Provided By www.thisiscooperstown.com

Craft Beverage Itinerary

With a history steeped in agriculture, hand-crafted beer and other beverages, Otsego County was once the largest producer of hops in the United States. Today, the area is known as a forerunner in the craft beverage renaissance, producing high quality, small-batch beers, wines, ciders, and spirits.

Jump on to the Cooperstown Beverage Trail to learn about the region’s hops and grape history and modern production, and tour some of the most esteemed farm breweries, wineries, and other producers in New York State.

We recommend consulting these business’ websites before visiting, as many of them operate seasonally and have varying hours of operation.

Day One: Focus On Farm Brewing

Featured Transportation: Leatherstocking Trolley
Hop aboard for a day of hops beverages, and more! For a fun way to tour Cooperstown and fully experience craft beverages in the region, book a private charter for your group on the Leatherstocking Trolley. The perfect way to explore the Cooperstown Beverage Trail, this classically-styled electric trolley seats up to 30 passengers. Providing professional, hassle-free service, Leatherstocking Trolley also offers themed sightseeing tours of Cooperstown.

Bobby Sharp Glassworks (1 – 4 hours)
Step into the Bobby Sharp Glassworks studio to watch the artist working his trade over a glass furnace. Crafting stunning works of art for everyday use, high-quality wine carafes, beer mugs, and other hand-blown glass items are available for purchase – and makes for a perfect beverage trail memento. The studio also offers a popular “Make Your Own Beer Mug” workshop every Saturday, where up to six participants learn the skills to create their own glass-blown beer mug.

Beverage Trail Partners
The Cooperstown Beverage Trail features eight partners including breweries, wineries, a distillery, and a historic cider mill, all producing distinctive, high-quality craft beverages. Hit the 37-mile trail, the first official cuisine trail in New York State, for a selection of tastings, tours, farm-to-table dining, and events that celebrate the region’s craft beverage resurgence.
The first day of this tour focuses on the region’s craft beers and brewing:

• Butternuts Beer & Ale (1 hour)
  Located on a 120-acre refurbished dairy farm, Butternuts Beer & Ale creates no-nonsense beers that combine American-style farmhouse ales with German, English and Belgian influences. Stop by to sample their specialty brews on tap and take a brewery tour.
• Cooperstown Brewing Company (1 hour)
  A true small-batch, English-style brewery specializing in premium ales, porters and stouts brewed in 20-barrel batches. Here, you can sample Cooperstown Brewing Company‘s baseball-inspired brews like Old Slugger Pale Ale, Nine Man Ale, and Benchwarmer Porter, and enjoy a tour.
• Red Shed Brewery (1-3 hours)
  Making fresh, handcrafted ales using local hops and grains, Red Shed Brewery‘s Cooperstown tasting room features 20 taps serving a variety of ales, pilsners, wheat beers, IPAs, stouts, and porters. Enjoy a sampling alongside a menu of farm-to-table bites.

Day Two: Focus On Wine & Spirits

Featured Transportation: Absolute Taxi
Take in Cooperstown’s cider mills, vineyards, and distilleries with Absolute Taxi. Serving Cooperstown, Oneonta, Otsego County, and beyond, Absolute Taxi provides reliable, comfortable and courteous transportation for a stress-free Cooperstown Beverage Trail experience. Absolute Taxi is available for 24-hour transport and serves all regional airports.

Beverage Trail Partners
The second day of this tour focuses on the region’s wines, spirits, and specialty cider.

• Bear Pond Winery (1 hour)
  Located at the headwaters of the Susquehanna River, Bear Pond Winery features Riesling, Concord, Niagara, and Gewurztraminer varietals. Check out their red, white, blush, fruit, and dessert wines along with wines from other New York State producers.
• Rustic Ridge Winery (1 hour)
  Producers of sweet to dry and semi-dry white and red wines, Rustic Ridge Winery offers a varied selection of wines through its partnership with a well-established vineyard from the Finger Lakes. Visit for a tasting and take in the country setting and splendid views.
• Pail Shop Vineyards (1-2 hours)
  Pail Shop Vineyards specializes in cold climate grape varietals reflecting the rocky soil of this hillside vineyard. Sample a selection of distinctive small-batch red and white blends and enjoy the rotating artist series in the winery’s rustic barn tasting room.
• Fly Creek Cider Mill (1 hour)
  Watch the workings of the 160-year old Fly Creek Cider Mill press fresh cider during peak harvest season, then sample their popular selection of cider, hard cider, and fruit wines. Self-guided tours of the mill are available year-round.
• Cooperstown Distillery (1 hour)
  The area’s first micro-distillery, Cooperstown Distillery offers award-winning, artisanal spirits. Using locally-sourced ingredients in its bourbon, whiskey, and other hand-crafted liquors, this farm distillery offers a ‘field to flask’ experience with distiller-led tours and tastings.

Day Three

Canoe & Kayak Rentals and Sales (1-4 hours)
Spend a few hours on the Susquehanna River with Canoe & Kayak Rentals and Sales. With kayaks, canoes, and stand-up paddleboards for rent by the hour, half-day, and full-day, enjoy out-and-back paddling on the river or explore the calm waters of Goodyear Lake from the Portlandville launch. Free instruction and certified instructors make it a fun-filled adventure for all skill levels, with additional locations at Brookwood Point and Glimmerglass State Park.

Brewery Ommegang (1-3 hours)
Quench that post-paddling thirst with a visit to Brewery Ommegang. Serving up award-winning Belgian-style beers and food in its café and outdoor patio, try the smoked fish dip paired with a classic Witte beer. Then tour the facility that opened in 1997 as the first farmstead brewery established in the USA in more than 100 years to sample a selection of their rotating craft brews and limited-edition pours.