Fermentation Exploration: Columbia County Yields Fruit Of The Vine, Orchard And Field
Take a ride and taste some craft beer, small-batch wine, and hard cider, with a side of safely distanced R&R.
Roaring Twenties Watermelon S.M.A.S.H., Home Range Winery, and Little Apple Cidery
A cidery, a brewery and a winery in one day? We visited all three in a couple of hours, and although it may sound like going overboard on the fermentation train, it was mostly a pandemic afternoon of exploring part of the Route 22 corridor of east Columbia County. This stretch of the road, from New Lebanon down to Hillsdale, offers some of the most scenic views, interrupted for a few moments by the gargantuan truck stops at the I-90 interchange in Canaan, but we’ll get back to that later. It’s not an exercise in seeing how much alcohol you can handle; each of these three destinations presents an opportunity to meet some friendly proprietors, have a sit, and enjoy the beauty and history of this particular neck of the woods.
Roaring Twenties Brewery, New Lebanon
Brand new, housed in an iconic, can’t-miss, Second-Empire style building, Roaring Twenties Brewery says that it brings “past and future together where Routes 20 and 22 meet.” Originally School No.8 (aka The Tilden School), the edifice was built by the Tilden Family in the mid 1880s primarily for the children of employees of the Tilden Pharmaceutical Co. In 2017, Charles Grice, Cynthia Noe, Anthony Murad and Dawn Murad purchased the building and restored it to its current historically accurate condition after life as a post office, restaurant and antique shop. They are gradually brewing new recipes every week.
Current offerings include a Pale Ale, Kolsch, IPA, Breakfast Porter and seasonal favorite, Watermelon S.M.A.S.H. (single malt and single hops brew finished with fresh squeezed watermelon water). A large backyard is set up with picnic tables and there’s a wagon out back selling bratwurst, chicken sausage and hot dogs. Though technically still in its “soft” opening, a steady stream of traffic filters in (some customers bringing in their own containers for a 64-ounce growler fill up) and then out to the spacious lawn. Once we don’t have to worry about social distancing, the interior, with old brick and gleaming wood floors and tables, will be a warm and inviting spot to hang out with friends.
Never in a million years would you guess there was a charming small-batch winery hidden behind the industrial truck stop complex a half mile from the B3 Thruway exit. Which makes it even more delightful as you meander through Flint’s Crossing Road, leaving behind the asphalt and finding yourself in…wine country.
At Flatbrook Farm, Peter Bartlett and Susan Powell have continued the tradition of growing grapes started by Bartlett’s grandparents, and in 2016 established Home Range Winery. Last year the couple opened the tasting barn (formerly the cow barn), decorated with kitschy, vintage couches and country ephemera. A large bar serves as the tasting area. Although the sitting area looks comfy and inviting, this is not the time to be hanging around inside, so after a few tastings, there’s plenty of outside areas to enjoy a glass of wine, homemade sangria, or some Chatham Brewing options You can bring a picnic and sit on the deck or on the lawn.
Home Range grows about 40% of the wine produced, and buys the rest. Bartlett is particularly proud of the fruit wines made on premises using the raspberries, blueberries and blackberries from plants his grandparents planted 40 years ago. Besides the fruit wines, there are the standard red, white and rose varieties. Bartlett and Powell do all the bottling themselves, and the business is clearly a labor of love, as they tell you about the farm’s history, their knowledge of wine making, and their plans to add live music and a food truck to the winery activities.
Little Apple Cidery, Hillsdale
It might seem a little early in the year to be visiting an apple orchard, but that’s only if you have your heart set on regular cider. At Little Apple Farm, that will come in the fall. Right now, though, the emphasis is on the hard cider, made from the farm’s heirloom, cider and wild apples.
An orchard since 1980, it was abandoned and purchased by Ron Bixby, who brought it back to life. It’s certified organic, and in 2015 Bixby began producing custom-crafted fresh and hard ciders in the newly built cidery. He’d been fixing up the interior with a bar in the tasting room and planned to open it on Memorial Day. Alas, the pandemic gods deemed that a no-go, so instead he opened the Open Air Orchard Bar. The shaded area adjacent to the orchard is equipped with tables and chairs so you can relax with hard cider by the class or a flight of the different types. Among them are the Taconic Gold, Orchard Reserve and Nobletown Bourbon (aged in Hillrock bourbon barrels). Just last week, Bixby introduced Orchard Reserve Little Batch: Harrison, made from one of the most famous 18th-century American cider apples, considered lost until discovered at an old cider mill in 1976. Raise a glass and hum a few bars from "Hamilton."
Visitors are welcome to walk the path leading through the orchard. And if hard cider’s not your thing, the bar also offers craft beer from the nearby Roe Jan Brewing Company.
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