Druthers Brewing, Schenectady NY
14 May 2024
I’m late posting this but I’ll try to remember the details of the beers I had!
I’ve been to one of the Druthers locations in Albany but this was my first visit to Schenectady. They’re in a recently-developed area near the river, in a building that appears to have apartments or condos on the upper floors. I’m sure they do a booming business here but there wasn’t a big crowd at all for lunch on a Tuesday, at least not indoors. Here are shots of the outside including their patio area, the building, and the marina (that is boat-shaped if you check it out in Google Maps) as well as the inside.
Since I still had to get home and do other things, I only had a flight of beer and a sandwich with no follow-up pint:
The sandwich was pulled chicken with cheese and various other things and was tasty, but surprisingly dry; the fries were fine, nothing special but also nothing to say against them. I’ll describe the beers clockwise starting from the pale one farthest from the camera:
Golden Rule Blonde – Kölsch, 5.5% – This was great! They describe it as “subtle, not boring” and that’s definitely the case — it’s not overbearing as some of this style are in American breweries. Rather, it’s one I’d be happy to drink all day on a hot day.
Sultana of Swing – Session IPA, 5.8% – I’d expected to really like this one but it just didn’t have a lot of flavor for me. It also seemed a bit thin but that may have been more due to the lack of perceived flavor.
All-In IPA – American IPA, 6.5% – They brew this with German Vienna and Munich malts added, and the hops are Amarillo and Cascade with a touch of Polaris. It was definitely my favorite of the two IPAs although not my favorite overall. Still, I’d have it again.
The Dare – Traditional Gose, 5.3% – This was a Gold Award Winner at the 2014 World Beer Cup and there’s no question why! There’s just a hint of coriander in it and it’s just the right amount of sour to satisfy on a summer day without creating excessive pucker. If I had stayed for a pint, this might have the one.
Scottish-Style 80 Shilling Ale – Scottish Ale, 5.2% – This took a Silver Award at the 2016 World Beer Cup and again, it’s a beautifully-balanced beer. At this point, I was really struggling to identify a single favorite in this flight.
Lone Starr – Schwarzbier, 5.5% – This was a really great black lager with just the right amount of toasty, chocolatey flavors and a nice clean finish.
So, my favorites for the day? There wasn’t one that really stood out above the others, so I’ll just say that I’d be very happy with anything but the Session IPA. I might have a favorite choice depending on the weather and the food — and my first two choices would probably be the Kölsch and the Gose — but it would really be a close call considering how good all of these were.
It’s just too bad the food didn’t come up to the level of the beer; that surprised me considering how tasty everything was at the Albany location. If only this sandwich had had more sauce on it …