Things to do, places to eat, shows to see, places to stay in Madison County, NY      

The Colgate Inn in Hamilton will partner with 12 breweries, the New York State Brewers Association and many others to put on its inaugural "Seeds to Suds" Brew Review.  The event takes place at the Inn on Sunday October 11, 2009 from 1-6pm.  The event will feature educational elements on craft brewing, home brew kits from Foothill Hops of Munnsville, and great information to go along with awesome brews all afternoon long.  To top it off in the tent from 5-8 there will be a BBQ featuring New York State products, live music from "Blueprints" and a showing of Beer War Movie, a documentary about home brewing.  For more information or to secure your tickets call the inn at 315-824-2300.  You can also open the PDF below to see a larger version of the poster with all the details. 

It is a fall event that people all over Central New York look forward to and it is the rare event that combines great food, fabulous craft beers, entertainment, education and history into 3 exciting days.   It is the annual Hop Fest sponsored by the Madison County Historical Society and it kicks off tonight with a paired brew dinner at the Copper Turret restaurant in Morrisville. 
Executive Chef John Wisinewski has prepared a four course dinner with each course paired with an appropriate beer.  The menu looks fabulous.  This year's dinner is sold out so make sure you make plans to attend in 2010. 
The festival part of Hop Fest kicks off Saturday at noon with the Taste of Hops.  In this event, local chefs are given a beer and they prepare a dish using that beer.  The food is then sampled with the beer from noon until 2.  Participating restaurants include the Landmark Tavern, Copper Turret, Colgate Inn and Meyers Chocolates of Oneida.  Tickets can be bought today for $15 at www.mchs1900.org or you can buy them at the door tomorrow for $20. 
The craft brew tasting begins at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon and features some of the best craft brews in North America.  Participating brewers include Saranac-Matt, Dogfish Head, Smuttynose, Cooperstown, Ithaca, Middle Ages, Southern Tier, Magic Hat, High Falls, Ommegang, and many more.  Tickets can be bought today for $25 or tomorrow at the door for $30. 
On Sunday, the annual Hop tour commences, with an expanded stop list this year.  The bus will travel to historical Hops locations in Madison, Oneida, and Otsego counties while also stopping for lunch at the Colgate Inn.  Limited seats are still available for the tour by calling the Historical Society at 315-363-4136.