New York Breweries (Breweries Series) [Paperback]

Lew Bryson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bryson, who covered the breweries of another mid-Atlantic state in his previous book, Pennsylvania Breweries, focuses here on beermaking in the Empire State. His helpful and entertaining guide divides the state into seven geographical regions, such as "Suburbia by the Sea: Long Island," "The Big Hop: New York City," and "Touched by a Glacier: The Finger Lakes." His entries are helpful and exhaustive. For F.X. Matt's Brewing Company in Utica, for instance, he offers a three-page history; a selection of beers brewed; a list of beer recommendations; a map and directions; and a researched list of area attractions and local restaurants ("check out the odd but rewarding combo of Polish food and top-flight live jazz and blues at Tiny's Grill"). Bryson (who writes for Ale Street News and Malt Advocate), is an enthusiast, and his passion, whether for microbreweries or "the big guys," is contagious.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 251 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; 1 edition (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081172817X
• ISBN-13: 978-0811728171
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #989,582 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a former librarian who has been making a living writing about beer and spirits since 1995. I write regularly for trade journals like Cheers, New Brewer, and Beverage Business, and I also am the managing editor of Malt Advocate. I started drinking non-mainstream beer way back in 1981, and never really looked back. Whiskey came a bit later, in 1996, but I've quickly grown to love it, as well.
I grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where my family has been for over 250 years. I live less than 60 miles away, but I still miss it, especially in the fall. I am married and have two children, and we live in a subdivision, like most folks around here.
I like to travel, both on my own and with the family. I was in Bavaria in December, in Wisconsin last July, and before that, I visited the Czech Republic in April. I'll be visiting the Canadian Mist Distillery in Collingwood, Ontario in March of '06.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice book for travelers and other beer lovers, October 20, 2007

By 

Mitch Baywatch (Brighton, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New York Breweries (Breweries Series) (Paperback)

This book is presented as a travel guide for 50+ breweries and brew pubs in New York State, but even if you just drink beer in your own NYS town, it's fairly useful. Bryson gives 3-4 pages per place, which typically covers background and anecdotes, recommendations, stats (year opened, # of barrels, etc.) and info for the tourist (map, lodging, nearby attractions). There are also several brief essays sprinkled throughout.

Written in 2003, this book is fairly up-to-date. Still, there are some dead breweries mentioned and some new ones absent (most notably Southern Tier, opened in 2004). Bryson does provide updates on his website.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New York Breweries, December 30, 2008

By 

Eric Williams (South-Eastern Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New York Breweries (Breweries Series) (Paperback)

New York Breweries. by Lew Bryson

Virginia, Maryland, & Delaware Breweries.
by Lew Bryson

Lat year I bought Nicholle the Pennsylvania Breweries book. We enjoyed it so much that I bought her the NY Breweries and the VA, MD, DE (which includes WDC as well) Breweries for this years birthday.

Both books are similar in organization and style to the PA book. And as such they are very good purchases. I did sit down and actually read them. I have even sampled some of the beer from a couple of the places in NY.

The NY book has a really good section on regional foods and devotes a bit of ink to the whole Buffalo Hot Wings phenomenon. Some of the regional foods things I knew, some I did not.

The VA, MD, DE regional food coverage is not as in depth as the NY one but is covering more ground. The author waxes poetic about VA ham and MD blue crabs.

Based on my sampling in NY I would say that the author is fairly spot-on. Though it will surprise some "beer geeks" that he is not an attack do when it comes to Anheuser-Busch who does operate a major brewery in NY. In fact he defends A-B for its fanatical attention to quality and consistency. He is correct when he says that prohibition did a lot to help A-H and in a sense they just gave America what it really wanted. Based on their market share you have to agree with him. Budweiser is very good as a beer for what it sets out to be. It may not be my mug of ale.

I did enjoy his small essay on beer tourism in the glossary. As a "beer tourist" myself I echo his thoughts.

All told these books are an excllent additionto our touring collection an dwe look forward to using them to help better enjoy our travels in these areas. They are certainly well worth the cost of purchase. As with the PA books you cancheck out his website [...] for updates on any of the places covered in the book and on new places which are not covered