else, they had the had to
branch into an I p a that it's fine, but you know, you
got to have one for people to show up. So uh. But yeah,
they're still doing really well. Yeah man, you got you gotta pay
the bill, so you know, do whatever you can to keep the lights
on. Yeah, and they they actually have a really nice amphitheater, so
they get some pretty good concerts, so you can go out and you know,
tour the area during the day and then catch a show at night.
They have a campground attached to it, so if you want, you can,
yeah, set up a tent and have as much have as much beard
during the show as you want and crashing and do it again the next day.
I mean, that would probably be I don't know if that would be
right up there. And New Glarus of you Knowery tours being the one you've
been with them all, but those two I think for me have stood out
like these are ones I would definitely do again because I thought the Brewery tour
there was killer. It was such a great time. Yeah. Yeah,
and I've done both. I would agree with you. The other the other
sneaky one, that's a really good tour that they're out there and get you
know, further away from here then then you want to get to in a
day necessarily is is Trogus so down in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Just a great
tour, beautiful facility. You know, I've been twice, which says a
lot. Uh uh. You know, the people are really knowledgeable. So
Troges is another sea, good speaking, good tour and a surprisingly good brewery
with way more stuff than people. See. Yeah, we can't get a
lot out here. I know the Beard Era, the beard Al podcast Laura
and she's from that area, so she's sent me before some bad Santa stuff
that you know, we can't get here. And it's everything I've had from
them has been fantastic as well. Yeah, yeah, they do a really
good job. And and we you see some of their even here, we
see, you know, some of the same four or five beers. You
get down to the brewery and there's a dozen that you've never heard of,
and they've all been good. So it's it's a great stop in the in
the general area. Now, well, Mark, I can't thank you enough
for this. This is so good from Suarez family. I'm looking forward to
I'm attempted to tell my wife to take an uber home. Have the other
three tonight, but I'll wait a couple of days and kill off the other
three. But this is just such a great, great pills there. No,
I'm glad, glad you like it. And yeah, you know,
if if you feel otherwise about the other three, I'd be really surprised.
They're just they're good and so well made. And you know, if you
think, if they can do one like this, the rest of them are
going to be good. And they are so I'm looking forward to hearing hearing
the rest of them. Yeah, absolutely, all right, Well take you
against her. I will talk to you later. I'm sure we'll see each
other on social media and send some little beer mail out. Yeah sounds good.
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When you're done listening to this show, head over to From the Middle
and check them out. Always a great show, all right. The next
one up from Suarez Family Brewery. This is Cabana Pills. I know nothing
about it. It says nothing on the can, but Mark says it's good,
and I believe him. After the first couple I've had from Suarez,
crack open Cabana pills. Oh, this looks really nice as well, good,
very pale, color, looks very nice, good foam. Yeah,
roma's good, rock solid aroma here. I really like this. Yeah,
that's another one. Very It's just a great pills nerd, very crisp,
refreshing. Like the others. I get a little bitterness at the end from
the hops, which I like. I think this is just killer. Like
I would drink these. This would be in my fridge every day, or
at least one of the pills from them if I live nearby. I think
this is really good. Yeah, it's weird. I don't know what hops
they use. Maybe a little bit at the end. I almost get like
maybe a little lemon grass. It's got like a little citrusy at the end,
and that could just be you know me, But I think everything about
this is a winner as well. So if you're in that area, you
need to go pick you up a Cabana pills from Suarez Family Brewery. All
right, the last of the beers from Suarez Family Brewery is Qualify pills.
If it's half as good as the other ones, I'm gonna be happy.
So it's busted open. Another just another great color, really light pale color,
good foam. Yeah, that just has that classic Pilsner aroma. Smells
great. God, that's really good as well. But I need to move.
I gotta go out of state New York. I need to like move.
So I don't know if anyone lives out there and you wants a rootmate
or something. You can get three of us, you'll have myself, Ruby
the Dog. But I'd be drinking these every day if I could. This
is just really good, nice flavor, very crisp good. Not a lot
of hops, but you know that they're there when you're drinking it. It
just tastes delicious. Yeah, that's outstanding. I would definitely this would definitely
either any of the four beers that Mark sent over, I would have in
the fridge every day if I was able to get this and lived out there.
So if you're anywhere in their area and you could pick up something from
Suarez Family Brewery, I would definitely put them in the cart. It's that
good. If you like Pilsner's, if you're tired of being on the hop
train and you want something different and you're out there in New York, you
gotta go to Suarez. They're great. And thank you once again Mark for
sending these over my way. All right, the beer I want to talk
about this week is from Firestone Walker. This is their Oktoberfest. This is
an oak Age Lagger five point two percent alcohol, twenty IBus. I'm looking
forward to this. I like everything Firestone Walker puts out. Octoberfest is winding
down, so I figured I'll have one more for the road here, So
let's bust open the Oktoberfest. Oh, the Oktoberfest is a nice color.
It's almost color wise in between the Fest beer and the Mars. And it's
a little darker than a Fest it's a little lighter than the marsin but good
color, good foam, smells really nice. I get all those nice Octoberfest
malts, a little bit of the wood, not a lot, but it
smells delicious. Oh yeah, it tastes more of a Mars and like very
nice, very smooth. I do get a little bit of that oak at
the end. It's a nice touch to the Octoberfest style. I think it's
delicious. Good malt flavor here. It's a very I don't want to say
robust, but it's like a richer tasting beer. I think this is very
good. I wish I would have saw this when it came out earlier.
I would have grabbed some more of these. So if you're around and you
still see some firestone walkers Oktoberfest around, definitely put this one in the cart.
I think it's a really good octoberfestyle beer, well worth drinking. All
right, that's gonna wrap things up for this edition of Beer in Front.
I want to thank my friend Mark Strong for coming on from the Syracuse area
and also for sending over those great beers from Suarez Family Brewery. Don't forget
Friday. I'm going to have another episode out this week, a Sober October
episode, and I'm going to have a lot of different non alcoholic beverages,
mostly hop waters, but I'm going to have a beer and a hop tea
as well, So stay tuned for that on Friday. If you'd like to
get a hold of me, you could email me Dave Asberinfront dot com.
If you want to support the show, head over to Patreon dot com slash
beer in Front. I thank you very much for listening. Have a good
couple days. I'll talk to you in a couple days on Beer in Front.
And remember sometimes the beer in front of you is the best one yet.