Try?
About a year and a half ago, I took a ride out to
Syracuse, New York with two brewer friends of mine. Now, when you put two
brewers and a beer writer in the same car together, you can rest assured
that that car is going to end up stopping at a few breweries. Our car
certainly did, and one of them was the newly opened (at the time) Relyea
Brewing Company. A beautiful, state of the art brewery with an impressive
30-barrel system, Relyea was brewing about four beers at the time I visited,
my favorite of which was the Towpath Lowbridge Scotch Ale.
The Towpath brand is named for the paths along the Erie Canal where mules would tow barges. Relyea is located on the former banks of the canal. When I visited, you could buy beer directly from the brewery. Six packs were available, or you could fill a growler, each for about $4.00. A real bargain. Of course, the brewery has a lot of capacity, more than they can use. That being the case, they do some contract brewing, basically brewing beers for other companies that don’t have breweries of their own, or perhaps have a small one but no bottling line. One of the brands Relyea produces is Sky Chiefs’ Summer Brew, named for the local minor league baseball team. They also brew and bottle for the Kobors brewing company in Schuylerville.
Towpath Lowbridge Scotch Ale pours to a deep brownish-red color with light carbonation and a sweet malty nose. The rich malty palate hints at raisin and plum with a touch of chocolate thrown in, the big
The malt body is sustaining and slightly warming in the sweetish-leaning finish. Really a wonderful example of the style.
I usually enjoy this beer alone, especially on a cold fall evening like the ones we’ve been having lately. It’s rich and warming and not my kind of beer to match with a meal. I have enjoyed it in the past with gooey, hot from the oven oatmeal cookies however, a delightful combination I discovered quite by accident.
The Towpath brand is named for the paths along the Erie Canal where mules would tow barges. Relyea is located on the former banks of the canal. When I visited, you could buy beer directly from the brewery. Six packs were available, or you could fill a growler, each for about $4.00. A real bargain. Of course, the brewery has a lot of capacity, more than they can use. That being the case, they do some contract brewing, basically brewing beers for other companies that don’t have breweries of their own, or perhaps have a small one but no bottling line. One of the brands Relyea produces is Sky Chiefs’ Summer Brew, named for the local minor league baseball team. They also brew and bottle for the Kobors brewing company in Schuylerville.
Towpath Lowbridge Scotch Ale pours to a deep brownish-red color with light carbonation and a sweet malty nose. The rich malty palate hints at raisin and plum with a touch of chocolate thrown in, the big
The malt body is sustaining and slightly warming in the sweetish-leaning finish. Really a wonderful example of the style.
I usually enjoy this beer alone, especially on a cold fall evening like the ones we’ve been having lately. It’s rich and warming and not my kind of beer to match with a meal. I have enjoyed it in the past with gooey, hot from the oven oatmeal cookies however, a delightful combination I discovered quite by accident.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
(G)=Growler
