Clark S.
Yelp
After a fun day of wine tasting and walking the trails around Watkins Glen, the family and I wanted to end our day with a few tasty beers and bar food. Grist Iron Brewery was able to meet our incredibly (simple) demands!
We arrived right around 5pm and, to our surprise, were immediately seated! We wanted to sit inside as the day was beginning to wrap up and we wanted to make sure we weren't stuck outside when the sun started to lower and the air cooled. Instead of being seated in their main seating area, near the bar, we ended up being led to a completely separate building that was a little trek, which would prove tricky bringing beers back to our table without spilling them too much. When we were seated, we were told to scan the QR code for their beer and food menus and that when we wanted to order, we'd have to go back to the main building and order everything at the bar, which I'll be honest, is kind of inconvenient, but in the grand scheme of things, not the end of the world. Where we were seated had these giant windowed garage doors that made up all sides of the building, which could be opened/closed. We were happy to be seated in front of one that was closed, but there was another spot that was open and it was blowing in some cooler air. We were concerned at first that we were going to have to ask to be seated elsewhere, but they were very accommodating and closed the door at our request.
Since we're still in COVID times in NY State, when you order any alcohol, you have to order food, which was no problem for us. I started off with their Maxximus Brown Ale and for dinner ordered their Steak & Cheese Grinder. After managing to get my beer back to the table without spilling too much of it, we all sat and waited for our buzzer to go so we could go back to the bar to pick up our food. My beer was great though that truly did start with a chocolate malt flavor and finished off with hazelnut coffee, a heavier, darker beer packed with flavor.
After sipping and talking for maybe 20 minutes or so, our food was ready. Now, from the pictures, the food portions here don't like huge, but I can happily tell you, the food is plenty filling. My grinder was excellent. The grinder roll was warm and soft, while the edges had the perfect crunch. The sliced beef were generously sliced and tender and there was a ton of melted mozzarella over top. I think the real star of the grinder was the creamy horseradish sauce though! This had a ton of flavor and a little bit of kick that didn't assault the sinuses like horseradish usually does. The scallions sprinkled on top added a nice texture and rounded out the flavors nicely. All of the grinders come with a side of potato chips, which were light and crunchy (a good way to scoop up anything that fell off my grinder!). They also come with a pickle spear which was good. As I said earlier, the pictures make it seem the food here wouldn't be enough, but after eating my meal, I was perfectly satiated!
Of course though, I saved room for another beer. To wrap up my meal, I decided to go with their "Taproom Series" beer, a weekly rotating special beer. This particular week, that beer was the French Saison with Candied Orange Peel. This beer was soooooo good!! I actually convinced one of my family members to grab this one after they tasted mine. If this had been canned or bottled in their merch store, each of us would've bought a 4 or 6 pack.
Iron Grist Brewery is definitely a cool place to go along Seneca Lake! My real only gripe would be that I wish we didn't have to go back and forth to the bar to order drinks and food, especially with how far away we were seated. It made bringing drinks back without too much spilling pretty tedious. But I can't wait to see this place once COVID is reduced even more and offer a bigger food menu and all the events that they'll host at their beautiful brewery!
