When we arrived at the Grist Iron Inn the innkeeper, Darlene, a friendly and bright-eyed woman, greeted us, pointed out the location of the Farmhouse, explained the dining options at the brewery and the surrounding area and made some suggestions of other breweries to visit.
Founded in 2015, Grist Iron Brewing Co. is a microbrewery based in Hector, NY, in the heart of the NYS Finger Lakes region.
There was a large group of people in the taproom taking their sweet time choosing from the menu. I was annoyed at how much effort these American adults put into choosing a small flight from a menu of just nine beers. When Bhavna and I were finally able to get the attention of someone at the bar, we ordered two flights to sample eight of the nine, along with a BBQ chicken pizza, the Grist Iron “Bomber” (for me) and a Seneca Simple Salad (Bhavna).
Our flights:
- Headless Hessian Pumpkin Ale
- Cream of the Crop Cream Ale
- U-Pick Blueberry Wheat
- Wayward Strawberry Blonde Ale
- Ol’ Buddy Ol’ Pale Ale
- Fippenny Apple Graff
- Lake Life India Pale Ale
- MaXXimus Brown Ale
We sat outside facing Seneca Lake. It was very windy; moreover, an indication that perhaps the storm was on the way and we would not have the sunset we had anticipated. We talked about how much we regretted not making trips like these earlier in our marriage and not taking the kids on more vacations to see the USA.
The food was brought to the table, and we dined and drank al fresco style. The flavours of the ales underwhelmed us. I don’t think Bhavna liked any of hers. I made the best of it. We decided that after our extremely late lunch — it was 3:30 PM when we checked into the Inn — we would shower and try another brewery. There are about five breweries in Hector, but we decided to visit Two Goats Brewinging.
