Latest reviews from Cooperstown
| 86 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “A nice diversion on an otherwise endless drive between NYC and Buffalo. Plenty of taps and flights were available. The food was also great value for money.
Lucky to be there for "boozy brunch bingo" - what seemed to be a classic American experience of people getting really excited about bingo. First time I've had a penguin serve me beer in a conga line so what's not to like? Only drawback is that takeaway cans were restricted to 4 packs.“ |
| 98 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Stopped after visiting Baseball Hall far off season and place was 80% empty. They had around 20 taps had fries and another snack. Beer is spectacular. A piece of Belgium in N America. Really enjoyed chatting with bar tender and other patrons. World class brewery stop.“ |
| 78 /100 4861 STATE HWY 28 “Stopped for some crowlers while quarantining. Food posted online looked interesting but didn’t have any. Super friendly server and super appreciative of business. Cute looking barn style building. Like the range of beer styles being brewed not all haze. Most were decent enough.“ |
| 62 /100 4861 STATE HWY 28 “The bar area looks nice, sort of small. The dining area even smaller, not quite as charming. The food is quite nice, eclectic. Nice, polite service. A "fleet" or sample of all ten brews, is $19(!). Some beers are good, some really off, poorly brewed, some just mediocre. Worth a stop, although in this part of the world (Cooperstown, NY) you're in a great place for craft beer as it is. Oh, and get the pesto fries here.“ |
| 84 /100 709 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Driving over to Ommegang and this place just opened right around corner. Does that help or hurt them probably helps more I would think. Cool spot with nice patio and hops growing. Modern faux shed interior. Clean and nice. Friendly service. Busy on Sunday afternoon. Decent selection of styles. Haven’t tried yet grabbed reasonable growler to go“ |
| 92 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “An idyllic farmstead, used to be a hop farm, that's a little off the beaten path, but well worth the journey. They just remodeled the tasting room and bar area, and it makes it a very nice destination. Service was friendly and knowledgeable, a little slow but they were swamped, so I don't discount them for it. Selection is impressive, even had some IPAs you can't find in distro and some fun one offs. It is a bucket list brewery for the Northeast in my opinion.“ |
| 76 /100 4861 STATE HWY 28 “Stopped in for lunch today with the wife for lunch. Quiet and small. Decent menu. Cleaner pissery. .“ |
| 82 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “nice sampling and tour, cool space and worth the trip, did not tried the food as the place was packed, lots of merchandise so be prepared!“ |
| 80 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Stopped for lunch on a Friday on the way to a conference. Sat outside on a beautiful summer afternoon. Service was OK but a little slow at times - my only complaint was that rather than just give us a beer list/menu, the server insisted on rattling off ’classes’ of their beer, rather than names. Food was very good, and great ambiance. Worth a stop, and it’s not too far out of the way if traveling up the interstate. Gift shop items were very expensive. Good bottle selection, though not much I can’t buy in PA.“ |
| 100 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “There’s not enough that can be said about how good Ommegang is. Their beers are legendary, but the brewery itself is gorgeous, right in the middle of upstate New York, and their grounds are just lovely no matter what time of year you visit. Their menu is splendid as well and their selection in their gift shop is stellar. Go here!“ |
| 56 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Dan and I were there on March 16, 2011. They still had construction going on the main entrance and we had to drive around the front building. The new tasting room out back was not marked yet. A construction guy pointed the way. At 1st we were the only people in there with Dan the bartender. No grand opening yet, so just a few of the regular beers were on tap. Dan did go to the back room and grab a bottle of Cup O Kyndnes to give us a sample. Thank you. We bought a few bottles and were on our way.“ |
| 54 /100 Spurbecks Grocery (Beer Store) 9 RAILROAD AVE “I stopped in hoping to pick up some local beers not readily available at my local Total Wine and Beverage store. The store is a genuine old-time country market, oozing with character. I asked where there beers were and the proprietor pointed me to the back of the store and proudly said they had over 300 different beers. The excitement mounted. Then the reality sunk in Their beers are stored in a walk in cooler -- not a place that conducive to casual browsing, unless you happen to be wearing a down parka and wool hat. Furthermore, a large portion of the space is taken up by macros. The craft beers were comprised of bombers and six packs. With on exception, the small bottles were not sold individually. Most of the beers are widely available (Ommegang, Saranac, Dogfish Head, etc.). They did have sixers of Cooperstown Brewing beers, but I was not interested enough to purchase whole six packs of beers that are not all that highly reated. I left with only one bottle purchased and a sense of dissapointment.“ |
| 90 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Driving up to the brewery, which is in the beautiful upstate New York countryside, you might think you have been transported to Belgium. This is the most imposing and impressive brewery I have visited. Driving through the archway into the courtyard harkens to a different time and place. One enters through the gift shop to a large "cafe" with bar seating, large communal tables, and two-person high-tops. Everything is done with class. Clearly there was some big money behind this place. Around eight of their own beers were on draft along with quite a few bottles from their sister breweries in Belgium. The staff, however, did not seem very knowledgable about the beers they were serving and service was slow. The food was outstanding -- perfectly prepared ribeye, the biggest and most tender mussels I have ever seen, and frites prepared to perfection. Worth a journey!“ |
| 76 /100 4861 STATE HWY 28 “Cozy and friendly bar area. We sampled 10 beers for $17. Some were very good. We had the cheese platter for two that must have had a pound of really tasty sharp New York cheddar with crisp green apple slice. Did not have dinner here but the waiting list for tables indicates the locals like what’s on the menu.“ |
| 78 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Out of Cooperstown a bit. Large farm-like campus. Beautiful covered in snow but it looks like it could be even more beautiful when the leaves are out. Large tasting room, shop and cafe. Cafe food was tasty, good looking menu, a bit pricy. Core beers and a few seasonals / other Moortgat beers on tap and in bottles. And an un-godly amount of space behind the bar. Lots of swag and bottles in the shop... bottle prices seemed comparable to what you would fiind in any retail store. Tour and tasting for $5, and you keep the tasting glass which basically makes up for the cost. The tour was a little under-whelming... let’s stand in this box and point to stuff. The tour guide glossed over a lot of things. The tasting was great. Only the core beers, but fresh and lots of information about them.“ |
| 68 /100 4861 STATE HWY 28 “Stopped in here as a bonus to the Cooperstown Beverage Trail. It looks big on the outside, but is actually very small inside. We sat the bar. They have 9 of their beers on tap plus a guest tap, but it cost us $17 just to get a flight of all of them. That wouldn’t have been so bad but the majority of the beers reeked of diacetyl, some seemed soured or off a dirty tap. I wouldn’t expect that from a brewpub.
Barmaid was friendly, service was fairly quick. Food was good. The garlic pesto fries were great. A decent value, but those hoping for great beer will be disappointed.“ |
| 78 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “By far the best beer location in the Cooperstown area. Brewery tours are free. There’s a separate gift shop/tasting room/restaurant in the back. Food is gastropub style and kind of limited. I recommend the chicken and waffles and of course the Belgian frites. Prices are NOT cheap.
Beer is obviously all Ommegang brews. A few Duvel or maredsous offerings too. Served surprisingly cold, but beer always tastes great. I recommend Hop House, Rare Vos, Witte, and something big in the winter (especially if you’re not driving). They offer flights, too. Staff is friendly and they definitely know their own beer and food, however I find the service can be slow. In fact, once my GF ordered something that was never even delivered. WTF. Definitely worth the trip for any Belgian beer lover.“ |
| 88 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “I really enjoyed the brewery. In the middle of farmland with an authentic Belgian brewery feel, some really tasty food and a good number of their beers on tap. Been to many breweries and this one probably is the coolest and has lots of open field space for kids to run around off of a great outdoor seating area. Beers are great, food is great, interesting to see to brewery. Well worth the visit.“ |
| 70 /100 Spurbecks Grocery (Beer Store) 9 RAILROAD AVE “Great selection of beers and the only place in town like it! Good deli and very friendly staff - it’s family owned and operated.“ |
| 88 /100 4861 STATE HWY 28 “My wife and I stopped for lunch. The beer was fresh, flavorful, fantastic. The food was excellent and the service friendly and attentive.“ |
| 80 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Stopped by on a recent trip, after visiting the baseball HOF. Took the tour and the tasting afterwards. Tour guide was good, got to see the operation, which was smaller than I thought, and he shared insightsalong the tour on the Duvel part of the business, even hinting that Duvel was looking for more "opportunities" in the States. Tasting part was good experience, was with a good group.“ |
| 74 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “It’s Ommegang. The beer is some of the best though limited to the standard beers. Professional staff thought somewhat corporate feel. Service was , but signups for tours should be separate from check-out especially on a busy day.“ |
| 94 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Visited Brewery Ommegang last month, it was truly worth the trip (from North Jersey). Jared took us on the tour and imparted his knowledge and answered all our questions. Went to the tasting room and sampled all 6 of their main beers and he even pulled out the "Art of Darkness" to taste which was a nice treat. Had lunch and some Fleur de Hoblon after and the food was very good, had the fries and a crepe. entire experience was great and was able to buy some of their harder to find beers in their shop (chocolate indulgence, Gnomegang) will look forward to going back again soon!“ |
| 76 /100 4861 STATE HWY 28 “Great food and service. Small menu with 6 beers on tap. Beers were all solid. Server was friendly, prompt, and helpful. As noted in an earlier rating, no growlers. The only drawback. Would have loved to share that scotch ale with some ratebeer friends.“ |
| 80 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Visited June 21, 2013 for lunch. Very large place really disconnected from everything (although I have not yet visited Hill Farmstead). Although there was room on the terrace, I had lunch inside at a communal table with tourists. My lunch was weird, but delicious, fried chicken on a waffle with pepper sauce and strawberry jam. I only had one beer on tap, Fleur De Houblon, it was very good. I visited their shop, full of beautiful things. But the beer selection has disappointed me, other than their regular products, there were only three houses, I tried all of them. But it is a very cool place, maybe next time I’ll be there for BCTC!?“ |
| 88 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “In Cooperstown June 1-7 for 12u baseball tournament. Hit Ommegang to sample their brews went back with all team families. We overwhelmed them but service was great considering and the food was the best we had in the Cooperstown area hands down. Try the chicken & waffles! Great experience.“ |
| 62 /100 4861 STATE HWY 28 “I stopped in during a recent visit to Cooperstown. They had six beers on tap although they have twelve tap handles. The food menu has about eight items on the menu, and I was told they were out of two of the items. I had a bratwurst sandwich which was good. The people at the brewery are very friendly and happy to talk with you about beer, which was the highlight of my visit. I wanted to buy a filled growler to take with me, however they wouldn’t sell me one because they said they didn’t have enough beer to do that. I really think they need to work on their business plan. With such a short menu to be out of two items and not have enough beer on hand to be able to sell a growler to customer is pretty sad. Like I said earlier, they are nice people and I hope they are able to get their act together.“ |
| 100 /100 4861 STATE HWY 28 “This small brewery knows what it’s doing. They have a German Light Ale with the cleanest Noble hop character I’ve tasted from a brewery of this size. Add to this the friendly brewmaster (Roger), good food, and a hotel within stumbling distance, and you’ve got an answer for what to do with the rest of the day after your visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame.“ |
| 60 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “A wonderful location and very nice brewery. I’m just not a fan of the beers. They brew for beer snobs. This is reflected by many of the people who mill around in there for hours.“ |
| 84 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Did a Bed&Brew weekend at the cooperstown inn, awesome time. Brewery tour and beer dinner, 3L bottle to take home.. great trip.“ |
| 78 /100 4861 STATE HWY 28 “Food was great had pesto garlic French fries and baked Brie both great.6 people with me and we all loved the beer and food. The brew master was are waiter and he was nice and did a great job.“ |
| 86 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “A beautiful brewery. The greatest belgian brewery in the states.“ |
| 88 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “The best time to visit Brewery Ommegang is in the Fall. I try to make their Waffles and Puppets festival every year- the timing is just as the leaves are turning, and they have a beautiful rolling hillside behind them. It is breathtaking. My only experience at Ommegang is for this festival, which is a lot of fun and the beer runs plentiful. After the tour, you try about 7 beers on tap- if the weather is nice and you have a big group, they will pour them into pitchers out by the picnic tables and often pair it with cheese, crackers, and pretzels. Lots of fun and I look forward to getting back out there again!“ |
| 80 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Stopped by Brewery Ommegang while on a long 4,000+ mile motorcycle brewery tour. Had to dodge several deer on the 2-lane roads in to the brewery, but ti was well worth it. The brewery is beautiful, a little slice of Belgium in New York State! Well worth the trip to visit!“ |
| 74 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Great spot for a Belgium brewery. Tour was nice, but guide basically was following the script and not super knowledgeable about their brewing practices. Would’ve been nice to have a chance to sample more of their one off beers and imports also they were out of several of their imports.“ |
| 82 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Awesome spot. Hard to fault them for the selection as they serve their beer mainly with some of the parent companies’s offerings. You aren’t there for the wide selection. As hard as it is to get to, it would definitely be worth the trek.“ |
| 82 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Another one of those “whoops, how did I never rate this place?” place ratings. I honestly can’t say that I’ve ever been here at a time that wasn’t Belgium Comes to Cooperstown weekend, but that will likely changed next time we’re on a trajectory that puts them within a half hour detour range. In the last couple of years the retail areas and bar areas have been added and upgraded and they are just gorgeous. All of the staff that I’ve come into contact with through volunteering at BCTC and being a customer up there are great. Certainly worth a visit, and especially worth going to BCTC.“ |
| 74 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Tucked away in the countryside of Cooperstown, NY. It is very picturesque indeed. I would love to attend a beer Festival here! The tour guide was new and although he did have a lot of knowledge, he really didn’t know how to speak in front of a group. Plus we had too many people in our tour. I missed a lot of information, simply because I couldn’t hear him. The beer tasting was what everybody wanted, and it was all the standard brews. I really wish I could have gotten something limited while I was here. (oh well, Guess I have to attend a beerfest here) They had the normal run of beers in the café as well. Plus they only have snack foods and Belgian waffles, so don’t expect a meal if you want to eat in the restaurant. It’s a nice looking brewery and I got to say, if you are heading to the Baseball Hall of Fame, you better stop here. I will give it another try someday.“ |
| 88 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “My inlaws have a lake house near here so I stop by quite a bit. One of prettiest breweries I’ve been to. They built new eatery which isn’t quite done but the food was decent. the tour you get there standard year round brews which are all excellent and they had other special beers on tap including some Belgiums. their beerfest, BCTC, is one of my favorites. so overall i love this place.“ |
| 80 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “I stopped in for a visit after a long business meeting in Cooperstown and was pleasantly surprised to find they were going to be open later than usual because they had live music. I went on a brewery tour which was a little over-scripted but pleasant enough. The tasting afterwards included seven of their beers on their back patio. In addition to sampling the seven beers, they had several taps at their inside bar with a number of other beers available. I had a glass of Duvel on draught, Liefmans Cuvee Brut, as well as a new beer from Ommegang called Aphrodite. The staff were all friendly and the place had a definite charm to it. I would have rated Ambiance a 5 except that the stench from their dumpsters overwhelms you as you walk through their parking lot. Other than that, my visit was delightful.“ |
| 74 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Visited in August when it was like 150 degrees. Loved the free tour as well as the tasting. I realized I’d been consuming most of their stock at way to cold a temperature. I’d love to go back when they build the new restaurant.“ |
| 68 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Driving about yesterday we stopped by the much spoken of Ommegang Brewery. A pleasant drive up and thru to the parking area delivered us to a few minute wait till the next tour began.. Smaller than I had expected, this place must be running at 100% to meet their distribution range. the tour was given buy an enthusiastic youth in a serious need of a videotaping to inform him that HE DOESN’T NEED TO FOCKING YELL AT THE TOP OF HIS FOCKING LUNGS TO GET HIS POINT ACROSS!....Jerk. He also needed a haircut, yet he kept the tasting moving thru the seven selections...hoping for the Beer De Mars but alas I was crestfallen. The chocolate addition with their 3 Philosophers was a nice serendipitous discovery. Prices on norm but nothing special.“ |
| 74 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “If you live in America and say you love beer and never attend BCTC, then I will call you a liar. The brewery itself does not offer a tremendous selection, but it’s in a beautiful valley, and man, is it ever a great place for a festival.“ |
| 96 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “It’s hard to believe this little "farm house" brewery puts out enough beer to distribute to 48 states! If you are in the area then it probably means you are here for baseball - either for the Hall of Fame or the Dreams Park tourney, or both. Either way, sneak over here for a tour and tasting. It’s free and oh so good!“ |
| 80 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “After a high stress drive trying to find the place we walked into this picturesque little brewery and asked a young gentleman at the counter if we could take a tour. We were informed that if we ducked into the tasting room that the prior tour would be tasting in five minutes, that we could get in on that then he’d take us on a tour and do another tasting. Suffice to say this guy was awesome enough. The first tasting did a side by side with fresh Ommegang Abbey and the Cave aged counterpart which was dramatic and awesome. The tour was nice and it’s amazing to see the output of this little brewery. The second tasting was filled with much beer talk, invitations to Belgium comes to Cooperstown, offers of bottles of Duvel and plenty of delicious chocolate and cheese. The gift shop is nice and plenty of fine glassware and cave aged ales can be had there.“ |
| 72 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Visited on a weekend trip to the hall of fame for the boyfriend’s Christmas gift. The drive through the rolling hills in the snow was precarious but beautiful. We were the only people there that day so we had an intimate private tour. The staff was super friendly and we ended up just hanging with some of the workers for the rest of the afternoon over several brews. I spent some money there but we headed back to Worcester with a car full of goodies.“ |
| 74 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Visited for the weekend of the Belgium Comes To Cooperstown festival in July, I really enjoyed the beautiful and extensive grounds around the buildings, and the buildings themselves were well-laid out and in good repair. We saw some of the tanks inside next to the store (mostly t-shirts and bombers for sale) but did not take the tour nor try any of the beers in the tasting bar next to it. Over the course of the weekend though, staying on location with our tents like 500 other people, I tried a lot more of their beers than I ever had and all were tasty and good quality. (Note about the festival: Best camping/beer festival I’ve been to, I would say. Met a ton of great people, tried a ton of great beers from all over the States, soaked up the sun, ate delicious pulled pork products and listened to the Beatles blast until 11pm every night!) I would seek out Ommegang’s beers now, partly because of this experience, partly because their beers are really very good. Definitely worth the visit, but I can’t imagine it would be as good at any other time of the year than at their own festival.“ |
| 24 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “To say I was disappointed would be a profound understatement. The tour was a crushing letdown, though. The "guide" mumbled, seemed worked up that he actually had to give a tour at this, arguably the best brewery on the continent, and that, God forbid, we may actually have questions that required substantive answers. As pointless as the tour at Capital Brewery in Madison, Wisconsin, but with a chip-on-the-shoulder attitude that was really disheartening.
Here’s a hint, Ommegang. You act as though the beer is the only thing that’s important, that you don’t have to care about your customers, and you won’t have to worry about either for much longer. Act as though you don’t need me, that there are more important things than being happy for the fact that I drop 900 miles to visit your brewery, and you won’t have to worry about me darkening your door again. I walked out before the tasting, without trying a single beer or purchasing a single product, and visited (and deeply enjoyed) Cooperstown Brewing Co. instead. I converted many of my friends to Ommegang over the years, but, on one sunny July afternoon, Ommegang lost a devoted and loyal fan for life.“ |
| 92 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “one of the friendliest breweries i have ever visited“ |
| 84 /100 656 COUNTY HIGHWAY 33 “Attended the Waffles and Puppets day in ’07 and had a great time. The grounds and the architecture of the building was really cool. They had a self-guided tour that was pretty pointless, but everything else was awesome! Free samples in the bar, great selection of merchandise in the gift shop, and friendly people all around! Authentic Belgian food vendors, including the best sugar/chocolate coated Belgian waffle I’ve ever had!!“ |
