Don Cazentre

By Don Cazentre | NYup.com

SYRACUSE, NY -- You can imagine the sturdy wood tables and massive bar supporting the tankards and flagons of many a merry ale drinker of olden times.

Or maybe even a group of Vikings in the corner singing about Spam.

Middle Ages Brewing Co. is one of New York's oldest craft breweries. Now, for the first time, the brewery at 120 Wilkinson St. has a modern craft beer necessity: A nice place to sit, converse and have a drink or two.

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Don Cazentre

The new Middle Ages Public House had its "soft" opening over Thanksgiving weekend, and hosts a “grand” opening this week, Thursday through Saturday. The Sassy Taco food truck will be on hand, and you’ll find 26 different Middle Ages beers on tap (including two cask-conditioned “real ale” offerings).

Look for the newest beer to debut: Single Batch #16, “a hazy imperial IPA,” says Middle Ages director of brewing operations Isaac Rubenstein. It’s one of a series of different “New England style” IPAs from Middle Ages this year. “I think it’s the best iteration so far,” Rubenstein said.

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Marc and Mary Rubenstein opened Middle Ages in 1995 with its main entrance at the corner of Wilkinson and Plum streets, across from Leavenworth Park. It was Syracuse’s first standalone brewery (not a brewpub) since the closing of Haberle Brewery in the 1960s. It’s theme -- the name of its beers and its packaging design -- referred to the Middle Ages (medieval) era, with a heavy dose of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

The brewery’s slogan today is “Get Medieval.”

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Don Cazentre

The tasting room has always been lively and boisterous, but a little cramped and without seating. Signs now direct visitors to the new entrance, a wooden door halfway down the block on Wilkinson. The new space seats 96, with a long bar and varying size tables, made by local craftsman Jacob Schoonmaker. It's former industrial building space, adjacent to the original brewery.

A second phase of Middle Ages expansion will include new fermenters to allow for increased beer production, Isaac Rubenstein said.

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The new tasting room marks the major shift in the way breweries across the state operate today: Until 2013, breweries could only offer small samples of their beers in the tasting room. All sales had to be in packages -- bottles, can, growlers etc. for consumption elsewhere.

In recent years, New York state loosed the restrictions on breweries, allowing them to sell pints (or other sizes) to drink on the premises, like a bar.

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Don Cazentre

Middle Ages still sells most of its beer off-premises to bars and stores across New York state. But at the brewery, there’s been a major shift: Recently as much as 75 percent of the on-premises sales have been for consumption on the spot. The rest is sold in growlers or crowlers to take home.

“It may even be getting up to 90 percent,” said Isaac Rubenstein, Marc and Mary’s son. “People like drinking here, and it doesn’t look that’s going to change soon.”

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Even the take-home sales are changing: Much of the draft sales used to be in 64-ounce glass growlers. Now at least 50 percent are in 32-ounce “draft to go” crowlers-- cans that are sealed behind the bar.

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All of the taps at the Middle Ages Public House will carry the brewery’s own beer, at least for now. The lineup includes Middle Ages standards like ImPaled Ale (IPA), Wailing Wench strong ale, Dragonslayer Imperial Stout, and Duke of Winship porter, plus specials like the New England IPA series and some barrel-aged beers. (Bourbon barrels used to age some of those beers now support some of the tables).

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The Middle Ages crew is still working to get the public house/tasting room set up. That includes deciding where and how to display the T-shirts and other gear that goes along with operating a brewery.

The tasting room does not have its own kitchen, but Rubenstein expects that food trucks will make frequent appearances, even in winter. The Middle Ages Public House also has new extended hours: noon to 8 p.m. Sunday to Wednesday and noon to 10 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

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Welcome to Middle Ages Public House

Watch Isaac Rubenstein welcome visitors to the new Middle Ages Brewing Co. tap room.

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More coverage of Upstate New York beer and breweries

Follow our coverage of beer and brewing in Upstate New York at NYup.com/breweries.

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