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Beer is not something new on the beverage scene. But microbreweries are elevating the art of beer-making to a whole new level. Lake Placid boasts of two of these small-batch beer producers. Both produce excellent beer and have the awards to prove it!
Beer has traditionally been quaffed by the "average Joe" and has always been associated with hard work, hot days, and good times. But microbreweries today are turning this tradition upside-down. Beer is becoming a cultural phenomenon and microbrews can now be found at the best "haute cuisine" establishments.
The Lake Placid Pub and Brewery
The Lake Placid Pub and Brewery can be found on Mirror Lake Drive and is owned by Chris Ericson. Chris and his business partner purchased the pub in 1996 with the specific intention of turning it into a brewery. At that time, the pub consisted of just the bar - the restaurant and upstairs bar were later built around it.
The best-known beer at the Pub is Ubu Ale, named after a patron's chocolate lab. They keep four beers on tap year-round, Ubu Ale, 46'er (named after the High Peaks), Moose Island Ale, and Barkeater Amber. Then there are two seasonal brews that are rotated in. This microbrewery brews about 28,000 gallons of beer per month with 1600 pints in a batch.
Local patrons aren't the only ones who think that the Pub's beer is top-notch. In 2005 and 2007, they were selected as the Best Brewery in New York State at the Tap New York Craft Beer Festival, which is held every year at Hunter Mountain. During those same years the Pub was named the Best Brewery in the Hudson Valley. That was the first time a single microbrewery has ever won both awards in the same years.
Since winning those awards, Ericson has opened a second brewery in Plattsburgh called the Lake Placid Craft Brewing Company. They're now distributing beer all over New York State. Within a year and a half he hopes to be distributing beer to 22 different states.
The Pub serves typical pub-type food (surprised ya there, didn't I?!), fantastic award-winning beer, and is a warm and comfy place that's much-loved by locals and visitors alike.
The Great Adirondack Brewing Company
This microbrewery operates out of a building behind the Great Adirondack Steak and Seafood Company, located right on Main Street. Like the Lake Placid Pub, it was also built to house the brewery. They keep four beers on tap year-round and provide three seasonal brews. What's interesting about the Brewing Company is that their beers are brewed in tanks which are hooked up to pipes which then run right into the Steak and Seafood's restaurant bar - talk about fresh!
This brewery's beers have also won some awards. The 2006 World Beer Cup Silver Award and the Great American Beer Festival Silver Medal, as well as the 2007 North American Beer Awards Silver Medal have been awarded to their Adirondack Abbey Ale, John Brown Pale Ale, Avalanche Ale and AuSable Wulff Red Ale.
The restaurant here is top-notch and has a different atmosphere than the Lake Placid Pub. There's a cozy outdoor patio and a relaxing bar with Adirondack decor. With appetizers like Mardi Gras Shrimp and Escargot en Crout, entrees like Pasta Tuscany, New York Strip Au Poivre and Norwegian Salman, and desserts to die for (Chocolate Perversion, anyone?) The Great Adirondack Brewing Company and Steak and Seafood House has it all - great food and great brews!
So if you're wandering around Lake Placid one day, wondering where to eat or where to stop for a brew, wonder no more - either of the award-winning microbreweries at the Lake Placid Pub and Brewery or the Great Adirondack Brewing Company will make your stomach and taste buds happy, not to mention quenching your thirst with quality, character-filled beers.
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