Breweries, cideries and distilleries across Central New York

This guide is for anyone planning a tasting day in Central New York, whether that means one taproom after work or a Saturday loop with a designated driver. It covers breweries, cideries and distilleries in four parts of the region: Syracuse and Onondaga County; Utica, Rome and the Mohawk Valley; the Madison, Cortland and Oswego county stretch; and Cooperstown and Otsego County.

Many of these makers are farms first, so hours change with the season. Fall is the busy stretch for cider makers, some tasting rooms close for winter, and a few outdoor beer gardens shut down when the snow comes. Seasonal hours are marked as seasonal throughout.

Syracuse and Onondaga County

Middle Ages Brewing Company

On the west side of Syracuse, Middle Ages Brewing Company has been brewing at 120 Wilkinson St. since 1995. The taproom pours up to 24 beers and runs trivia on Tuesdays at 6 p.m., and the brewery’s music hall hosts line dancing and concerts on the fall calendar. Posted taproom hours are Monday 3 to 7 p.m., Tuesday noon to 9 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday noon to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday noon to 8 p.m. and Sunday noon to 6 p.m.

Talking Cursive Brewing Company

On the western edge of downtown, Talking Cursive Brewing Company sits at 301 Erie Blvd. W., across from the Niagara Mohawk Building. The owners, Andrew Brooks and his wife, came to brewing through homebrewing, and the brewery dates to 2017, NCC News reported. Talking Cursive has a full kitchen: burgers, naan pizzas and baked mac and cheese, plus cocktails and mocktails. The brewery’s online reservation page lists hours of 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 3 to 9 p.m. Friday and noon to 9 p.m. Saturday.

Meier’s Creek Inner Harbor taproom

The Cazenovia farm brewery runs a second taproom at 720 Van Rensselaer St. in Syracuse’s Inner Harbor. Meier’s Creek Brewing – Inner Harbor is open seven days a week with 24 taps, a full menu and indoor and outdoor seating. Seating is first come, first served, and the kitchen closes at 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

1911 Established at Beak & Skiff

In LaFayette, south of Syracuse, Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards turns the orchard’s own apples into hard cider and spirits under the 1911 Established label. The 1911 Tasting Room & Tavern on the orchard’s Apple Hill campus at 2708 Lords Hill Road pours ciders, spirits and seasonal cocktails and has a full food menu. The vodka starts as fresh-pressed cider that is triple distilled in copper pot stills at a distillery about a mile from the orchard. The 1911 website lists the distillery as closed for the season, so plan on the tasting room. Admission and parking on campus are free.

Utica, Rome and the Mohawk Valley

Saranac Brewery and the 1888 Biergarten & Tavern

The F.X. Matt Brewing Co., maker of Saranac and Utica Club, brews at 830 Varick St. in West Utica. F.X. Matt Brewing traces the brewery’s roots to 1888, when F.X. Matt reorganized the Bierbauer Brewery as the West End Brewing Co., and says West End was the first brewery in the nation licensed to sell beer when Prohibition ended in 1933. VIP tours run 45 minutes and end with a four-beer tasting. They cost $20, are for guests 21 and older, require closed-toe shoes and run Fridays and Saturdays at 3, 4 and 5 p.m. Book by email through the brewery’s website.

The 1888 Biergarten & Tavern on the brewery grounds posts hours of 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. The outdoor biergarten is seasonal, open from May until the snow, according to the brewery’s FAQ. Visitor parking is first come, first served, with street parking in front of the tavern.

Nail Creek Pub & Brewery

Down the same street at 720 Varick St., Nail Creek Pub & Brewery opened in 2008 and keeps a craft beer list that changes with every keg. The kitchen cooks from scratch and posts a new menu each week on Facebook. The pub is open Wednesday through Saturday, with brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and parking in an adjacent lot.

Copper City Brewing Company

In Rome, Copper City Brewing Company is a New York State farm brewery at 1111 Oneida St. with 12 or more house beers on tap, two outdoor patios and a pinball and darts room the brewery calls the Brewcade. The bar sells cheese and pepperoni boards, and food trucks park outside most evenings. Hours are 2 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday.

Madison, Cortland and Oswego counties

Critz Farms Brewing & Cider Company

In Cazenovia, Critz Farms Brewing & Cider Company is part of the family farm at 3232 Rippleton Road (State Route 13). The farm grows about 2,000 cider apple trees in a separate orchard and presses on an antique rack-and-cloth press. The Tap Room pours flights and glasses; bottles and cans go home with you and cannot be opened on the farm. During the Fall Harvest Celebration, which runs through October 26, the Tap Room is open noon to 6 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. Critz says all weekend visitors need an admission ticket during apple season.

Meier’s Creek Cazenovia Farm Brewery

Also on Rippleton Road, Meier’s Creek Brewing Company brews at 33 Rippleton Road. Meier’s Creek took over that farm brewery property in 2020 after the previous brewer there went bankrupt and closed, 13WHAM reported. The Cazenovia site has 16 taps, a full menu, a disc golf course and an apiary, and the farm brewery is closed Monday and Tuesday. An outdoor bar called The Shed keeps weekend hours that depend on the weather.

Madison County Distillery

At 2412 Route 20 East in Cazenovia, Madison County Distillery makes spirits on an 80-acre farm using locally sourced grain. The distillery books live music into the fall, with The Barndogs scheduled for October 3, 2026, and tacos on the menu; bring a lawn chair. Posted hours are Monday and Thursday 4 to 8 p.m., Friday 3 to 9 p.m., Saturday noon to 9 p.m. and Sunday noon to 6 p.m.

Cortland Beer Company & Farm Distillery

In downtown Cortland, Cortland Beer Company & Farm Distillery at 16 Court St. started out selling beer to go from the brewery door and later added farm distillery and cidery licenses. The lineup includes Old Bastard Brown Ale, a Two-Step Whiskey made with molasses and capsaicin pepper, and moonshine. This fall the pumpkin ale comes with a cinnamon-sugar rim. Trivia is Tuesday at 8 p.m., and bands play Friday and Saturday nights.

6 Acres Farm Brewery

In Oswego County, 6 Acres Farm Brewery at 412 Fort Leazier Road in Mexico has brewed since 2019 with New York hops, grain, fruit, maple syrup and honey, some of it grown on the brewery’s own farm. The brewery is family friendly, with a kids’ area inside and a play area outside. Dogs stay outside on a leash, outside food and drinks are not allowed, and the brewery is not booking private events.

Cooperstown and Otsego County

Brewery Ommegang

Outside the village of Cooperstown, Brewery Ommegang brews Belgian-style ales on farmland at 656 County Highway 33. The café and mercantile stay open latest on Friday (noon to 10 p.m.) and Saturday (noon to 9 p.m.) and close at 4 p.m. on Sunday. Guided tastings cost $24 and start on the hour from 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, and tours run on weekends. The grounds have a disc golf course and host a summer concert series.

Cooperstown Distillery

Founded by Eugene Marra, Cooperstown Distillery makes bourbon and other spirits at 11 Railroad Ave., which keeps weekday hours of 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The place to drink them is the Cooperstown Distillery Beverage Exchange at 73 Main St., a tasting room and shop by day that turns into a cocktail lounge with a gastropub menu at night. Retail hours there are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Cooperstown Brewing Company

South of the village, Cooperstown Brewing Company has brewed at 110 River St. in Milford since 1995, in a building that started out as a cheese factory in the early 1900s. The brewery’s own description pairs baseball with beer. Bands play the beer garden from 3 to 5 p.m. on scheduled days. Current posted hours are 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday and Monday and 1 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Red Shed Brewery

In Cherry Valley, Red Shed Brewery & Taproom brews at 817 Butter Bowl Road with mostly New York-grown hops. The taproom there is open spring through fall only. The Red Shed Ale House at 10 Main St. stays open year-round, Thursday 4 to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 4 to 10 p.m., with food and a 2026 music series.

Fly Creek Cider Mill & Orchard

In the hamlet of Fly Creek, Fly Creek Cider Mill & Orchard at 288 Goose St. dates the mill to 1856. Besides sweet cider, the mill makes hard ciders and apple wines and pours them in the mill’s own tasting room. The mill is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through December 20, 2026, then closes for the season. Leashed dogs can walk the property but cannot go inside the mill.

Good to know

These seasonal and date-specific items were checked as of October 2, 2026:

• Fly Creek Cider Mill closes for the season after December 20, 2026. The mill’s Boos & Cruise trolley tour along the Cooperstown Beverage Trail is set for October 24, 2026, at $125 a person, for ages 21 and up.
• Critz Farms’ fall Tap Room hours run through October 26. Red Shed’s Butter Bowl Road taproom is a spring-to-fall operation, and Saranac’s outdoor biergarten closes when the snow arrives.
• The 1911 distillery near Beak & Skiff lists itself as closed for the season; the tasting room on Apple Hill is the stop for 1911 ciders and spirits.
• Copper City, 6 Acres and Red Shed all brew under New York farm brewery licenses. Red Shed notes that a farm brewery must use at least 60 percent New York-grown ingredients.
• Many taprooms close one or two weekdays. Confirm hours before a long drive, especially Monday through Wednesday.

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