If drinking a pint of freshly brewed craft beer in a castle surrounded by swords and goblins or in a thriving ski town setting ticks boxes for you, the towns of Cairo and Windham can deliver.
In quiet Cairo, the Fuggly Duckling brewery and tavern awaits weary travelers in search of light bites and libations served alongside a hefty helping of fantasy.
Billed as the Hudson Valley’s only castle-based brewery, the Fuggly Duckling—named for the fuggle hop variety—opened in mid-October. A registered New York State Farm Brewery, Fuggly Duckling uses locally grown ingredients from the Hudson Valley and beyond to create traditional English-style beer and homemade food.
Entering the tavern and brewery is a truly immersive experience. After pushing open the large, heavy wooden door with its iron bars, visitors are greeted by a massive, two story stone fireplace below soaring ceilings. The walls are adorned with medieval-looking tapestries, suits of armor, swords and shields, and flickering candles.
The menu reflects the storybook nature of the place. The beer offerings include Nevermore, a classic English special bitter ale; Dragon Fire ale, a malty red ale; Once Upon a Time, a crisp and fruity golden ale; and Gourdilocks, a spiced ale made with pumpkins that helped decorate the space during Halloween.
For food, there is a $9 basket of popcorn chicken, a cheese and fruit platter for $9, fries for $8, and $10 sliders. There are mini muffin-sized foods, like broccoli quiche, muffin-tin tacos, and shepherd’s pies, each for $10, as well as homemade brownies and cookies. Brewery founder Chad Paliotta also bakes dog treats made from the brewery’s spent grain. Beyond the beer, the Fuggly Duckling serves sodas, cider, teas, and other beverages.
A longtime fan of history and fantasy literature and film, as well as an artist and artisan, Paliotta began crafting sculptures and carving walking sticks 10 years ago. He opened an online shop to begin selling his goblins, faeries, and woodland creatures and found ample interest. From there, he began selling his work at craft fairs and festivals, and eventually on the Renaissance fair circuit.
“People would always ask if I had a shop, which I didn’t,” Paliotta says. “At the time, my basement was my workshop, and that started overflowing into the first floor of the house. So, I set up a Google alert for a castle for sale, and eventually I found this castle in the middle of the Catskills. Sure, it was a former restaurant, but it was perfect. It was handmade by a local stonemason with 200-year-old, hand-hewn beams.”
Along with renovations, the first thing he did was open the space as a gift shop, followed by making the space available for special events under the name Storybrook Hollow. Paliotta, who lives in Sullivan County, partners with Albany’s Hill City Ice Queen company to host princess-themed parties at different times of the year.
Paliotta had always planned to reopen the property as an eatery. There was just enough space to bring in a one-barrel brewing system, making it a true nanobrewery. Now that the tavern and brewery are up and running, Paliotta has a few things in the works. He plans to create a growler program, that allows patrons to purchase onsite or bring their own growler to be filled. Second is starting distribution. He’s expecting Fuggly Duckling beers to be featured in local bars, and eventually in Renaissance fairs and Hudson Valley beer festivals. He’s also hoping to start a mug club.
Brewery with a View of the Slopes
Outside the front door of Mountain King Brewing Company on Main Street in Windham, patrons are met by a large, crowned wooden black bear standing on its hind legs, teeth bared and arms stretched wide.
Mountain King, which opened in late November, features a mix of rotating beers, hard seltzers, and wine on tap, along with flagship brews. The hazy Mountain King IPA is currently the best seller, but the Batavia Pils, Windham Amber Ale, Burnt Knob Porter, and others provide a selection to fit most tastes.
The brewery was founded by Bob McLynn, a veteran of the music, nightlife, and beverage industries. After touring the world with various bands in the 1990s and 2000s, he cofounded Crush Management in New York City in 2002 and has managed acts like Green Day, Weezer, and Lorde. He opened the bar Angels and Kings with Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy in the East Village, with outposts to follow in Chicago, Los Angeles and Barcelona.
McLynn started brewing beer out of the bar in Chicago in 2009. From there, he helped create Saint Archer Brewing in San Diego, and after departing that venture, he founded Asbury Park Brewery in New Jersey, which he still owns.
McLynn and his wife Sarah bought a home in Windham five years ago and immediately fell in love with the area. But he felt it lacked one important ingredient. “I have two main passions in life—and those are music and beer,” McLynn says. “Windham is a great town, but a mountain town needs a brewery.”
So just a year after buying their home, he started developing ideas for a new beer-making space in town. When a property at 5351 Main Street—which was most recently a short-term rental home—was put up for sale, McLynn saw it as the perfect space for a brewery and an opportunity to contribute to the economic development of the small town.
Currently, beer from Mountain King’s seven-barrel brewing system is available at several locations around Windham, including Tipp Tavern and the Union and Post bar. That footprint will grow with a new distributor and canning line, which is now up and running. There is no kitchen, but the brewery has some bar bites like a charcuterie pretzel with meat and cheese.
Besides the bar and indoor area, the building has a back deck for outdoor seating with views of the Windham ski runs and a bar for a beer garden which is in the works. The brewery is open Thursday from 3 to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 12 to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 12 to 8 p.m.
