Taking Jenn to the Pour House

Last year my “neighborhood” bar Mahar’s closed their doors after 24 years due to changes with their landlord.  It was sad for me, losing my very own version of Cheers (just with better beer) where everyone knew my name.  They still have another location in Castleton that I visited once in a while, but they no longer have the same passion (which is also my passion) of searching out and offering the latest, hard to find beers.  The new owners, who owned several other properties on the street, planned to renovate (a coat of paint?) and open a taphouse providing craft beer. I was skeptical.  I also don’t like change and the fact that these folks were replacing my favorite spot pissed me off.  However, I was told by my friend Dave that the new owners were going to do it right, I thought I would head down the first week that they opened. 

I stopped in earlier in the week, but they weren’t quite open (got to keep that opening times current online).  The owner let me in and gave me a tour, and even bought me my first beer at the place, a Goose Island Big John on tap, a big and bold imperial stout brewed with cocoa nibs that weighed in at 11.5% ABV.  The Madison Pour House (http://madisonpourhouse.bmtmgt.com/ordereze/default.aspx) renovation was stunning.  They made the second floor accessible, opening up the area above the bar so that you could see down from the second floor.  The light from the second floor windows brightened up the entire place.  Their kegs are kept in a different structure outside, and then the lines are run down through the basement to the bar.  They added a gas fireplace and HD TVs, but what was most impressive to me was the tap list.  They had no crap on tap, offering a good selection of local beer, imports, and other craft favorites.  They indicated that they planned to keep their website up to date with their draft list, and then noted that they plan to share what they had on deck.  That’s vital for me travelling from Rexford, so that I can know when a trip is worth it for me to find something new.  There initial offering had 8 beers that weren’t on my personal list, so I was impressed.

I liked it so much I asked Jenn to come back with me on Friday, after we had shared a delicious lunch together at the Halfmoon Sandwich shop.  Madison Pour House plans to offer food, but we needed to be there when they opened at 2PM so that we could be home for the kids, so I’ll have to check out their Ploughman’s some other time.  Good call, since half of their food menu was unavailable (start up issues I guess).  Jenn was happy to have a Strongbow on draft, while I chose one of their two cask selections, Abita Select Imperial Stout.  We sat upstairs and took in the sites.  They offer full pints, tulip sized mediums and 4 oz tasters (love that).  I went back downstairs and got a Ellicottville Ghost (chocolate stout brewed with Ghost peppers) on draft in a taster before I realized that they had waitresses.  Old habits will be hard to break.  The ultimate compliment came from Jenn when she said she’d look forward to coming back.

One of the positive reasons I look forward to making the trek to downtown Albany is that it is an excuse to stop by Oliver’s Beverage (http://www.brew-crew.com/), which has the best bottle selection in the Capital Region.  I like bottle shopping, looking for the hard to fine brews that can mysteriously pop up on the back shelves.  On this trip I found a 2010 Hoppin’ Frog Barrel Aged BORIS the Crusher, a Russian Imperial Stout aged in whiskey barrels that is rated a 96 on Beer Advocate, and #190 on their top 250 beer list.  I got a bottle of their version of BORIS that was not barrel aged.  Anyone interested in a taste test?

I saw my friend from Remarkable Liquids (an up and coming beer distributor specializing in specialty ales), and asked how he plans to keep so many beer bars well stocked.  Some want a good selection maintained while others want the unique beers to the area.  He’ll have to figure out how to keep both Bier Abbey and Madison Pour House both well supplied.  All I know is that I end up being the winner with some beer competition in the area (Yeah me!).  I think that I will be coming back to the Pour House quite often. - 15247

 
“May your beer be laid under an enchantment of surpassing excellence for seven years!” - Gandalf