Peekskill Brewery

My boyfriend and I started yelping for a dinner spot off the Thruway around 7:30pm on a Sunday, lucky for us, the Peekskill Brewery doesn't close it's kitchen until 9pm-- and we were off! Through the lush, cliffy, scenic curves of Bear Mtn State Park. It was easy to find, right near the river and train station in a cool industrial building with lots of parking. Despite it being late on a Sunday, the place was still busy with a mixture of locals and out-of-towners like ourselves. The Yankees game was on while a bartender's ipod played, the ambiance was relaxed and the vibe was hip.

We were waited on by Dylan, who was super friendly and helpful, service was perfection; I ordered "Share the Rainbow", a Belgian White, my boyfriend ordered the "Flavor Saver" a Crossroads x Stillwater x Peekskill collab, which he loved. We also got a house-made pickle plate which has rustic, thick-cuts of pickled veggies, even celery! with rye bread toast (the dream of the 1890's is alive in Peekskill). If we weren't trying to get back on the road, we would have stuck with more beer and supplemental small plates. But alas we were there to refuel, I ordered the fish and chips, which was straightforward, the batter was golden and crispy but the fish not quite salty enough for my tastes--apparently they used dorado fish too which was an interesting step away from the typical cod or flounder. The fish itself was outshone by the chips, the best french fries ever: lemon parmesan flavored hand-cut fries. My boyfriend ordered the house-made bean and grain veggie burger, he really enjoyed the taste and texture of the burger itself.  The menu is well-suited for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike and the food is made with love. We love it when a restaurant clearly takes the extra steps to house-pickle, hand-cut fries, make their own veggie burgers, and batter their fish in chips with their very own beer.

We ordered two more half-beers each: I, the Amazeballs, my new PB favorite, a non-bitter or malty, hop-driven beer; And my boy, the Lower Standard, a true IPA, the lower alc. sister of the Eastern Standard, because he had to drive. The brewmaster is really on point, every beer we had was extremely smooth, it's not the arm's race for over-the-top hop flavor over here, the flavors are really sophisticated.

This was such an enjoyable pitstop on our way back upstate,hope you try it for yourself.

Both my friend and I agreed that the beer, meal and service was excellent! He had the smoked trout remoulade which he loved and I had the PB burger which was perfectly cooked and flavorful. We both commented on how the fries were some of the tastiest we've tried. Service was excellent and the beer was solid especially the Share the Rainbow and CREAM Ale.

Let me first state: I love so much of what Peekskill Brewery is doing. My husband and I have frequented the place many times even back in the old location. The beer list was the huge draw here - amazing, especially for the Hudson Valley, which is sorely lacking in microbrew selections - so sick of seeing only Big Beer around here. The bar atmosphere was always casual and fun, but the food seemed too big for its britches. A $15 hamburger? It better blow my socks off, but it's just an okay-to-good burger. The last few times we visited the new location and noted a vast improvement: the Peekskill beer keeps getting better. I'm a huge fan of the Eastern Standard. However, that is the only good thing. I met my husband there with my daughter the other night - he was early so sat at the downstairs bar. We had a kid so were more than happy to go upstairs (the bar is 21 an over), but my husband noticed that the $1 oysters at the bar were $2 upstairs! And the very same beer was MORE EXPENSIVE UPSTAIRS. Who what now? Why does the upstairs crowd get the short end of the stick at the same time of day? Seems tailor-made to piss somebody off, and it did. It made me remember my utterly regrettable choice of the grilled cheese sandwich the last time we came, which was too greasy to even contemplate. A few bites and I felt ill. (However my husband's choice of the pulled pork sandwich was inspired - he devoured it). But we've decided that our latest experience will be our last: WE WILL NOT BE BACK. Please note: the staff were friendly and extremely helpful on all our recent visits, so no ill will toward them at all.