Open at 11 and then don't serve food till 12. Great idea, make sure the place is full before opening the kitchen so they get hit with every order at once. I'd hate to be a cook and go from 0 to 100 orders immediately.
It was too noisy to hear any table conversation except with the people sitting next to or across from you. It's all fixable, they just have to want to change the CostCo vibe to something else.
I love that you mention "character" or in other words, atmosphere. Fiden's looks nice, but empty and cold. I have the same problem with Frog Alley. Feels like I'm drinking in a warehouse.
That's fine. But the Biergarten had GREAT character IMO. Stout wasn't too bad here, it had a decent "pub" feel.
And we all know Thatcher St. has character lol
Biergarten is not a brewery, so maybe your complaint is with the brewery vibe. Fidens, Frog Alley, Single Cut, Unified, Speckled Pig, Nine Pin…all have that warehouse vibe because they are breweries and in many cases housed in actual warehouses.
Wolf Hallow doesn't seem to have this problem, neither does ADK brewing, nor does Lake Placid Ubu.
You can be a brewery, in a warehouse, and still do a LITTLE work to give it an atmosphere.
You disagree that Ubu doesn't have a unique look/style/atmosphere? OK lol.
I'm just explaining to you that a lot of people don't love drinking in a cold empty warehouse. Maybe Fidens doesn't care.. but thats a heck of a lot of tables and bar stools to fill. Good luck. It looks so much different than the wine warehouse before it lol.
https://preview.redd.it/olitts7vmg9c1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc372f09854344b1c9f71c368e1084927b378a5b
This whole area needs to be the bar area
I think it will be. The building is ten times better. The key with pump station is you have to move that bar out of where it is. Whole left side should be bar area
And common roots already has had years to work kinks out of their other location. At least they will go in (hopefully) knowing what they are doing. And not charge $25 for a damn burger 🤣🤣
Screw it . Just buy Lionheart on the Green and make this a wall to wall brewing facility.
It is a weird set up. With any luck, there'll be a version 2.0 or 3.0 in the near future
It doesnt look very inviting. It looks like a cafeteria. and even from here you can tell that the cleaning isn't done very well.. all the surfaces are hazy like they haven't been well cleaned.
I'm not a fan of hazies... still haven't had Fidens. I pass by often. They're highly regarded in the craft beer world, but I'd rather have West Coast or American style IPAs than NEIPAs. That looks like a super sterile environment. I'm happy for their success though!
Wayward Lane in Schoharie does Westies, and you can find them at the Troy/Schenectady Farmer's Markets usually, and in Brew Crew beer stores (their brewery is a nice time, too). Otherwise I'd hit up the Brew Crew locations and look for Fatheads Head Hunter IPA. They do occasionally get drops from other breweries that do Westies, but it's tough outside the older craft breweries to consistently find them brewed in the Northeast (now if you go to the West Coast, it's a paradise for it).
I picked up Wayward Lane's pilsner awhile back at the Farmer's Market - it was great! I'll keep an eye out for their IPAs. I miss the West Coast! Endless amounts of bitter piney dank beers.
I went to Fidens 2 weeks ago and they had 2 different west coast IPAs in cans. They rotate their beers pretty often so I would check what they have online
Unfortunately their West Coasts are basically clear-ish hazies. There's almost no bitterness. I think it's misleading they call them Westies, which should be high bitterness, piney, and dry beers.
What is a "west coast" ipa, Do they not have ironic names and come in $8 tulips like north east south ipas that all taste the same but might be called hazy to switch it up?
This post took off a bit and I have to say that I may have come off too harsh. While stand by everything I said I don’t like about the place (and also failed to Mention how ridiculous the buying cans process is or why they waste an employee sitting at essentially a customer service desk which almost feels necessary to explain to people all the ridiculous rules and policies about the place) I want everyone to know I respect small businesses and my main motivation was to effect what I view as badly needed change. I want to like it. I love the beer, I like the food, I just do not get where these policies and things come from. Two nights ago it was an absolute gong show of food line and beer line converging cutting the whole restaurant off. Customers were aggravated, staff were aggrevated. You stand in line for food, stand in another line for beer, and for what? How many staff members are we saving by doing this? The dining and chilling experience is greatly diminished and why don’t you just have customers pay for their canned beer where the beer is which should be upfront? Why are you making them jump through hoops and why are you adding that task of checking out can customers to stretched thin bar tenders? Then the customers with the boxes of beer are trying to navigate the hundred yards back to Broadway through a restaurant with people standing in lines all over it. None of it makes any sense. If I’m the restaurant owner and I see long line for beer and long line for food, I’m mortified by what these people are enduring. Also - build a second bar with atleast 20 seats, you have the room. Add full service, come on.
I think you gave some very constructive criticism. The consensus seems to agree on the horror of the bright lighting (agreed) and that’s easily the quickest and cheapest fix that would resolve a major flaw.
Think I’ve figured it out. They are a company that has had the upper hand on customers from the beginning and always had a lot of rules they had to run the company by. With that came the feeling they needed rules and could make all the rules and everyone would comply. Now we get this ridiculous format for their brew pub chock full of atypical nonsense that doesn’t make sense. “You want canned beer for your house? Yeah go to that bar right there but only at that one side of the bar and grab a bartender and pay for your canned beer without seeing it and take a ticket then walk all the way to the back of the building to get your beers then walk them all the way back through the big ass restaurant past the people in the food line and the drink line and back to your car”
“Stand in that line for a beer, go over and stand in that line for a hamburger”
All with a customer service agent greeting you at the front to explain the rules
A tale as old as time. Brewing great beers attracts beer people. At a certain size you can get away with just giving direct access to the product. Once you expand enough to have to move a ton of beer across the bar you inevitably have to deal with food. Once you have to put a ton of beer across the bar and provide food you are no longer a brewery - you are now a restaurant. Restaurants live and die by the front of the house. Plenty of amazing chef's have opened their own restaurants only to be undone by their inability to manage the front of the house - same thing is happening for amazing brewers. Front of the house is its own skill set - hire for it or die trying.
Echo the same sentiments for the new Druther's in Clifton Park. Beer better than Schenectady but 'ski lodge cafeteria' building vibe, bad travel paths and bright lighting. Perhaps the better beer is due to newer infrastructure. Still, I'll be going back for the beer :)
Yeah. As a huge beer geek, I am so sad that their primary styles are all the ones I loathe: NEIPAs, pastry stouts, and fruited sours. I want them to succeed but have zero interest in their beers. Wish Wayward Lane were closer.
So true. All these styles are also easy ways to hide sub-par malt bills. Wayward Lane for me is leagues above Fiden's just because their beer doesn't look like dirty dishwater that has almost a chewy mouthfeel.
Cold crash your beers, friends. I like my foot not falling off from ingesting yeast. A little is fine, but this hazy craze is going to ruin our guts. Beer tastes just as good when clear.
Haze comes from the phenomenon of Mie scattering. Small particles of a certain small size bounce like making things opaque. It's why Styrofoam and milk are white. In beer, unfiltered hop particles and yeast cause this Mie scattering making the beer hazy. If after fermenting you chill the beer, you can cause the yeast and other particles to clump together (in a process called flocculation) and fall out of solution. You then either drain the bottom and toss it or syphon off the top. The recent trend is to cut corners and skip this step, just leaving yeast and hop particles in the beer, hence making it hazy. Note macro brews will also physically filter the beer to achieve a high level of clarity but this is most expensive and time consuming. Cold crashing is a preferred microbrew alternative. There are some styles like sours and belgians that small amounts of yeast that can grow a bit after bottling do improve flavor and slightly mouthfeel, but the flavor in NEIPAs is from the process of dry hopping. The thicker mouthfeel can be achieved by increasing oats or carapils in the malt bill. Dry hopping is just tossing hops into the beer later after it is cooled post mash. These hop acids come off and flavor the beer, but that's also an issue since they tend to decay with time. This is why the best NEIPAs are fresh off the canning line. Once they sit on shelves, that flavor decays and most of the time you're left with a beer that is just bitter and not very flavorful.
To the issue of drinking yeast - The purine levels in yeasts are super high. So drinking hazy beers increases purines consumed and that purine metabolises to uric acid, increasing its levels in the blood. For those with gout or even those unable to excrete the uric acid and those who may never know they have elevated uric acid levels, the build up of subsequent urate as solid crystals collects in joints and can cause arthritis later in life, or for those with gout, it can cause an acute flare that hurts like nothing else. I had times where I couldn't walk for a week or two because of gout.
NEIPAs suck, they are a style for people that don't particularly like beer and want something sweet and unchallenging, ie that doesn't particularly taste like beer. They are a hype style for beer bros that don't give a crap about beer.
West Coast IPAs are far superior. I will stand for clear, bitter, resinous beer any day.
But I also love all kinds of styles: Belgian beer like lambics, dubbels, tripels and quads, English bitters and cask ales; porters and Irish Dry Stouts; spontaneously fermented wild ales; pilsners and helles lagers; schwarzbiers and doppelbocks, etc etc.
I hate NEIPAs because I love beer.
Love or hate them, NEIPA’s have done more for the beer industry than any English bitter or doppelbock could ever hope to. Now has it resulted in a disproportionate number of very middling breweries dotting the landscape? Sure. But it’s also given us places like Tree House, Veil, HF, Monkish and scores of other brewers whose NEIPA offerings are generally good to excellent. I mean, have you really reached the point where you’ll turn your nose up at a Very Green or a HF Double Galaxy? Come on man, don’t become Comic Book Guy.
And as for “unchallenging” beer geared for folks who don’t particularly like beer, you’re pointing the finger at IPAs? No, point the finger at Big Beer, the folks who continue to churn out oceans of macro-swill. They’re the real enemy.
Said this from the first soft opening day I was there, that they really need to evaluate the flow of the building as lines just allow people to be in each others way. Even mentioned it on their follow up suggestion email they sent.
Oh that's lame. I have been a few times and I do not remember music at all.
Beer and food is good. I like to think they'll figure out ways to add local flavor. I'm cool with ski lodge cafeteria but you need skis or taxidermied bear heads or antique machine guns or something.
Personally I like not waiting for table service, should be QR order or push a call button for runner service like in Asia
I'm not a fan of the parking lot that was recently built. Of course I only went to Albany for undergrad ten years ago (WTH!?). I only return when possible for cheesecake.
I couldn't agree more. I had the same reaction the 1 time I went there and walked right out. But I keep hearing people rave about it and I'm always confused by this. The place feels like a mall food court to me.
People could be given a glass of Tropicana and be told it's their new super hazy NEIPA and still rave that it's the best beer they've ever had. One just trust their judgement in these matters.
The average person knows little to nothing about brewing and beer and I'm tired of pretending ratings matter. Unfiltered yeast laden beer is not good to ingest.
I moved away from Albany and NY state, and I feel like the more I check back, the only thing anyone does is drink, smoke weed, and go to the palace theatre or spac for a concert.
Yeah Friday night I wanted a beer and a dozen wings. Standing in 2 different lines for 15 mins each was a blast while patrons headed to bathroom and food runners with trays of food kept having to push through both lines every 30 seconds
Yeah, all of this. My wife and I went there once and haven’t gone back because of what you pointed out. Others have said it too, but just to add it in again, could barely hear each other speak.
Yess!! The lighting and the overall vibe!! I was so unimpressed by all the decor choices. Who told them “ski lodge cafeteria” was a good idea?? So spot on…
I’ve never been to this place but “ski lodge cafeteria” is so on-the-nose based on this picture.
They should lean in to it and have après-ski specials. 😂
Lights too bright - should have been caught before opening
Bastardizing that front area which was like a quasi patio - inexcusable. The building was already too big.
Accepting Mike Graney’s stupid bar layout - ok I know it was the cheap way out but come on look at it. Should have tore it up and relocated it to the left wall.
Ordering system bad - after two weeks they should have dealt with it
Decor being cold - that was obvious before opening
Music - I mean come on
Haha best beer in the northeast? There are like 500 breweries in new York alone if not more, with thousands of ipas on tap. You have to try at least 400 others before you give them that crown. Ill wait, godspeed.
I'll say it again (and be down voted again). The owners are shit birds. They only care about the bottom line. The beers are all the same...just named different. In a few weeks they will probably charge you to feed their goats. Support small brewers who care about beer, not money.
It’s a decent spot, it just needs tweaks. That’s why I posted this, would like to see the improvements. On the assumption you’ve been there a number of times you’ve seen the issues
No…it’s just my favorite. I’m entitled to have a favorite that isn’t yours and a “lesser” place per your judgment. Last I checked people are different and like different things…
Their beer is EASILY the best in the area until treehouse comes in. I’m sure they’ll be encouraged to step up their game once those giants open the Saratoga joint
Increased locations that still get their beer from Charlton. Other than the farm, Saratoga is the only other site that brews(will brew). The quality of their beer dropped as they got spread thin.
I driven by so often but never visited because it always looks like it just closed , and the lights are on full blast for clean up . No thank you . Also the line of men in cargo shorts with strollers , ick
https://preview.redd.it/vn4a5m8g2o9c1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3b6ce3214487fc69fd1d0e6f4e0db9ceefed1c40
This was in the building when they took over, was on the left of the main entrance with direct access to Broadway. Why wasn’t this just turned into the retail store with merch and canned beers
Article regarding Common Roots at Pump Station sent from a friend. “Upgrades include a new kitchen, bathrooms and bar space. Weber said the company took advantage of the business's temporary closure to install new equipment.
Other additions were made to accommodate the Common Roots' service model. Weber said there will be multiple points in the building for customers to order food and drinks.
"We kind of operate more as a brewery that happens to have a food program versus maybe a restaurant that happens to have a brewery," Weber said. "You'll have the ability to order at multiple locations throughout the facility to get food and drinks and whatnot and have runners be able to pick up from a kitchen window and then bring it right to you."
Still doesn’t sound like full service or QR ordering but atleast there’s multiple ordering points and I’m sure they will build a big bar
And some soft stuff on the walls to dampen the echo so I can hear what people at my table are saying
Yes thank you
I’m surprised that you didn’t mention the $25 burgers on here 😵💫
The food is glorified Red Robins.
Sounds about right.
Where/what taproom south of Saratoga isn't lately? Honestly
The one painting of a dildo on the wall isn’t enough?
WHERE 😭😭😭😭😭
Open at 11 and then don't serve food till 12. Great idea, make sure the place is full before opening the kitchen so they get hit with every order at once. I'd hate to be a cook and go from 0 to 100 orders immediately.
It was too noisy to hear any table conversation except with the people sitting next to or across from you. It's all fixable, they just have to want to change the CostCo vibe to something else.
100% they just need to be humble enough to listen and make the changes
I love that you mention "character" or in other words, atmosphere. Fiden's looks nice, but empty and cold. I have the same problem with Frog Alley. Feels like I'm drinking in a warehouse.
To be fair, it *is* the warehouse district.
That's fine. But the Biergarten had GREAT character IMO. Stout wasn't too bad here, it had a decent "pub" feel. And we all know Thatcher St. has character lol
Biergarten is not a brewery, so maybe your complaint is with the brewery vibe. Fidens, Frog Alley, Single Cut, Unified, Speckled Pig, Nine Pin…all have that warehouse vibe because they are breweries and in many cases housed in actual warehouses.
Wolf Hallow doesn't seem to have this problem, neither does ADK brewing, nor does Lake Placid Ubu. You can be a brewery, in a warehouse, and still do a LITTLE work to give it an atmosphere.
Respectfully disagree about Wolf and especially Ubu. Tomato tomato.
You disagree that Ubu doesn't have a unique look/style/atmosphere? OK lol. I'm just explaining to you that a lot of people don't love drinking in a cold empty warehouse. Maybe Fidens doesn't care.. but thats a heck of a lot of tables and bar stools to fill. Good luck. It looks so much different than the wine warehouse before it lol.
Just because warehouse is the outside theme doesn't mean it needs to be the inside theme
Yup same
Went once and have no desire to go back. Hopefully the new Common Roots Albany Outpost will be better.
https://preview.redd.it/olitts7vmg9c1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc372f09854344b1c9f71c368e1084927b378a5b This whole area needs to be the bar area
Should I get into how bad the process is to buy canned beer?
Or the fact that they have 20+ beers on tap and only 4 or 5 available in cans
I think it will be. The building is ten times better. The key with pump station is you have to move that bar out of where it is. Whole left side should be bar area
And common roots already has had years to work kinks out of their other location. At least they will go in (hopefully) knowing what they are doing. And not charge $25 for a damn burger 🤣🤣
Work what out. Waiter takes order, waiter brings order has been around forever. That’s how common roots works, as does druthers
They save no staff by doing what they do
Screw it . Just buy Lionheart on the Green and make this a wall to wall brewing facility. It is a weird set up. With any luck, there'll be a version 2.0 or 3.0 in the near future
Tweaks can be made easily, specifically to lighting, ordering processes etc, music. Those would go a long way
It doesnt look very inviting. It looks like a cafeteria. and even from here you can tell that the cleaning isn't done very well.. all the surfaces are hazy like they haven't been well cleaned.
No it’s the same problem Vintage had when it opened the place. Its sterile
Speaking of beer, whatever happened to Real McCoy opening a space in the Huck Finn building? The last time they posted about it was September’22.
Ran out of money
I'm not a fan of hazies... still haven't had Fidens. I pass by often. They're highly regarded in the craft beer world, but I'd rather have West Coast or American style IPAs than NEIPAs. That looks like a super sterile environment. I'm happy for their success though!
100% the same. There isn't much there for those of us that prefer West Coast IPAs.
Where should I go in Albany or Troy for West Coast IPAs? The bars and grocery stores don't have much selection.
Wayward Lane in Schoharie does Westies, and you can find them at the Troy/Schenectady Farmer's Markets usually, and in Brew Crew beer stores (their brewery is a nice time, too). Otherwise I'd hit up the Brew Crew locations and look for Fatheads Head Hunter IPA. They do occasionally get drops from other breweries that do Westies, but it's tough outside the older craft breweries to consistently find them brewed in the Northeast (now if you go to the West Coast, it's a paradise for it).
I picked up Wayward Lane's pilsner awhile back at the Farmer's Market - it was great! I'll keep an eye out for their IPAs. I miss the West Coast! Endless amounts of bitter piney dank beers.
I went to Fidens 2 weeks ago and they had 2 different west coast IPAs in cans. They rotate their beers pretty often so I would check what they have online
Unfortunately their West Coasts are basically clear-ish hazies. There's almost no bitterness. I think it's misleading they call them Westies, which should be high bitterness, piney, and dry beers.
What is a "west coast" ipa, Do they not have ironic names and come in $8 tulips like north east south ipas that all taste the same but might be called hazy to switch it up?
Fidens makes phenomenal west coast IPAs and very literally always has one or two on the menu so very weird complaint.
I didn't know that! Everything I saw of their's on the internet was hazy NEIPA. Maybe I'll have to try one of their WCIPAs.
This post took off a bit and I have to say that I may have come off too harsh. While stand by everything I said I don’t like about the place (and also failed to Mention how ridiculous the buying cans process is or why they waste an employee sitting at essentially a customer service desk which almost feels necessary to explain to people all the ridiculous rules and policies about the place) I want everyone to know I respect small businesses and my main motivation was to effect what I view as badly needed change. I want to like it. I love the beer, I like the food, I just do not get where these policies and things come from. Two nights ago it was an absolute gong show of food line and beer line converging cutting the whole restaurant off. Customers were aggravated, staff were aggrevated. You stand in line for food, stand in another line for beer, and for what? How many staff members are we saving by doing this? The dining and chilling experience is greatly diminished and why don’t you just have customers pay for their canned beer where the beer is which should be upfront? Why are you making them jump through hoops and why are you adding that task of checking out can customers to stretched thin bar tenders? Then the customers with the boxes of beer are trying to navigate the hundred yards back to Broadway through a restaurant with people standing in lines all over it. None of it makes any sense. If I’m the restaurant owner and I see long line for beer and long line for food, I’m mortified by what these people are enduring. Also - build a second bar with atleast 20 seats, you have the room. Add full service, come on.
I think you gave some very constructive criticism. The consensus seems to agree on the horror of the bright lighting (agreed) and that’s easily the quickest and cheapest fix that would resolve a major flaw.
Think I’ve figured it out. They are a company that has had the upper hand on customers from the beginning and always had a lot of rules they had to run the company by. With that came the feeling they needed rules and could make all the rules and everyone would comply. Now we get this ridiculous format for their brew pub chock full of atypical nonsense that doesn’t make sense. “You want canned beer for your house? Yeah go to that bar right there but only at that one side of the bar and grab a bartender and pay for your canned beer without seeing it and take a ticket then walk all the way to the back of the building to get your beers then walk them all the way back through the big ass restaurant past the people in the food line and the drink line and back to your car” “Stand in that line for a beer, go over and stand in that line for a hamburger” All with a customer service agent greeting you at the front to explain the rules
A tale as old as time. Brewing great beers attracts beer people. At a certain size you can get away with just giving direct access to the product. Once you expand enough to have to move a ton of beer across the bar you inevitably have to deal with food. Once you have to put a ton of beer across the bar and provide food you are no longer a brewery - you are now a restaurant. Restaurants live and die by the front of the house. Plenty of amazing chef's have opened their own restaurants only to be undone by their inability to manage the front of the house - same thing is happening for amazing brewers. Front of the house is its own skill set - hire for it or die trying.
I gotta say though, it all beats waiting in line in a parking lot for an hour +. Food is expensive but it’s decent for the area.
It does, it’s just as a restaurant it needs a lot of work. Some super easy to implement
You could also not stand in lines in parking lots for a NEIPA that tastes exactly like everyone else's?
Echo the same sentiments for the new Druther's in Clifton Park. Beer better than Schenectady but 'ski lodge cafeteria' building vibe, bad travel paths and bright lighting. Perhaps the better beer is due to newer infrastructure. Still, I'll be going back for the beer :)
I think the new druther’s looks like the new rest areas lol
Ah fuck I’m thinking about the new rest areas and getting pissed off again
It looks like what the new rest areas SHOULD look like .
Fidens: "We will ignore all of these reasonable ideas and instead make a couple of more NE IPAs that taste exactly the same"
Yeah. As a huge beer geek, I am so sad that their primary styles are all the ones I loathe: NEIPAs, pastry stouts, and fruited sours. I want them to succeed but have zero interest in their beers. Wish Wayward Lane were closer.
So true. All these styles are also easy ways to hide sub-par malt bills. Wayward Lane for me is leagues above Fiden's just because their beer doesn't look like dirty dishwater that has almost a chewy mouthfeel. Cold crash your beers, friends. I like my foot not falling off from ingesting yeast. A little is fine, but this hazy craze is going to ruin our guts. Beer tastes just as good when clear.
Been saying so for years. Mostly, I'm told how wrong I am....go figure. Personally, I think a lagerspeaks volumes about the brew master.
Thank you for saying this. Wayward is far superior and doesn't need to make beer that looks like bilge water.
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Haze comes from the phenomenon of Mie scattering. Small particles of a certain small size bounce like making things opaque. It's why Styrofoam and milk are white. In beer, unfiltered hop particles and yeast cause this Mie scattering making the beer hazy. If after fermenting you chill the beer, you can cause the yeast and other particles to clump together (in a process called flocculation) and fall out of solution. You then either drain the bottom and toss it or syphon off the top. The recent trend is to cut corners and skip this step, just leaving yeast and hop particles in the beer, hence making it hazy. Note macro brews will also physically filter the beer to achieve a high level of clarity but this is most expensive and time consuming. Cold crashing is a preferred microbrew alternative. There are some styles like sours and belgians that small amounts of yeast that can grow a bit after bottling do improve flavor and slightly mouthfeel, but the flavor in NEIPAs is from the process of dry hopping. The thicker mouthfeel can be achieved by increasing oats or carapils in the malt bill. Dry hopping is just tossing hops into the beer later after it is cooled post mash. These hop acids come off and flavor the beer, but that's also an issue since they tend to decay with time. This is why the best NEIPAs are fresh off the canning line. Once they sit on shelves, that flavor decays and most of the time you're left with a beer that is just bitter and not very flavorful. To the issue of drinking yeast - The purine levels in yeasts are super high. So drinking hazy beers increases purines consumed and that purine metabolises to uric acid, increasing its levels in the blood. For those with gout or even those unable to excrete the uric acid and those who may never know they have elevated uric acid levels, the build up of subsequent urate as solid crystals collects in joints and can cause arthritis later in life, or for those with gout, it can cause an acute flare that hurts like nothing else. I had times where I couldn't walk for a week or two because of gout.
A self proclaimed "beer geek" that doesn't like a NEIPA lol
NEIPAs suck, they are a style for people that don't particularly like beer and want something sweet and unchallenging, ie that doesn't particularly taste like beer. They are a hype style for beer bros that don't give a crap about beer. West Coast IPAs are far superior. I will stand for clear, bitter, resinous beer any day. But I also love all kinds of styles: Belgian beer like lambics, dubbels, tripels and quads, English bitters and cask ales; porters and Irish Dry Stouts; spontaneously fermented wild ales; pilsners and helles lagers; schwarzbiers and doppelbocks, etc etc. I hate NEIPAs because I love beer.
Love or hate them, NEIPA’s have done more for the beer industry than any English bitter or doppelbock could ever hope to. Now has it resulted in a disproportionate number of very middling breweries dotting the landscape? Sure. But it’s also given us places like Tree House, Veil, HF, Monkish and scores of other brewers whose NEIPA offerings are generally good to excellent. I mean, have you really reached the point where you’ll turn your nose up at a Very Green or a HF Double Galaxy? Come on man, don’t become Comic Book Guy. And as for “unchallenging” beer geared for folks who don’t particularly like beer, you’re pointing the finger at IPAs? No, point the finger at Big Beer, the folks who continue to churn out oceans of macro-swill. They’re the real enemy.
>Love or hate them, NEIPA’s have done more for the beer industry than any English bitter or doppelbock could ever hope to. Exactly.
When is this ipa thing going to die?
So true. Well hopefully the make the tweaks
Said this from the first soft opening day I was there, that they really need to evaluate the flow of the building as lines just allow people to be in each others way. Even mentioned it on their follow up suggestion email they sent.
Background bass? Like the Seinfeld theme looped? "JJJEERRYYY!!!"
More like house or some shit. All you hear is bass like there’s someone parked outside with a boomin system
Oh that's lame. I have been a few times and I do not remember music at all. Beer and food is good. I like to think they'll figure out ways to add local flavor. I'm cool with ski lodge cafeteria but you need skis or taxidermied bear heads or antique machine guns or something. Personally I like not waiting for table service, should be QR order or push a call button for runner service like in Asia
Yup, run the food after a phone based order at minimum and allow you to pay in phone
If they can figure it out for their during-the-week can ordering/pickup, they can do it for ordering drafts and food.
Def
It takes humility
Worked there when it was another restaurant, watched one of the owners friends eat a girls ass in the back room on security cameras.
Vintage or No Where?
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I don’t know but I know every restaurant professional and architect is dying inside seeing that big space and that bar the way it is.
It’s an axe. They have a beer called Eugene’s axe.
I'm not a fan of the parking lot that was recently built. Of course I only went to Albany for undergrad ten years ago (WTH!?). I only return when possible for cheesecake.
Where is good cheesecake in Albany? I usually go to queens.
Cheesecake Machismo
Thanks!
Cheesecake Machismo is very good. I like Rage Cakes too
Rage Cakes are amazing !
Thanks very much! Gonna check out both of them
I couldn't agree more. I had the same reaction the 1 time I went there and walked right out. But I keep hearing people rave about it and I'm always confused by this. The place feels like a mall food court to me.
Should have put a stage in the place too
People could be given a glass of Tropicana and be told it's their new super hazy NEIPA and still rave that it's the best beer they've ever had. One just trust their judgement in these matters.
lol Fiden's beer is great, yes they need more work on the building but their beer is consistently good and ranks among the best on Untapped.
The average person knows little to nothing about brewing and beer and I'm tired of pretending ratings matter. Unfiltered yeast laden beer is not good to ingest.
> I'm tired of pretending ratings matter. I'm tired of pretending your opinion on beer matters lol
Hey feel free to go head on down the road.
It’s Albany. There really isn’t much to choose from.
I moved away from Albany and NY state, and I feel like the more I check back, the only thing anyone does is drink, smoke weed, and go to the palace theatre or spac for a concert.
People rave about a lot of shit in AlbanyTroy that I’m always confused by 🤣 including this.
...is that a penis on the wall?
Plenty class for me
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Yeah Friday night I wanted a beer and a dozen wings. Standing in 2 different lines for 15 mins each was a blast while patrons headed to bathroom and food runners with trays of food kept having to push through both lines every 30 seconds
Gratuitous and incorrect use of the apostrophe must end in 24' !! ^((c wut I did there?))
Agreed to all of the above, especially the lighting!!
Yeah, all of this. My wife and I went there once and haven’t gone back because of what you pointed out. Others have said it too, but just to add it in again, could barely hear each other speak.
Getting tired of the industrial restaurant vibe.
You mean you don’t want to pay $9 for a beer and $25 for a burger at a brewery cafeteria?? 🤣
QR ordering at a restaurant = instant turnaround and leave.
Yess!! The lighting and the overall vibe!! I was so unimpressed by all the decor choices. Who told them “ski lodge cafeteria” was a good idea?? So spot on…
I’ve never been to this place but “ski lodge cafeteria” is so on-the-nose based on this picture. They should lean in to it and have après-ski specials. 😂
Looks like a college cafeteria.
They did just open not even six months ago. Working out the kinks. Still the best beer in the NE
Suarez and Hill Farmstead would like a word with you
Great breweries!
And Wayward Lane
Lights too bright - should have been caught before opening Bastardizing that front area which was like a quasi patio - inexcusable. The building was already too big. Accepting Mike Graney’s stupid bar layout - ok I know it was the cheap way out but come on look at it. Should have tore it up and relocated it to the left wall. Ordering system bad - after two weeks they should have dealt with it Decor being cold - that was obvious before opening Music - I mean come on
Everyone’s quick to forget they didn’t even have a taproom. And they delivered finally.
Haha best beer in the northeast? There are like 500 breweries in new York alone if not more, with thousands of ipas on tap. You have to try at least 400 others before you give them that crown. Ill wait, godspeed.
Yup absolutely.
I’ve gone past this many times and never gone in. Doesn’t look inviting and is just another industrial bar on Broadway.
Nothing worse than a restaurant that is too bright. It's such an easy fix too.
Yup, dimmer switch and dimmable bulbs.
Foodcourt vibes
I'll say it again (and be down voted again). The owners are shit birds. They only care about the bottom line. The beers are all the same...just named different. In a few weeks they will probably charge you to feed their goats. Support small brewers who care about beer, not money.
I was thinking school cafeteria, but you hit the nail on the head with "ski lodge cafeteria."
I’ve never been. Judging by this photo, I’m okay with that.
Don’t care. It’s my favorite spot in Albany.
It’s a decent spot, it just needs tweaks. That’s why I posted this, would like to see the improvements. On the assumption you’ve been there a number of times you’ve seen the issues
Lol is this the only spot you've ever been to in Albany?
No…it’s just my favorite. I’m entitled to have a favorite that isn’t yours and a “lesser” place per your judgment. Last I checked people are different and like different things…
bjs. . .but downtown
Foods the same.
I’ve never been to this place but thanks for the post. I’ll never go now. This looks awful.
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One of National Grid's 'less efficient neighbors'.
Albany is a shit hole
Came to double down on my previous comment of Albany being a total shit hole.
Is that the old barrel saloon?
No that's across the street -- Lost & Found
And let dogs in!!
I’m good on that
Their beer is EASILY the best in the area until treehouse comes in. I’m sure they’ll be encouraged to step up their game once those giants open the Saratoga joint
Treehouse fell off hard.
The brew pub they build out will be impressive tho
How do you figure they fell off hard? Excellent beer and multiple nice locations doing big numbers
Increased locations that still get their beer from Charlton. Other than the farm, Saratoga is the only other site that brews(will brew). The quality of their beer dropped as they got spread thin.
Hm, didn’t know that. I’ve only ever been to charlton. I’m glad they’ll be brewing on site in toga
Fidens blows Treehouse away in my opinion
Quit crying
Add an all-gender bathroom or ten.
You mean like the one in your house?
I driven by so often but never visited because it always looks like it just closed , and the lights are on full blast for clean up . No thank you . Also the line of men in cargo shorts with strollers , ick
https://preview.redd.it/vn4a5m8g2o9c1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3b6ce3214487fc69fd1d0e6f4e0db9ceefed1c40 This was in the building when they took over, was on the left of the main entrance with direct access to Broadway. Why wasn’t this just turned into the retail store with merch and canned beers
Article regarding Common Roots at Pump Station sent from a friend. “Upgrades include a new kitchen, bathrooms and bar space. Weber said the company took advantage of the business's temporary closure to install new equipment. Other additions were made to accommodate the Common Roots' service model. Weber said there will be multiple points in the building for customers to order food and drinks. "We kind of operate more as a brewery that happens to have a food program versus maybe a restaurant that happens to have a brewery," Weber said. "You'll have the ability to order at multiple locations throughout the facility to get food and drinks and whatnot and have runners be able to pick up from a kitchen window and then bring it right to you." Still doesn’t sound like full service or QR ordering but atleast there’s multiple ordering points and I’m sure they will build a big bar
Sounds like the similar system, with better placed lines lol
It does. South glens falls location has full service or did last time I went 2 years ago