5 craft beverages in Albany County, New York.
The first licensed distillery in Albany since Prohibition — founded in early 2011 by co-owners John Curtin and Rick Sicari, beginning operations in July 2012. A small-craft distillery in Albany's historic Warehouse District using both modern and traditional methods. Whiskeys (bourbon, rye, malt) are released under the Ironweed label — named for William Kennedy's Albany-set novel. Rums are released under the Quackenbush label, named for Albany's Quackenbush Square — an unaged style inspired by Albany's original 18th-century distillery from a period recipe. Collaboration releases with Nine Pin Ciderworks and Death Wish Coffee. A separate ADCo Bar & Bottle Shop sits down the street at 75 Livingston Ave in a building dating to 1844 (former horse stable, Nabisco factory). Tours of the distillery by appointment.
A historic brewpub in the former Quackenbush Pumping Station at the foot of Albany's Hudson River waterfront — operated by C.H. Evans Brewing Company, which traces its roots to Cornelius H. Evans's 19th-century Hudson brewery. Features in-house craft beers brewed on-site alongside a full menu of pub fare. A perennial Capital Region landmark on the Capital Craft Beverage Trail.
The second location for Druthers Brewing Company — opened in 2015 in a 17,000-square-foot warehouse originally constructed in 1901 on Broadway in north Albany. The expanded footprint allows Druthers to produce enough beer for the restaurant and its off-premises sales program. Lineup includes the Golden Rule Pilsner, an award-winning Scottish-style ale (2016 World Beer Cup Silver), and a rotating cast of IPAs, sours, stouts, and seasonal beers — paired with elevated comfort food including the signature house-made mac & cheese, burgers, and wood-fired pretzels. Expansive outdoor beer garden in warmer months.
A farm cidery and brewery on Indian Ladder Farms — a Ten Eyck family century farm founded in 1916 at the foot of the Helderberg Escarpment, with over 300 acres of apple orchards, berry patches, pumpkin fields, and pasture. Hops have been grown on-site since 2012, and after New York passed the Farm Brewery Law in 2013, longtime friends Dietrich Gehring and Stuart Morris opened the cidery and brewery at Indian Ladder in May 2016 — first on the farmhouse porch, then expanding into the lower-level taproom and outdoor Biergarten with a pavilion, sound stage, and fire pits. Beers and hard ciders use apples, hops, and malting barley from Indian Ladder and other New York farms — true farm-to-glass. Taproom open Thursday–Sunday; tasting room overlooks the hop yard, with brunch service at the upstairs Yellow Rock Café. A Taste NY attraction.
New York State's first farm cidery — founded by Alejandro del Peral in downtown Albany's Warehouse District. Crafts complex and refreshing ciders using 100% local New York apples and fruit sourced from Capital Region and Hudson Valley orchards. The flagship Signature cider (an off-dry sparkling cider made primarily from Samascott Orchards apples) anchors a rotating lineup that includes Ginger, Belgian, Rosé, and seasonal releases. Tasting room offers 18 taps featuring 9+ Nine Pin ciders plus local NY beers and cider cocktails, gourmet sourdough pizzas, and house-made charcuterie. Seasonal outdoor café in the unique warehouse setting.