Baseball-themed ale a hit with beer lovers
LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. » A baseball-themed ale was a big hit at this past weekend’s Adirondack Wine & Food Festival in Lake George.
Cooperstown Brewing Company’s “Induction Ale” pays tribute to the players scheduled to enter the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, July 30.
Packaging depicts a baseball diamond with the uniform numbers of 2017 inductees Tim Raines, Jeff Bagwell and Ivan Rodriguez on each base.
“It’s a nice light-bodied ale that’s brewed with orange peel and coriander; about 4.8 percent alcohol content,” said Alissa Dill, a Lake George Beer Hub employee.
The recently-opened Beer Hub, on Route 9 in Queensbury, makes the ale for Cooperstown Brewing.
The Beer Hub is the former Davidson Brothers brewery, which was purchased last year by Oneonta-based Northern Eagle Beverage.
Davidson ales are brewed there, too.
Rick Davidson sold the brewery, but still owns the popular Davidson Brothers restaurant in downtown Glens Falls.
The Hub, between Glens Falls and Lake George, offers brewery tours and tastings, and hosts special events.
“We’re doing a lot of different things there now,” Dill said. “We did an overhaul of the inside, changed it all around. We’ve got a beer garden with 20 craft beers on tap.”
Richard Black, a vacationer who lives near Glasgow, Scotland, was among the nearly 6,000 people who turned out for this year’s third annual Wine & Food Festival. He doesn’t know much about baseball, but quickly became a big fan of Induction Ale.
“It’s absolutely superb,” he said.
Colorfully-designed metal growlers include a picture of historic Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, where several Hall of Fame Induction Weekend events are slated for July 28-31.
About 90 vendors, almost entirely from New York state and some from as far as Buffalo, took part in the Wine & Food Festival, organized by Sasha and Michael Pardy, co-owners of Adirondack Winery and Adirondack Festivals.
“Last year we had a $65,000 grant from the New York Craft Beverage Initiative to put this on,” Sasha Pardy said. “We didn’t have that this year. We got some occupancy tax money, but we pulled this off with less funding. I think it shows that this is an event that’s going to have more excitement around it year after year.”
The Baseball Hall of Fame recently opened a new exhibit that pays tribute to Class of 2017 inductees. Artifacts on display include:
• Jeff Bagwell’s 1994 National League Most Valuable Player Award.
• A Montreal Expos jersey worn by Tim Raines during his rookie season of 1981 when he stole 71 bases in 88 games.
• A bat used by Ivan Rodríguez during the 2003 World Series with the Marlins
For more information, go to www.baseballhall.org/hofweekend.