I missed my opportunity to get to Mean Max in Glens Falls on my last visit downtown, so I was glad…read moreto have the opportunity to visit their newer taproom in Troy. The atmosphere inside is very chill and welcoming, and it was a delight to see seven classic pinball machines in the back - bring quarters! One minor disappointment was that they don't carry a lot of the beers listed on their website... yet. As of this review, you still have to go to Glens Falls for a lot of them, but our bartender told us that more would be coming soon. Pshaw, I had been looking forward to some of their stouts, though I was very satisfied with the Vanilla Porter. Bar seating is comfortable. Street parking is readily available, but read all the posted signs for when you can and cannot park nearby.

What an awesome find. I didn't know they opened a location in Troy. It's just wonderful. Great…read morebeers and bartenders. Great tasting stouts which are a favorite of mine. No food but that's fine and typical of most breweries. Believe you can bring food in.

You seriously have to love the not at all serious label names of soooo many of their brews!…read more Hehehehe....He'brew, She'brew, Pastrami Pilsner, Jewbelation 21. Totally cracks me up. Love their packaging/branding in general. Great job with this dudes! Now, on to their location and taste of their beers. Decent sized tasting room with a hodge podge of different kinds of seating including antiquated picnic tables and table tops sitting on top of old barrels. They also have a couch setup in the corner for lounging, as well as a completely separate game room with all the typical games for all the middle aged gen x'ers and older millenials that congregate here. My favorite beer was the Foggy Goggles that they advertise as a NE IPA that's fruity and hazy (which it was) and has an ABV of 5.18%. I also seriously enjoyed their Messiah Nut Brown ale (ABV of 5.2%). I could slow sip this sucker all day long. Didn't have the room or the guts to try out their heavy duty Funky Jewbelation 18 (12% ABV) sour....maybe next time...and if I eat like a dozen kreplach and a few gefilte fish first. Anyway, lots of beers to take away, almost all in bottles. Most 64 oh zee growler fills are 15 bucks with your own growler and another 10 bones if you don't have one with you. They've got tees and other merch as well and all seemed to be reasonably priced and downright funny at times. There are regulars here that know what's up...they bring their coolers of food, bags of chips, and even games to play. They hang out. They drink beers. They spend time...and Shmaltz is all for it. Things were gettin' kinda rowdy in there and I'm fine with it. No kids anyhwhere. LOVED that!!! Please leave your kids with the sitter and don't take them to a brewery...not their kind of place. Take them to McDonald's Playland...anyways... Pink Floyd on the speakers the entire time we were there and I loved every second of it. They have two different bathrooms that are both co-ed and parking is avalable in the front and along the side of the building. Yankee Distillery is right across the street and is a safe and easy walk for you drunkards that don't find the 12 plus ABV of some of Shmaltz' beers to do you well enough. Dude..you got a problem. No food served so you need to bring your own latkes, knish, mozza balls, etc.

Didn't know what to expect...but I've been meaning to visit the tasting room since I heard about…read moreSchmaltz several years ago. Finally made it in yesterday...albeit briefly...since I'm currently not drinking much as I continue to recover from a recent surgery. (I'll be back in full imbibing swing real soon...). But, I have tried some of their brews in a variety of local places and I have enjoyed their offerings. I really wanted to taste some of the darker stuff; I've only had the lighter choices in the past...but I'm a dark beer girl these days. I was surprised at how big and busy the tasting room was. There's a separate area with table games and other fun stuff; the main room has the bar with plenty of places to sit, hang out, drink and chat with friends. The crowd was pretty young; I felt rather old and out of place. I asked about the tours and the kid at the bar didn't really know...had to check...wasn't sure...maybe they'll have another one in the afternoon...that was a little weird. So....we didn't do a tour. Maybe some other time. As a fellow member of the "tribe", I really like the creativity of these MOT's. Cleverly named beers like "He-Brew" make me chuckle and appreciate the overall theme even more. L'Chaim!

This spot is known for good beer, a stellar friendly staff, and so many fun ways to share your time…read morewith friends while visiting (coloring, old school video gaming, andlive music - oh my!) We loved visiting the outdoor patio space for drinking while rocking to live music, with easy access to food truck parking. The beer list contains a nice variety of styles which met the variety of tastebuds in our group. Also love that this place features rotating guest taps, wine, cider, canned cocktails and kombucha, too. So many local brands are featured and promoted in this spot. Visiting Rare Form again is for sure on the 2023 Summer Goals list - I've heard good things about their pizza and I think we need to test the "what goes better with good beer?" theory v. soon.

The day I was here I had visited a few other local breweries. This one was the smallest in terms of…read moresize and beers offered, but it was also the most casual, and most friendly in terms of ambiance. They had more beers of interest to me here than at the others I visited today. This was, for me, the perfect brewery at which to wind down for the day.

Wing Wednesday is everywhere... but where can you go enjoy good wings in a huge open space with…read moreoversized TVs, friendly staff, and free games including darts??? Fidens Brewing Company on Broadway in Albany Each week there's a different wing flavor to try, so whether you're into stepping outside the box or sticking with your favorites, the choice is yours. And let me just say this... people were constantly coming in for pickup orders and filling seats to the point they SOLD OUT of wings I heard one poor guy say "Ummm... now I don't know what to get." But those Buffalo Wontons??? Absolutely delicious Outside of the food menu they also have a huge selection of beers, and since I'm definitely not a beer connoisseur, "Mike" behind the bar let me sample a few while breaking down the different flavor profiles which honestly made the experience even better.

This place has become my usual spot for lunch when I'm in Albany area. There's parking lot next to…read morebrewery. I had raspberry and dragon fruit hard seltzer. It is very refreshing. Not overly sweet. I could smell the raspberry when I was drinking it. It has vibrant raspberry color too. My favorite dish here is the chili. Not too salty but well seasoned. Perfect consistency. Brussel sprouts are great appetizer. Crispy, not bitter as it is drizzled with balsamic vinegar. My husband had Reuben sandwich. It's good but greasy. You order the food and drink at the bar area. You are given a buzzer that you put on the table. The waiter will come to deliver the food. There's misunderstanding about our salad order. We ordered regular salad but were given a side dish size. The waiter quickly told the kitchen to make regular size salad.

Staff is outstanding bartenders are great Kevin and Jordan bartenders are incredibly adorable and…read morevery sweet! Excellent drinks. Food is outstanding extremely fresh!!

We were here on a weeknight dinner for the view of the Hudson River. We parked in the free lot next…read moreto the building and came up the stairs in the back. We were seated right away on their back patio without any wait. Service was good though a bit slow. They were busy and our food came out slow as well. We did enjoy the huge crispy fish sandwich with fries, cheeseburger with onion rings, and German plate.

If not for the amazing atmosphere, Common Roots would be pretty common…read more Although the establishment is vast with plenty of seating, the food has much to be desired. I ordered a sour beer of raspberry-lime. It was decent but something was missing I still can't determine. My starter were house made chips with their blue cheese dipping sauce. They arrived almost instantaneously and were well done, which I appreciated. The dipping sauce is so thick, it's more like a spread with some intense flavor. My smashburger arrived, which looked great until I realized the burger had been smashed to the point of being paper thin, making the edges crispy. This made for a "bread sandwich" that was dry until I got to the sauce and kimchi in the absolute center, which was quite good. There was no side salad option, so I went with the German potato salad. It was over-seasoned to the point where I had to stop eating. The runner also brought over fries, which I hadn't ordered, but he left them on my table anyway. They were also well done and tasted good. However, I was "potatoed out" at that point. Many other diners had pizzas and they looked great. Clearly, they knew something I didn't and I should have tried one of those instead. I couldn't relay this to the server because he kept disappearing for long periods of time and never happened to see me hold up a hand for help. He was kind but not attentive by any means. After fifteen minutes of waiting, he did reappear and finally got my check. Common Roots could be an amazing place to dine and hangout but they've got some work to do. Five stars for the atmosphere and two stars for food and service.

I have found the best restaurant-made potato chips at Common Roots Brewing in Albany. The thing is,…read moreI wasn't even looking for them. They came free with my Nashville fried chicken sandwich order.They do great deep fryer food. My sandwich was all sorts of crispy, spicy and tangy fun. The space, however, has changed a lot. I remember when it was the Pump Station several years ago. The late owner, Neil Evan, was a fixture there and his seafood Mac & Cheese was something to rave about. By contrast, Common Roots has a more limited menu and plainer furniture. A lot of pizza varieties, tacos, salads and burgers. Decent bar food. By contrast, Common Roots flagship in Glens Falls appears to have a better menu with more variety. I generally eat healthy. I can't eat bar food regularly. The meal was great for a Friday night out. There's also a very good non-alcoholic beverage and drinks menu. I was happy to see all of varieties of stout. The snowy stout was delicious. So was the kombucha. The bar where I sat was clean, sleek and modern. The bartender, who took my order was helpful with suggestions. The main dining area looked a bit sparse for 8pm on a Friday night but the business is still relatively new. I'd like to see an expanded menu with at least a few more healthy choices and some family-friendly selections. Meanwhile, I'll know where to go if I get a craving for awesome freshly made potato chips.

Stopped in here on a Sunday afternoon and we were greeted by Roger. He was so welcoming and took my…read moreboyfriend and I through their extensive list of brews. My boyfriend liked several of their beers so he opted for a flight of four - their Brown Ale, Red Ale, Extra Special Bitter and Ordinary Bitter. I went with a glass of carbonated Sangria from a Niskayuna-based winery, Capoccia Wines. I had no idea Niskayuna even had a winery! He really liked their beers and I loved the Sangria - it was so refreshing and fruity. It's super spacious with a bar area and adjoining room with more tables and corn hole. They had signage for a corn hole league that just ended. They also have an attached store with equipment for home brewing. Highly recommend stopping through! We loved chatting with Roger about the brewery and about his travels too.

I drove right past the place on my first visit, even with navigation going. I had been thinking,…read more"Farm brewery... where's the farm?" The tasting room is in the larger portion of a strip mall on Route 4. The seating at the bar is very cozy, and on your left you have a larger, very well maintained, area with tables and the rest room. The beer is good here, and so is the art of conversation, which, to me, is equally important at a brewery. They let us sample a few items before settling in on our chosen pours. I loved the eclectic setting, and for me you can't go wrong with 60s and 70s music (yeah, I was around for all of it).

I absolutely think this place is great!…read more I was introduced to Fallside through a Yelp Event earlier this year. I talked about it so much at work my friends begged to go. We met up for 50 cent wings on Sunday. Yeah, that's right, what is this 2006? 50 cent wings, and they are no joke! Big plump and juicy wings cooked perfectly crispy and generously tossed in sauce with was was described as house-made ranch or blue cheese dressing? My friends really enjoyed them. I had the fried vegetable gyoza and I can't say I've ever had them deep fried before, more like steamed or pan-fried, but this was a game changer! I was really looking forward to the Imposter cheezy jalapeno bites but our server informed us they were out. I love that they have several vegan options on the menu. At the Yelp Event we were fortunate enough to try the vegan pizza and it was honestly one of the best vegan pizzas around the Capital Region. They use Imposter plant-based cheese which is a local product made by a small business in Troy. I love that small businesses are supporting each other like this. The beer is excellent too, we were looking forward to having the red ale since I spoke so fondly of it but it was tapped out. I had a really good mango IPA which hazy doesn't even begin to describe! It's really nice inside and on Sunday it had just become warm enough by mid afternoon, they opened the big garage door and let some fresh air in which was no nice after such a long winter. I think I can speak for my coworkers and I that we will be coming back again soon so please keep those vegan options stocked up!

I was disappointed that I could not attend Yelp Albany's recent event at Bye-I-now-Fallside Brewery…read morea few weeks ago. So the next time I scheduled a brewery crawl in the area, I made sure to come here. I submitted a business page update regarding the rebranding, but at this point, I don't know whether Yelp will simply rename the existing page or create a new one for Fallside. For the time being, my update goes under Bye-I. The new space is great. I had no idea how much bigger it was until I walked a ways inside, and I was equally impressed by the cool artwork. The beer is, of course, as tasty as before. We seated ourselves in the back to enjoy our pours, and within a couple of minutes, a server dropped off food menus and attended to us the rest of the evening. Had I read my recently obtained copy of the March-April copy of local "True Brew," I would have known that several of their dishes were featured in it, specifically their beef stew and mac & cheese. But I had the Chicken Caprese sandwich, which came with steak fries perfectly cooked and obviously cut in their own kitchen. We were checked on frequently, and as we were finishing up, their Friday evening music session was starting. Food and drink here are reasonably priced, and I feel the quality of both were just as good, or perhaps better, than what you get at "those larger breweries" along Broadway. Of course I'll still patronize them all, but for me, Fallside has the edge in this part of town right now.

The food is so good definitely try the Mac and cheese and their burgers! It's amazing staff tooread more

14,000 mile 48 state food and craft beer road trip stop in Saratoga, NY. My reviews on here are…read moreoverall positive but I admittedly had one of my worst experiences of my 14,000 mile trip at this spot. I will start by saying that it was an hour before a FIFA World Cup game at mid-afternoon on a weekday. The bar was full and the outdoor seats just over half capacity. To not steal a table for 1 if a crowd came in for the game, I asked for a high top that was by bar that was about to be empty. After waiting 20 minutes to order, it took an additional 45 minutes to receive my Nashville hot chicken fries appetizer. As the photo shows, it had just a drizzle of ranch at most as the fries needed some sort of sauce. But after my food arrived, nobody came over to check on me and I finished them without what I was trying to ask for. On top of that though, I ordered a flight which I believe was around $17. By that point I gave up trying to order a sandwich there and knew that to get my tab I would have to grab it in advance from the bar when I saw the bartender was on a free moment (my server was nowhere to be seen). I walked about 10 feet to the bar to snag my check and came back to table that was entirely bussed including my flight that I only drank about an ounce of each from. So I was charged for the flight despite not being able to drink it. After paying, I asked for a manager at the front table. I waited 7 minutes for them to arrive. I told the manager that my goal was not to post but I explained the situation face to face. They asked for my check and I see just over a month later I was still charged for the flight that was dumped before I was able to drink it. They were not busy enough to be that poor of service but they were super quick to try to rotate tables. This was on June 19 as this review was August 9. The photo was of Nashville Hot Chicken Fries (hand-cut fries, crispy nashville hot chicken, alabama white sauce, shredded dill pickles).

Love the quaintness of a former little red schoolhouse. Small, intimate lending to a coffeehouse…read morevibe but brew and wine instead. Music of the Beaks led to lots of positive energy.

Loved this place! Went here last week and tried 2 sour beers, both of which I enjoyed. The place…read moreitself is so nice and clean I thought it had just opened. Upon speaking with Kari, I learned they opened in 2020 and it used to be an old schoolhouse! They had a craft night for a Valentine's Day craft, they have games, pariticpate in the jigsaw puzzle competition amongst a few local breweries, and had an ongoing "guess the amount" competition to guess how many candy hearts were in a container, and they have live music. They don't serve food but do have pop-ups with local places. I wish I could have checked out the outdoor space but weather didn't allow it. Definitely a place I'd come back to, especially in spring/summer. Sidenote: If you're looking for a local place to stay the night, the upstairs loft is a beautiful Air BnB!