Syracuse Pale Ale by Middle Ages Brewing

Well-balanced, crisp and refreshing. 3.25/5 stars.

Let me tell you about the year I lived in Syracuse, NY. My wife had finished her doctoral studies in clinical psychology, and the last piece before diploma was a year-long internship. She matched to a site in Syracuse, and we decided that (being married but with no kids at that point) we were in a great position to live in a different part of the country for a bit. We packed whatever we could into our two cars and headed out on our 3000 mile road trip.

It was a pretty good year, all things considered. I got really into beer, since I was in a brand new (to me) part of the country and had access to breweries I had never tried before. I found all the local bottle shops and tap houses, and went a bit wild. It was also the first time that my wife was working full-time but didn’t have coursework to occupy her remaining waking hours, so we took full advantage of being able to just go when the mood struck. I attended the BeerAdvocate Extreme Beer Fest in Boston, which was an eye-opener. Coming from Oregon, I hadn’t experienced the pay-once, drink-all-day model of festival before. I was used to a token-for-pours system, so that was a pretty amazing way to experience a lot of different beers (and potentially get drunk very quickly). I did a birthday tour of New England, with stops at breweries in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont. I experienced the proliferation of farmhouse breweries in the Finger Lakes region and throughout upstate NY, made possible by a change to the state’s agri-tourism and liquor laws. And I became a frequent visitor to Tavour‘s app, purchasing a well-curated selection of beer from all over the USA and having it shipped directly to me.

I also began my homebrewing journey. I purchased a kit to make 1-gallon batches of beer and experimented with different prepackaged recipes. While I typically only take the time now to brew one or two batches each year, it was great to gain some understanding of what it took to make the beverages I was so thoroughly enjoying. I tried out an oak-aged IPA, a dry Irish stout, and a blonde stout (strong blond ale with coffee and cacao), all of which were passable versions of commercially-brewed beer. I began contemplating working in the industry, but decided that a yearlong “working vacation” wasn’t quite the right time.

While I enjoyed craft beer before that year away, I credit my time of exploration and discovery in Syracuse with firing up my passion for it. It has led me to further experiment with fermentation (making my own recipes, or even this cider). I’ve attended festivals and breweries aplenty. It was even the spark that led me to write this blog! Who knows what else it will inspire for me down the road.