Four Albany Favorites Create Albany Craft Beverage Trail

If you suggested 10 years ago that small, “craft” beverages would be all beer and spirit lovers would be talking about today, you may have gotten some funny looks. However, last year alone craft beer sales were up 17.6% and accounted for 22% of the market (source). Of course, beer is just one small portion of the craft beverage scene today, especially in Albany. 

Recently, the craft beverage players in Albany, NY grouped together to form the Albany Craft Beverage Trail. All located along Broadway and only about 1 mile from each other, C.H. Evans Brewing Company, Albany Distilling Co., Nine Pin Cider Works, and Druthers Brewing Co. have teamed up to promote the facilities of craft and farm-based beverage producers in the County of Albany, New York.

These four Albany favorites are celebrating the collaboration with their inaugural event on October 3 from 12-5 PM – Drink Albany! Join the festivities at Quackenbush Square in downtown Albany to learn more about Albany’s craft beverage producers and to try samples from each. There will also be live music and over 30 vendors and food trucks to ensure that everyone has a fun-filled afternoon.

To stay up to date with what’s going on with the Albany Craft Beverage Trail, follow them on Facebook and Twitter! 

Pump Station Revamps Menus

Have you seen the new items on the Albany Pump Station's Menus? 

Maybe I'm a little more excited about this than the "Average Joe" because I work about a step away from this iconic Albany restaurant, but the new menus that Executive Chef Todd Cutler and his team have put together are simply mouthwatering!

Don't worry! If you have a favorite dish that you can only get at 19 Quackenbush Square, it's probably still available, like their one-of-a-kind Calamari, tossed with cherry peppers over marinara drizzled with balsamic reduction. 

But you should be excited to see they've added an artisan cheese sampler with local farm cheeses, a pear and goat cheese salad, and something I'm very excited about, fried pickles! 

See for yourself what they've added by clicking here or head over for lunch or dinner. Enjoy! 

Popular Albany Brewpub Hires New Executive Chef

The Albany Business Review reported today that a pioneer in the Albany brewpub scene, C.H. Evans Brewing Company at the Albany Pump Station, has a new executive chef. Hailing from the Sagamore Restaurant in Bolton Landing, NY, on Lake George, Todd Cutler hopes to bring more local food and beer and food pairings to the Pump Station menu.

The Pump Station is housed in a former water pumping station for the Albany Water Works in downtown Albany. They brew about 50 different varieties of beer annually and serve about 250 customers each day.

To read the full article, click here.

For more history on the C.H. Evans Brewing Company and the Albany Pump Station Building, click here.

9th Taste of Albany Benefit to be Held May 1st!

One the area’s top culinary fundraisers is just around the corner. The 9^th Annul A Taste of Albany will be held on Thursday, May 1 at the NYS Museum Terrace Gallery at 5:00 p.m.

A Taste of Albany is a culinary showcase and benefit for Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless (IPH), featuring more than 30 Capital Region restaurants and chefs, celebrating with entertainment, live and silent auctions, and views of Albany’s Empire State Plaza.  This is the 9th annual A Taste of Albany.

Festivities kick off at 5 p.m. with a red carpet entrance and happy hour. Start the evening with a smile and a pose, then head up the NYS Museum's Terrace Gallery for sampling of hors d'oeuvres from local restaurants, complimentary beer, wine, and soda, and a peek at the silent auction items.

Following happy hour, at 6 p.m. will be the Culinary Showcase. There attendees will be able to enjoy an extensive selection of tastes from more than 30 Capital Region restaurants, entertainment, live and silent auctions, and more!

Participating restaurants includes but is not limited to Albany Pump Station, Angelo's 677 Prime, A Perfect Blend Café, New World Bistro Bar, Portofino's Italian Ristorante, and Yono's. You can find out about all 30 participating restaurants on the A Taste of Albany homepage. 

Tickets for this event are $75 or you can purchase an Honorary Ticket for $175. Honorary Ticket purchasers will receive an "A Taste of Albany Dining Book," featuring coupons and discounts to local Capital Region restaurants.

Proceeds from A Taste of Albany benefit Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless (IPH), an Albany-based agency celebrating 30 Years of addressing the needs of the homeless and low-income community. Last year, the event raised more than $100,000 for IPH.

Bite & Sip: A Culinary Cocktail Adventure

A Culinary and Cocktail Adventure

Bite & Sip

Friday, November 1st • 6 - 9 pm

Get a scrumptious BITE and a signature cocktail SIP at a variety of your favorite downtown Albany restaurants that surround Capital Repertory Theatre.

Bite & Sip is a pub crawl-style event. You may buy tickets online or that night at the Capital Repertory Theatre box office. If you buy tickets online, please visit Capital Repertory Theatre first to pick up your map.

Once you pick up your map, you can visit the locations in the order you choose.

Participating Restaurants include: Blue 82, Capital American Eatery & Lounge, McGeary's, LeSerre, The Hollow, Victory Cafe, dp An American Brasserie, Albany Pump Station and more!

For more information: Leesa Perazzo 382-3884 x187 or Lperazzo@proctors.org.

TICKET PRICES: $25

Buy your tickets online here!