BY: BEN RICHARDS

STAFF WRITER

Nestled in the middle of the beautiful Adirondacks, an area that I hope most students at this university are very familiar with, rests in the town of Tupper Lake. I must admit, it’s not my favorite town in the Daks, but it is home to my favorite Adirondack Brewery. Raquette River Brewing Company, that cook up some delicious small-batch brews that are not only flavorful but also original. Brew-Master Mark Jessie is most certainly doing it right. The brewery was open for well-over a year before they began to commercially sell their beers in 22 oz bottles, which some of us may refer to as bombers. I recently conducted an interview with Mark to ask him a few questions about his brewing process and his vision for the breweries future, which I personally believe is very bright.  Mark informed me that Raquette River Brewing Co. is brewing a beer in conjunction with the Wild Center in Tupper Lake. The beer will be a Maple Porter brewed with the Wild Center’s own Maple Syrup. There will be a tasting held at The Wild Center on March 1st and March 21st, but the beer will be available at the brewery starting March 1st. I was able to get an early taste test and the beer is something special. I also asked Mark what set their brewery apart from others in the area. Mark stated that computerizing the measuring process and using fresh ingredients has made their beers what Mark calls “small batch and handcrafted with a touch of high-tech”.

Fittingly, this week’s beer recommendation is the staple beer from Raquette River, the Pale Ale. This is the best beer being commercially brewed inside the Adirondack Park. It is straightforward, with a strong hop aroma, but light hop body, only hopped with Cascade hops (good choice), light IBU content (37), but enough to satisfy a Hophead like myself. With a 5.3% ABV a growler of this delicious beer will have you poised to cut a rug at the Java Barn. So shoot on over to Raquette River Brewery, just make sure you bring me if you go.