Beer Styles

Harlem Valley is our lightest ale, brewed with Lemon Drop and Mandarina Bavaria hops for refreshing citrus notes. It’s named for the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, a paved path covering an abandoned portion of the former New York and Harlem Railroad. Running 26 miles through rural towns in the Taconic Hills, the trail ends right across the street from us—perfect for a walk or bike ride before visiting our brewery.

Morris dancing is a style of English folk dance dating back to Shakespeare’s time, based on rhythmic stepping by a group of dancers who wear bell pads on their shins and carry sticks or handkerchiefs. Morris events are accompanied by beer as well as music, with the English “Extra Special Bitter” style favored for its balance between malt and hops—what our owner Steve calls “beer that tastes like beer.”

Yonderview is a classic IPA, generously hopped with Mosaic and Citra for a familiar, inviting aroma that “hops” out of the can. It’s named for Hillsdale’s Yonderview Road, a long and lovely rural street dotted with dairy farms that boast sweeping vistas of the surrounding Taconic Hills.

Our juicy, hazy IPA is hopped unsparingly with Mosaic, Citra and Strata hops for vibrant tropical aroma. The name comes from the intersection of two important roads in Hillsdale: Route 23, the east-west corridor between the Hudson River and the Berkshires, and Route 22, a north-south route from New York City to upstate.

Emma is fruity and floral, with blackberry and lavender consorting against a tart kettle sour backdrop and brightened by a dash of Lemondrop hops. It’s named after owner Steve’s mother, Emma, who adorned her yard with beds of fragrant annuals and filled her house with an abundance of fresh flowers.

Pill Hill is the perfect lager, bright and herbal with notes of lemongrass. It is dry hopped with Saphir and Hallertau Blanc hops and brewed with a bit of spelt for malt complexity. It’s named for a road in Hillsdale that was formerly called “Doctor’s Drive” because it was home to a medical clinic as well as the residences of several physicians. Feeling that the name was a bit pompous—and possibly an encouragement to potential burglars—the residents petitioned to change the name to Pill Hill.

Snake Lake is named for our neighboring town of Copake – know to native inhabitants as Cook-pake or Ack-kook-peek, meaning “Snake Pond” or “Snake Lake.” Based on the German Hefeweizen style, with notes of banana, and brewed with Smoked Wheat malt for a subtle, intriguing experimental twist.

Bash Bish Belgian features peppery notes that are softened by local Bash Bish honey—a balance of sugar and spice, with a complex farmhouse yeast profile. Next time you visit us, take a gentle hike at Bash Bish Falls, a state park located just down the road from our brewery; it features a scenic walk on a broad path to dramatic, plunging falls.

Light in color and body, but strong in character (and alcohol!), this classic French-Style Saison is spicy, fruity and distinctive. It’s named for Roeliff Janssen, the namesake of our brewery who discovered a major tributary to the Hudson River that still bears his name.

Fermented with French Saison yeast and dry hopped with Azacca and Saaz, Janssen is complex yet approachable. It’s named for Roeliff Janssen, the namesake of our brewery. Roeliff came to New Netherland from Amsterdam in service of wealthy Dutch Patroon Killian Van Rensselaer. In 1632 he discovered a major tributary to the Hudson River that still bears his name—the Roeliff Jansen Kill.

Story  In rural Columbia County, we’re surrounded by that classic of farm country: hay. Toast it and you’ll discover that hay is wonderfully aromatic, with notes of cinnamon and stone fruit. Jerry’s Farm is an amber lager with a generous addition of toasted hay in the grain bill, plus hand-harvested hops straight from our own beer garden. It’s named for Jerry Peale, owner of Herondale Farm, who takes our brewery spent grain for his cattle and provided us with the hay.

Taconic Sundown is a crisp amber lager with a rustic malt profile. Rye lends a hint of spice to the orange notes from Mandarina Bavaria hops. This is a beautiful beer—pour it in a glass and experience the color of a sunset in the Taconic Hills in Columbia County, New York, where our brewery is located.

Best Fest is a classic Oktoberfest—seasonal and festive, with a toasted and nutty malt character. It’s named after Henry Best, a proprietor of the Pulver & Best general store that was located in our building in the late 1800s.

Hillsdale Pale is a New York Pale Ale brewed with Hudson Valley Malt and the NY Excelsior hop blend. Highlighting the finest ingredients from our region, Hillsdale Pale is a pint of Roe Jan terroir. Cheers to our local farmers!

Named after the antique hopper that is the centerpiece of our bar, Bar Hopper is strong, hoppy, and resinous, with notes of molasses. It’s a delicious, food-friendly quaff for the holidays and beyond. In addition to Galaxy and Chinook, it was brewed with Nugget hops grown right on our property.

Vincent is a lacto sour, inoculated with lactobacillus (lactic acid-producing bacteria) to create a sour taste. It was then brewed like an IPA, with generous kettle and dry hop additions of Simcoe, El Dorado, and Idaho Gem hops. The lactose rounds out the body and counters the tartness with a touch of sweet.

It’s named for Edna St. Vincent Millay, the Pulitzer-prize-winning poet and feisty feminist who lived just up the road in Austerlitz. She preferred to call herself VINCENT rather than Edna – which appalled her grade-school principal, who refused to honor her wishes and instead called her by any other name that started with a “V.”

Black Grocery is a Cascadian Dark Ale – a style that’s sometimes called “Black IPA” or “India Black Ale.” It’s dark, strong and hoppy, with roasted malt character that’s a bit more subtle than a stout or porter so the hops can really shine. Brewed with Simcoe and Amarillo hops, which lend strong pine and citrus notes.

Black Grocery was the name of the general store that Hezekiah Van Deusen built in nearby Copake to sell whiskey, chewing tobacco and rock candy to the Irish railroad workers building the New York and Harlem Railroad in the 1850s. According to legend, lacking his preferred red paint, Van Deusen painted the store with the “black paint” used by the railroad – probably coal tar creosote, which the railroad used to preserve railroad ties. The grocery has long since disappeared, but the name lives on in Black Grocery Road, which still runs through Copake.

Joe Schwartz, our coffee lager, is a Schwarzbier that’s dark in color, but refreshingly lighter in body. We blend it with cold brew made with rich “Notes from the Underground” espresso from our friends at No. Six Depot in West Stockbridge, MA. Deep and existential, Joe’s a man of few words, but he’s the perfect companion for a fair afternoon!

Cozy Flannel is our English-Style Brown Ale, a traditional style that is often overlooked. Brewed with Marris Otter barley malt and other imported specialty grains, it’s a true malt showcase with rich notes of chocolate. Cozy Flannel is that comfortable, familiar brew—a classic rediscovered.

Our building dates to 1851, when it was built to house the Hillsdale Mercantile Association. After months of restoration to its original appearance, it’s now home to our brewery and brewpub. We named our very first beer, Mercantile, after the building. It’s brewed with smoked malt and earthy hops for a smooth yet complex porter with subtle smoke flavor.

Shunpike is a roasty, toasty porter bursting with bold chocolate malt flavor and undertones of earthy hops. It’s named for a nearby street that was originally used as a detour to avoid paying the toll on the Columbia Turnpike (now NY Route 23). “Shunpiking” now means going out of one’s way to travel scenic byways at a leisurely pace.

In 1775, Henry Knox was engaged by George Washington to relocate artillery that had been captured from the British in upstate New York. Knox organized troops, oxen, and horses to transport 59 cannons 300 miles through bitter winter weather, beginning in Fort Ticonderoga, passing through North Hillsdale, and ending in Boston, where the cannons forced the British to withdraw. We honor this amazing feat with our 59 Cannons Stout, brewed with a rich and balanced profile that’s worthy of a hero.

J.R. is dark, opaque, full-bodied, with a roasted grain profile that includes coffee, dark chocolate, and slightly burnt caramel, as well as notes of prune and fig. The name honors J.R. Burlarley, grandson of Ralph Burlarley, who owned our building when it was operating as Hillsdale Farm Supply. J.R. had a hand in the building’s renovation, replacing the large storefront windows at the residential entrance. 

Hefty and formidable, Goliath is a fearlessly hopped Barleywine Ale (it’s a beer, not a wine!) brewed with classic American “C” hops and fermented with Kveik yeast. Hop and malt flavors are complex, with notes of candied pineapple, caramel and pine. Brewed to celebrate our 5^th anniversary and the bright, bold future ahead. And with a nod to history, it’s named for the art gallery called Goliath that resided in our building in 2009.

This American-Style Wheat beer has it all—it’s a crisp, refreshing, flavorful beer with a story! Whippoorwill is named for a scenic road just a mile away from us in Hillsdale, which got its name from the first stanza of a poem by Hillsdale native Wallace Bruce: “I hear the notes of the whippoorwill / As of old in the gathering shade; / I sit by the rock on the quiet hill / Where in girlhood my mother played.”

Everardus is bursting with tropical fruit aromas, complex peppery notes, and a long, funky finish.  Named for Anneke Jannsen’s second husband, Everardus Bogardus, a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in New Amsterdam. Although he was a man of the cloth, Bogardus famously opposed a tax on beer imposed by Wilhelm Kieft, governor of the colony. Ironically, Bogardus and Kieft died together in a shipwreck when they were both returning to Holland. 

 Anthony features a rich roasted grain profile with notes of coffee, dark chocolate, slightly burnt caramel, and dark fruit; its wonderful whiskey and wood character is the result of patient aging in Hillrock Estate Distillery bourbon barrels for 14 months. Named for Anthony Street, the location of our brewery in Hillsdale, NY. 

Brewed to celebrate the third anniversary of RJBC, this fruity and fun beer has a festive kick. Cantaloupe, mango and pineapple notes jump out of the glass and a slight sweetness gives way to alcohol’s warmth. We dumped the entire bounty of our beer garden’s hop harvest into the kettle—all 3 pounds! We barrel-aged a portion for release around our fourth birthdays.

The raucous Man Overboard was aged in imported Jamaican rum barrels; it’s bold, boozy, brightly fruity, with notes of brown sugar and fruit punch. Named after Everardus Bogardus, the first minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in what is now New York City, who married Anneke Jans after the death of her first husband, Roeliff Jansen. He was en route to Amsterdam aboard the Princess Amelia when it ran aground just off the coast of Wales and perished in the waves.

The refined Landed Lady was aged in rum barrels from our friends at Berkshire Mountain Distillers; it has a deep woody character, with notes of vanilla, honey, and macaroon. Named for Anneke Jans, the wife of Roeliff Jansen. When the couple relocated to the colony of New Amsterdam in 1636, Roeliff was granted a 62-acre farm in what is now lower Manhattan. When he died just a year later, Anneke inherited his farm. She remarried the Reverend Everardus Bogardus, who owned 82 acres in Long Island. When Everardus died in a shipwreck, Anneke inherited his property as well, becoming the most “landed” woman in America.