By JAQUI COLT

COLUMNIST

At this point in my second-semester senior career, being thoroughly dedicated to drinking local, some brew-tour buddies and I decided to hit up another brewery after skiing.  This one, I am telling you, is well worth a stop.  Head down to Tupper Lake, a quick little hour long jaunt, and turn at the sign for Raquette River Brewing.  Do not let this be a place that you always drive past and never go to. 

The brewery is TINY.  Maybe the size of a one car garage.  Standing inside with three friends, the owner, Mark, and two other tasters was pretty cozy.  But good cozy.  There is tons of merch to be bought, and really freaking cool taps that Mark made himself out of sticks.  Love that Tupper ingenuity.  But now for the important part: the beer.

Raquette River beer is awesome!  Holy cow!  These dudes know what they are doing,  which is pretty great, considering that they have been an established brewery for less than a year.  Lots of homebrew practice is evident.  They have a solid lineup of tasty beers, everything you want after a day of skiing.  But let me highlight a really unique and delicious beer that was on tap when we were there: the Smoked Red Ale. 

Smokiness and beer.  It is a combination that makes a whole lot of sense, but for some reason I had never tried it before.  This beer was not billowing with aggressive smokiness, but it had a really tasty undertone that framed the fullness of the red ale beautifully. It is one of those beers that is unique enough to taste unfamiliar, but not weird enough to have you wondering what the hell you just sipped.  It was delicious. 

A sucker for IPAs, I bought a bomber and drank it the next night after, you guessed it, another day of skiing!  To me there is nothing better than a strong IPA at the end of a ski day.  This one did not disappoint.  In fact it was fantastic.  All their beers are brewed in small batches, so they are thoroughly tested and quality checked. 

If I was a fancy beer rating person, I would give Raquette River Brewing two thumbs up, 5 stars, a gold plate, etc.  But I am just a regular college kid, so all I can say is: Stop by and try their beer!