Brew Review: Cave Mountain Brewing Company - Windham, NY

The beer lady took the winter off for no other reason than the fact that she needed money to pad her beer fund.  Now that we are done with that silliness, the summer should prove to be one of variety and exploration, because you may have noticed, I'm on the East Coast!!!

Let's begin:

Cave Mountain Brewing  is located Main St in Windham, NY.  It offers a wide variety of beers despite the system being barely a full barrel.  It is a great locals hangout and offers more than just their craft beer for adult beverage options.  They were also voted to have one of the top ten burgers in the Hudson Valley.

A little something for everyone

The sampler consisted of their six "flagship" beers:

Hefeweizen: Described as: German wheat & pilsner malts blended with wheat beer yeast from Bavaria.  Unfiltered, medium-bodied & sessionable.  Hints of citrus, banana, and clove are traits of a good Hefe 5.1%abv.  I found this beer to beer golden in color, unfiltered, slight floral aroma, citrusy forward with a watery finish.  This is a nice light beer to enjoy for the craft beer novice.

Belgian White: Described as: Unfiltered Belgian-style white ale with orange peel, coriander, czech saaz hops, white wheat & pilsner malts.  5.2%abv.  Very light golden color, unflitered, light aroma, slight bitter forward, hint of tanginess towards the end.

Blueberry Wheat:  Described as: Equal parts wheat & pilsner malts infused with natural blueberry flavor & balanced with czech saaz hops. 4.8%abv.  Golden color, unfiltered, slight blueberry aroma, berry forward with a mild finish.

American IPA: Described as: Hoppy from start to finish.  5 hop additions before & after the boil.  Domestic 2-row barley malt  modern American "C" hops.  70 IBU & 6.3%abv  (I assume the description is referring to the 4"C's" of hops: Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, and Columbus, but this only a guess on my part)  Dark gold in color, slight hop aroma, slight citrus forward with a hop finish

West Coast Red Ale: Described as: A dry-hopped American amber ale reminiscent of the hoppy red ales from the pacific northwest.  A touch of dark roasted malt gives this ale it's red hue.  5.3%abv.  Amber in color, malt aroma, hop forward with a hop finish - seemed considerably hoppier than the IPA, which I found surprising.

Sweet Oatmeal Stout: Described as: Brewed with flaked oats, mild sugar, rasted barley, caramel & chocolate malts.  Low in carbonation reminisent of it's origin.  5.8%abv.  Dark amber in color, with a roasted malt aroma, coffee forward, with a malt finish, not as creamy tasting or mouth feel as a typical oatmeal stout.

So that was the sampler flight, they didn't really offer the seasonal specialties in sample form, so I ordered a couple of pints:

Blueberry Oatmeal Stout: This was actually at the urging of one of the servers in the restaurant, basically making a half and half with the blueberry wheat and the oatmeal stout from the sampler, it had a nice aroma, but not my favorite to drink

California Common: No description available: light amber in color, minimal aroma, malt aroma, slight bitter finish. Enjoyable to drink.

Wedel Weiss: A double Dunkel Hefeweizen, Amber in color, with an estery aroma, with a citrusy banana-esque flavor, another enjoyable offering.

Wedel Weiss - pretty yummy

All in all, not bad.  I'm told the food is really quite excellent and the staff provides great service.  There were some offerings on their beer menu, that I would be willing to return to try: the Maple Brown Ale, made with local maple syrup; and the Fresh Hop Ale, made with local's backyard hops, which I think is a great idea and wonderful way to involve the community.

So, if you're in the area, I'd say this place is worth checking out.

Cheers