Shmaltz Brewery

Breweries aren’t my normal spot to spend an afternoon, but I had a really fun time at Shmaltz in Clifton Park (6 Fairchild Square, Clifton Park, NY 12065)! We parked in the lot and walked in a bit past noon on a Sunday. The tasting room is nice, a really great place for hanging out. There were a bunch of tables, a big comfy couch, cards and games, football on the tv, and he’brew to taste of course! We split one tasting flight for $10 and sampled five beers of our choice, one for each cool little token (these can be redeemed at any time, you don’t have to drink all five in one day), and we got to keep the glass. I really enjoyed the lighter beers and the reunion was super packed with coconut, coffee, vanilla, cinnamon, and chocolate flavors! Jeff enjoyed funky jewbaliation which was a sour beer, the first he’d ever had of that kind. We paused our tasting to go on a free tour of the brewery which was fun and informational. Our guide filled up our souvenir cups with some complimentary he’brew after the tour. We went back to finish our tasting and eat some free bagels with smear, I had a chocolate chip bagel with strawberry cream cheese, what a tasty treat. We spent almost two hours just hanging out chatting, sipping, and playing games in this relaxed atmosphere. There were lots of people who came, stayed, and were in and out of this establishment. A group of young guys drinking and watching the game, a group of older women who joined the tour with us, and couples of all ages seemed to be comfortable and really enjoying themselves here. The gimmick is that these are the ‘chosen beers’ and there are a lot of funny plays related to the Jewish religion, but Jewish or not, these beers are really good and this is a really nice place to hang out. Stop by and taste the brew, take a tour, and relax with some he’brew!