Poughkeepsie NY – Mill House Brewing

I almost went to Hyde Park Brewing. I’ve been there perhaps three times in the past, but not for several years, and I also liked it when I was there. In the end, I decided to try something new, and I was very glad I did.

If I hadn’t checked the Google satellite image and known that Mill House had a large parking lot, I don’t know that I would have found the place. If there was an obvious sign announcing its location, I certainly didn’t see it!

Inside, it was interesting architecture and quite large; I was in just one of the several rooms. Perhaps because it was the bar area, I found it much noisier than I would have preferred, with both music and conversation intruding on the experience.

But the beer was fantastic! I did a flight of five:

Left to right, these were:

Köld One – right up there with the best Kölsch beers I’ve ever enjoyed.

Cross Reference Blackberry – this is a wild/sour ale using a citrus sour as the base, adding blackberries to the mix. I found the color a bit odd, and it was my least favorite of the five even though I generally really love a sour.

Mr. Anderson – Because I had to try this one, right? And I’m glad I did because it was a fantastic Scottish Ale!

Velvet Panda – a stout, very smooth and easy-drinking.

Kilt Spinner – Another one I had to try, right? This one was also great, and even with the higher alcohol content it wasn’t immediately obvious that you were being hit with a lot of it.

Because I loved the first and third of these so much, I went with a 12oz of the Kölsch and a half pint of the Scottish Ale, and don’t they look fine?

For food, I decided on just a basic burger and fries. The burger wasn’t anything to write home about, but the fries were very nicely done and I finished them all, a rare thing indeed.

And because I wasn’t ready to end my trip yet, I opted for a dessert and very happy that I did. This was a chocolate chip and graham cracker cookie topped with toasted marshmallow and vanilla ice cream, and it was a perfect foil to the glass of Mr. Anderson.

All in all, I’m going to put the Mill House up there with Blind Tiger, Black Bottle, and Guardian as one of the best brewpubs from this trip. I wish I’d had room to also sample beers at Hyde Park Brewing, but that just wasn’t in the cards. Perhaps I’ll have to do a day trip sometime 🙂