Our Brews

This brew was created by my older brother and I as well as our shared love of darker beers. It has had several different variations over the years with a great amount of trial and error to find that perfect taste and mouth feel. Orignally it  didnt have hops, rye, or barley which turned out to be the secret ingredients to turn this brew into what it is today. The only easy part of creating this brew was picking a name and that was only due to the beers dark brown color. 

Dragon’s breath was born from my love of fantasy. The idea was to come up with a drink that I could see a band of adventurers drinking on a cold night around a fire. Sharing their stories of guts, glory, and grandeur. This brew incidentally became the first brew that I utilized juice/ concentrate instead of just water and made such an impact on the potency of the overall flavor that it led to a great majority of my brews utilizing similar methods.

Iron crest is the first of my flagship beers. The first sour I ever attempted. The idea was to create a recipe that combined great flavors we could swap different fruits and concentrate out to create new flavors. Keeping the recipe straight forward but also unique. I decided to dissect my company name and create iron crest using black cherries to create a red rust like color while utilizing charred cedar plank boards to create a unique flavor profile. The end result was a sour beer that tastes just like a sour cherry jolly rancher that people just couldn't get enough.

While trying to come up with seasonal/holiday flavors I had hit a bit of a wall. After several failed attempts I was ready to move on from the idea all together. That was until my mother decided to make herself a mixed drink with oasis and cranberry juice and I liked the flavor so much I decided to add fresh cranberries to the fermentation process and my first alternate flavor was made. The overall flavor became sweeter and went from a dry white to a semi sweet red. After finishing this brew it inspired me to create new flavors with alternate ingredients in mind.

The tale of this brew begins during the height of the covid-19 shut down. Originally this brew was meant to be reminiscent of all the times my friends and I would go to the Erie county fair. One of the many stalls we would hit each summer. We would almost always stop and grab some birch beer. The idea was to create a root beer like wine that was not only sweet but also had a nice bubbly mouth feel. My hopes were delightfully dashed when I tested positive for covid and had to quarantine two weeks out from racking the brew. My usual time for fermentation turned into an extra month of fermenting and the sweet red wine that I had hoped for turned into a satisfyingly crisp cabernet with the finish of a root beer. The thing that made this brew special for me was that it taught me that even though things may not go as planned you can still end up with something great.

This particular brew was my first and only attempt at a dessert wine. This particular brew was quite difficult since it was the first time I utilized ingredients that aren't typically used but I also wanted to keep the flavors of New York in mind. This was the first time I used blue agave, white chocolate chips and alfalfa honey. After some trial and error,and a bit more filtering than normal, I ended up with a tasty, very sweet, dessert mead. Why name it blueberry white truffle?  Well not only was it a very rich flavor, it was also double the cost to make than any other brew I had made up until that point.

I made this brew for younger brother who absolutly loves all the flavors of fall especially anything maple. This brews name fall select was designed to have a bit more freedom then others. The idea is to change the kind of apples that were added to the brew each year ensureing a truly unique taste every year. This brew was my first season specific flavor and has become a fan favorite among friends and family especially around thanksgiving. 

The one that started It all. This brew was the very first recipe I ever made. When I started brewing as a hobby I was only focused on making things that I would like.  The original recipe was simply blackberry, peach, and vanilla, 3 of my favorite flavors. Over the years leading up to forming my LLC I added oak and changed the methods I used to mix and ferment as well as changed some the ingredients in order to get a more refined, robust, and impactful flavor. Maiden voyage serves as my reminder that all good things come with time. Thus this flavor serves as our flagship and sets the example for all brews to come.

This brew was an interesting one. The people who tried it were evenly split down the middle between love and hate. A potent belgian ale that I threw together with the remaining ingredients I had from two separate brews. It was flavorful and one of the first brews I made using star anise. I learned that I'm actually allergic to the spice which incidentally was the ingredient that split the group of people who tried it. This experimental brew was a ton of fun and I learned that just because one person may not like the brew doesn't mean the next person wont absolutely love it.

The second of my flagship beers. This took a bit of work to get right by swapping out black cherry for apricots and changing the yeast to a irish red ale yeast. I was hoping to get a great tasting beer with a bit more hops to get a more traditional tasting beer. After many failed attempts with different methods of preparing my hops. I eventually settled on the minimal amount of hops. Making a hop tea to add just the right amount of bitterness to the brew without overpowering it. Though it didn't have the same kick as a irish red it did turn out to be a light refreshing beer and definitely one to remember.

How could we expect you to choose just one?

Oasis was originally my first attempt at adding exotic fruits and spices into a singular brew. As with many brews that I was making from scratch, The end result was not what I expected. Though I utilized figs, dates, vanilla and cinnamon, it didn't come out sweet. It was actually the first brew that came out dry. This was due to the chai tea that I had added. It became an instant hit with all that tried it, even those who preferred sweet wines over dry ones. In order to add a bit more sweetness back to the brew it became the first brew that I decided to add a cinnamon stick to the bottle and after a short time the flavor only got more addicting. This opened the door to a number of new recipes that focused on dryer more spiced based flavors.

This brew remained nameless for a time due to the fact that it is based off of my dog. Benny is my Australian shepherd and quite literally the best dog I've ever owned. He is a big fan of fruit, particularly blackberries. I went through dozens of names incorporating his into them. Benny's brew, Benny’s Berry Brew, and Blackberry Ben’s sweet ale were among the winning candidates but I ultimately decided on shepherd's ale when a family member commented on my dogs' laid back and watchful nature. A simple name with a bit of a story. This flavor was my original flagship flavor before iron crest and cedar crest. I also utilized malt in this beer instead of hops creating a sweeter smoother taste.