Adventures in Beerland
By Pete Turner

While attending the XIVth International Poxvirus and Iridovirus Workshop in Lake Placid, upstate NY over the summer, I had a chance to investigate the nearby Great Adirondacks Brewing Company (www.adirondackbrewing.com). In between talks with titles like "Variola Virus Genomics" and "Nuclear Localization of MC013L", I slipped out to take a look around the brewery/restaurant. Robert the brewmaster was in the back yard boiling up large quantities of shredded potato and sweet potato for a Brown Potato Ale. He has the freedom to devise new brews, and said that the brewers at the many microbreweries in the NY and New England area were remarkably willing to share recipes and ideas. Brewing beer for the adjacent restaurant requires one full time brewer, however Robert says he gets some part-time help, particularly with lifting. The brewery was built ten years ago and doesn't do any bottling, but does just fine by kegging its output and selling beer at the adjacent restaurant. Newer breweries apparently have direct lines from the final brightener tanks to the bar, thus eliminating the need for kegging. Sounds like a great idea - could we run a line from Wayne's brewery in Micanopy to Gainesville?

The next day I stopped off with a colleague for lunch (a huge club sandwich) at the Great Adirondacks Brewing Company restaurant, and we each had a sampler of 5 brews. The Heffeweizen, with a slice of lemon, was refreshingly tart. The Haystack Blonde Ale is "lowly hopped and light in body" and designed for those who usually drink light American lagers. Alas this beer didn't evoke any images of time spent in a haystack with a blonde, and was a little light for my taste. The John Brown Pale Ale, an American IPA with Pearl, Mt. Hood and Cascade hops, is named after the famed Abolitionist who lived in the area. The John Brown won gold in the 1999 Red Cross Battle of the Brews in Saratoga, NY, and bronze (2001) in the Tap New York-Hudson Valley Beer contest. To my palate the John Brown had a pleasant bitterness and a nice lacy head, although could have used a little more of those delectable hops. The Ausable Wolff Red Ale with Fuggles, Kent and East Kent Golding hops is a fine English style ale, and won silver in the 2001 TAP NY-Hudson Valley competition. My favorite was the deliciously smooth Smoked Porter. The Adirondack Abbey Ale, a Belgian dubbel that took a gold medal in the 1999 Hudson Valley Beer festival, was unfortunately not available. The brewery also makes Whiteface Black Diamond Stout.

After consuming all 5 samples I returned to the conference for the final session on Vaccines, secure in the knowledge that amid the monoculture of the corporate American brewing industry there are flourishing pockets of beer biodiversity. Let's all do our best to maintain a tropical rainforest of beer styles by patronizing such establishments on our travels whenever possible.

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