Continued from Brews and Clues
Lake Placid is paradise. If you can handle long periods of extremely cold weather you can live there and be in heaven all year round. It is a mini Lake Tahoe with no gambling for all you wild westerners. I went there for delicious craft beer, legendary sports history and some great live music. Two of my favorite brewery-restaurant combos, the 1932-1980 Olympic Museum, and the Snoe.down music festival were all on the books on that sunny day late in the thick of March Madness.
12:27 After a beautiful drive I found myself entering the quaint town and headed straight to Lake Placid Pub and Brewery for a beer sampler and some eats. It was a heady place full of interesting locals and the diverse festival crowd. I had six excellent beers placed in a unique wooden tray and a delicious meal. The standouts were the Ubu Ale, their deep garnet red, English Strong Ale named after a a trusty hound, and the Frostbite Ale, a tribute to West Coast-style American Pale Ales with a great scent and aftertaste. Their offerings were all fresh, quality brews with pronounced scents and top tier taste. The rest I ranked in this order: the deep copper 46'er Pale Ale, the smooth Sunrise Stout, the crispy golden Moose Island Ale and the roasty Imperial Stout. Check the website for info on their regionally popular beers.
01:39 I asked for a tour and one of the brewing assistants was glad to show me around. In a small brewing space they manage to make magic. I checked out some live yeast and got some great shots of their equipment. The guy was so good I tried to tip him but he wouldn't take it so I thanked him sincerely and headed to the Olympic Complex.
03:11 The main hockey complex, called the Lake Placid Field House, was my next stop. I got a thorough look at the two rinks 195 196 and ventured back into the showers and locker rooms to get the Olympic athlete's full insider experience. Then I was off to the Lake Placid Winter Olympic Museum where I would learn all about the 1932 and 1980 Olympics. I left full of knowledge and appreciation considering I'm the opposite of a winter guy and know very little about anything that involves heavy clothing.
04:02 Great Adirondack Brewing Company was on my way back to the lodge and I could not wait until the next day (when I planned to tour the facility) to sample their suds. So I popped in and scheduled a tour for the morning on the way to the bar. There I found myself extremely under-dressed. It was a rarity, a fine-dining restaurant that had their own beer brewed on premises! I immediately noticed and enjoyed the classy Adirondack motif and the attentive professionalism of the staff. I was served well by a guy who had probably been bar tending for twenty years. I started with the sampler, lavishly presented in a hand carved wood carrier that trumped the one from Lake Placid Brewing. Check-plus honors went to the smooth-drinking Haystack Blonde Ale (5%), the perfectly-hopped John Brown Pale Ale (6.4%), the mildly-sweet Skyward Stout (5%), and aromatic 2006 Cloudsplitter Barley wine (9.5%). The check ranking went to the overly-sweet Adirondack Abbey Ale (7.1%) and over-hopped Adirondack Gold Cream Ale (5.5%). My least favorite was the Ausable Wulff Red Ale (5.6%) because I found it too malty and too sweet. I ate a delicious burger served on an English muffin with crisp, savory fries and headed back to the lodge for some rest and March Madness analysis on the tube.
www.adirondackbrewing.com
07:00 I arrived at the venue, the setting of the USA ice hockey team's stunning miracle victory over the Russians in the 1980 Olympics, and was just in time for the Brazilian Girls. They are an original and interesting band worth checking out live at any festival that they play. They played well but their sets always sound the same to me. The lead singer was very captivating as always but I eagerly awaited the Disco Biscuits. The Bisco set was top-notch and full of energy but one set wasn't enough. I needed more of the electronic untz that they effortlessly lace into the bass-heavy boots and bits. If you are near somebody say "boots and bits and" over and over while they repeat "untz" and you will know what I'm talking about. They frequently play rave-party music that they create as a live jam band which blows me away every time and leaves me wanting more. Thats what's so frustrating about seeing your band at a festival. Unless they headline you are left unfulfilled after the lone set. Lucky for me, the headliner of this fest was moe., a band who has played enough festivals to know this. To the surprise of everyone, they brought Bisco back out in the middle of one of their jams. The Biscuits came on stage one by one and each slowly took over their respected instrument. Once they were all up there on un-familiar instruments they dropped into Cyclone and instantly rocked the arena! I stayed until the end and was rewarded with the epic song called Plane Crash at the end of the encore to send me home happy.
?? ?? The walk back to the lodge in the snow was refreshing but all i could think about was eating the deli meats waiting patiently on my open windowsill. I was in an increadibly comfortable and well furnished room but it lacked a fridge so I had to leave my munchies in mother nature's hands. Once my sandwich was devoured I slid into my welcoming Tempur pedic bed, turned off ESPN News, and passed out
God Bless Upstate New York - stay tuned for the next voyage through the great upstate in The Adriondacks are Gorgeous