Matt Brewing Co.

This is a well done, interesting brewery tour ($ 5.00), that is not rushed. On the tour, one can earn extra drink tickets, by winning trivia contest questions. I won two tickets. At the end, they are not stingy with the beers, as pint offerings are available. RJT

Good brews, decent tour, SO many kids. if you want 15 screaming kids on a tour while you’re trying to learn about beer and the brewing process look no further. Tiny humans love to cry and drink Shirley temples and take away from your experience.
The tour guide was knowledgeable in a very general sense of the word. Not super in depth. My favorite part was paying $ 5 for the tour which includes 2 free drinks. I kept finding myself anxious to ask where the bar was rather than listening to the crying kids or mediocre guide.

Looking for something to do in the area, I was informed to check this brewery for a tour.
Parking is in a private lot, located next to the gift shop. Tours are every 1 pm and 3 pm Monday to Saturday from June to August. Tours are every 1 pm and 3 pm Friday and Saturday from September to May. In order to get to the tour, enter the gift shop and make an immediate left up the small stairs.
Despite not being a huge fan of beer, it was interesting listening to the tour and how the Matt family developed the Saranac company from the time of Prohibition! Great history to the Utica community and props to my guide who entertained us.
The tour is $ 5 per person with children under 12 years of age are free. Be sure to swap cash for two tickets to get two full sized samples of the beers on tap or non alcoholic beverages. In addition, you can try sample cups of about 8 beers that are on tap! I tried two sample cups and kept my two tickets.
The bartender was kind enough to notify that I was able to use my tickets for a future date at the bar without going through the tour again. I believe the bar inside this brewery is open until 8 PM.
If in doubt, call ahead before the tour. I do recommend it!

The tour is a lot of fun and the shop is stocked with somecreally fun products. The Taproom is also a unique place to have small-​ish special events (not sure what the capacity is).

I order two cases of the Soft Drinks on a regular basis. The flavors are really nice and very tasty.
I recommend if any New York stop by and enjoy their beverages!!!

FX Matt Brewing offers a very solid brewery tour. Although Matt is known primarily as the brewer of Saranac they’ve been producing Utica Club since the end of prohibition. They also do quite a bit of contract brewing for Brooklyn Brewery, Flying Bison, and a few others.
The tour itself starts in an ornate old building dating back to the turn of the century. Here the tour guide explains the history of the brewery, how they survived prohibition and their evolution into craft brewing. From here you’ll get to witness the brew kettles, fermenters, and the bottling lines. Although not Budweiser by any means, the brewery is massive, producing thousands of bottles per minute — a very impressive operation.
After the tour is over you’ll get a chance to enjoy a tasting. This is easily the best part of the experience. For the cost of your $ 5 admission, you get two full pints of whatever they happen to have on tap. But you can also have as many smaller samples as you would like. I had a pint of the Imperial IPA and their Oak Aged Scotch Ale. Both were spectacular. The imperial IPA is one of my favorites and I was pleasantly surprised with the Scotch Ale — strong flavor profile and slightly boozy (in a good way). My only complaint is that they were unwilling to fill a 32oz growler. I would have loved to bring some of the Scotch Ale home but 64oz would have been a waste for one person.
If you’re looking for merchandise there is a sizable gift shop on site. Unfortunately much of it is dedicated to Utica Club so the selection is not great for those seeking Saranac gear.
Don’t pass up this brewery tour if in the area. Recommended.

I have taken quite a few brewery tours. This was by far the best one. It was like being Charlie in Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The tour guide, Tom, would open a door and usher us in and it would be a new motif. I was waiting for the beer river, where I would then decide to pull an Augustus Gloop. The guide waa knowledgeable, and entertaining. For the $ 5 tour price yoy receive two drink tickets. Since I was driving back to Buffalo, I couldn’t have two alcoholic beverages. I opted to try the Prism White Ale by Prism. It as delicious with its delicate flavors. Pretzels were on the bar to cleanse your palette. My second drink was their root beer, which just like the ginger beer, I fell in love with. I ended up buying a 6pack with 3 each of the pops. If you take any brewery tour, take this one. It’s not just here is the process, it’s about the traditions and the history.

Their beer’s really not good but the tour is super fun and you can see the actual production areas. Cool little old school tavern to drink in at the end; I’d go again for sure.

The last time we visited family in Utica we wanted to spice up our trip, so we decided to stop in at Matt Brewing to take a tour of the complex try out some beers, as well as to pick up some Saranac beers in their coolers.
When we arrived we didn’t know what to expect, but when we walked in the door we were impressed by the brewery store as well as all shirts and mugs they had in stock. The building itself is very unique and the history behind this brewery was cool.
We ultimately didn’t have a chance to take the full tour because of our time frame, but the staff here let us walk through some of the building which was intense and gorgeous. In the end, we hope to stop here again in the future when we can take the tour and sample some more of their beers.

Love this place! Take the brewery tour, 2 beers at the end! Such awesome history in the Utica community! Their Beers are unmatched!

Love this brewery! Check out the tour, its cheap to get in plus you get two free beers at the end. They have a good concert series over the summer. All-​in-​all, awesome place!

We came for the 3 PM tour on a Saturday. Our tour guide was great, although she talked a little fast. The tour was more about a lot of the cool antiques that are housed within the brewery, rather than a ton of detail about the brewing process, but it was still cool to see just how big the facility was. Each tour ticket ($ 5) came with two free drinks at the end of the tour. Lots of different brews on tap, as well as some bottled beverages. The bartenders were generous with the samples, which wouldn’t cost you one of your drink tickets.
A great way to spend Saturday afternoon!

Man, I sure do love brewery tours and this is one of the best ones I’ve ever been on. The brewery has so much history within its walls and the tour is really great. Tour and tastings are only $ 5 a person, so it’s a complete steal. The tour lasts around 1 hour and you get to explore the various areas of the brewery including a really interesting area concerning the brewery during prohibition and the Matt Family who started and continue to run the brewery. We got to see an active bottling line as well and that was a blast to see in person. They truly make a ton more products than I ever knew and I had no idea that The Matt Brewing Company actually brews most of Brooklyn’s beers and they were also the first place that Sam Adams had a large production made. Neat!
The tour itself is worth $ 5 and the tasting at the end is such a huge bonus. With the tour admission, you get 2 (count ‘em, 2) tickets for full pints in the tasting room. They have about 8 beers on tap and about 12 – 15 bottles that you can choose from too. Translation = amazing selection! Not only that, but you can sample as many as you want in addition to the 2 pints! Yay! beer heaven!
This brewery is a wonderful mix of truly interesting history and great beers. Utica is not exactly a destination spot for most people, but if you’re planning on driving through the area and have the time, definitely stop in and enjoy yourself for a few hours!

Total fan of Saranac — for me, the facility made up for the beer being just mediocre.
Happened to be in the area (yeah, who just happens to be in Utica.) for an event and since Saranac was literally 5 minutes away why wouldn’t we check it out! I had signed up online for the 1pm tour for 5 people — not sure why they bother having sign ups as there was no mention of my reservation when we arrived. We were placed in the second group which ended up starting around 1:30pm or just shortly after.
You are first corralled in the gift shop (DUH) but since we hadn’t done a tasting yet, no one wants to buy anything. Along with our $ 5 tour ticket, we received two ticket vouchers for drinks at the end of the tour. Yep, Saranac does not do a «beer tasting» they do a straight up Pint of beer (make that two, because you get two tickets)…or soda if you choose. The tour started in this room just off the gift shop that had a pretty spooky feel to it — dark, old and full of antiques. Here we got most of the background of FX Matt and his history. We proceeded through doorways to more and more «secret» rooms and an old Speak Easy. The building is fascinating and enormous. From here we took the elevator up three floors to where the production takes place, winding up and down and around the facility to the bottling area where the tour ends (45 minutes later). There is quite a bit of walking, up and down stairs — so if you have trouble this is not for you (which they mention before the tour begins). Because the tavern is back at the beginning… at the end of the tour, you have to bob and weave your way back through the entire facility (passing other tour groups on the way)…it could get confusing. Up the main staircase just off the gift shop and to the tavern where they have 5 – 6 beers on top, root beer made right at Utica Club as well as other bottled beers and soda made right at the facility. There are no souvenir glasses… unless one happens to slip into your ladies large pocketbook, but they do sell the short glasses in the gift shop for $ 2.95 and the larger ones not much more.
Cons: There were already two tour groups in the tavern by the time our group arrived and another tour shortly after ours. Clearly people stay for much longer than their two drinks tickets do and it becomes very chaotic. I would have liked to do a tasting instead of jumping right into a pint of beer. They would have offered a tasting, but with so many people behind me that wasn’t an option. I went for the Farm to Tap IPA which is made from locally grown hops and it was absolutely amazing! I was glad I got a winner on the first choice.
The tavern was small and cramped, it has direct sunlight after noon so it was very hot as well. But I thought it was an overall cool experience.

I’ve been wanting to take the brewery tour ever since I turned 21, and after 14 years I’ve finally managed to cross it off my bucket list!
Whether you like beer or not, it doesn’t matter. This tour is one of the most interesting things I have ever done. There is an incredible amount of local history with in the walls, which I found fascinating. Matt’s produces way more products than I ever realized, including ginger beer and sodas.
The actual tour was about an hour or so, followed by a tasting. They take your through old tasting rooms, talk about the local prohibition era, bottling, fermentation and more. The tour guides are knowledgeable, fun and can answer just about every question you throw at them.
Again, this tour was a blast, and i wouldn’t mind doing it again.
$ 5 admission.

If you’re in or around Utica and you like beer definitely check out this brewery. $ 5 includes about a 45 minute tour from a knowledgeable tour guide, historic building, and two pints. It’s worth the stop!

Saranac is an excellent part of CNY. I’ve alway enjoyed their beer (especially Black Forest), but once I started exploring more of what they had to offer, I became an even bigger fan.
Start with Saranac Thursdays. Each Thursday night through the summer the brewery hosts a musical act and serves up various brews (including seasonal) Admission is 5 bucks and that INCLUDES your first drink. Live music and a drink for $ 5 — how can you go wrong? After that drinks are very cheap (4 beers for $ 10). The serving size is less than a pint though.
The last thing, also mentioned by others is their gift shop. They have an awesome selection of both Saranac and Utica Club items. If you’re a stein collector, they have a new edition out each year. This is definitely a unique way to find someone a gift.
My next adventure here will be a tour of the brewery. I’m guessing that will be a good time. Until then, you can find me rocking out on Thursday nights, Saranac in hand.

Of course they have delicious beer, you probably already know that, but they also have a really robust gift shop with all kinds of Saranac and Utica Club merch and pretty much the best tour $ 5 can buy.
First, of course, the downside of the tour is that it’s only offered at 1pm and 3pm on Fridays and Saturdays during the non-​summer months, which is unfortunate since a tour and a tasting would really hit the spot during the non-​Friday and Saturday I’m passing through Utica. Of course, then summertime hits and Sunday is the only toursona-​non-​grata day of the week.
The tour begins in their 1960s Victorian viewing room, which has a selection of antiques as well as old memorabilia and bottles from the early twentieth century through to today. The ceiling, by the by, is made of pressed cardboard made to look old. (Sometimes knowing that is good for an extra beer ticket, but don’t tell them I gave you the answer) From there, it leads into the portrait gallery where you hear the biographies of the members of the Matt family, who have ran the brewery since its opening in 1888. The next room looks at some of the ingredients used in the making of beer and has open barrels so you can touch them, smell them, and pick up the flu virus from one of the hundreds of people who have touched and smelled them on one of the past few tours.
Then, it’s on to the Prohibition room, where you learn about this dark period in American history. You also learn a bit about the brewing industry. This brewery, for example, is a contact brewer, meaning that the delicious products of other breweries are actually made right here in Utica. Brooklyn, Pete’s Wicked, even Kirkland, Costco’s house beer is made on site.
From there, you go into the bowels of the brewery and see everything from the huge copper kettles to the bottling operation in the works. It’s a bit like Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory, except they put up glass barriers, so it’s all but impossible to fall into the beer river… believe me, I’ve tried.
Finally, it’s the part you’ve all been waiting for. You go up to the beautiful 1888 tavern where you’re free to try any two delicious Saranac products. You can choose from any of the bottles from the current season’s 12-​pack, the award-​winning root beer (for the kids in the group… because kids love nothing more than brewery tours… really, parents?), or a rotating selection of drafts, including the delicious Lake Placid Ubu.
Still with me, Unilocal reader? Then I’m going to let you in on a handy secret. You can become a member of the Schultz and Dooley fan club for only $ 30 a year. This membership is great not only if you’re an admirer of the talking «spokesmugs,» but also if you’re a fan of the tours like I am. By becoming a member, you can get free tours for you a guest. Soon enough, you’ll even be giving a play-​by-​play of the tour on Unilocal,just like me.

I wouldn’t call Utica a tourist destination, but if you happen to be traveling there, you should do yourself a favor and go to the Matt Brewing Company. See, they make the Saranac line of beers and soft drinks, and that alone is worth you paying your respects.
The tour itself runs at the end of the week, and I ended up catching one with my fiancé and two friends the day after Thanksgiving. It was absolutely mobbed, with no less than 30 people on my tour alone (and there were multiple ones going) but there was always enough space where we stopped to spread out, take pictures and bask in the hoppy air.
There was nothing terribly special about our tour guide. He tried to be funny and kept falling flat, and he didn’t know too much about the process, but he kept things moving as we made our way through the immense facility.
The size of the place was probably the most astounding single thing about the brewery. While it wasn’t as big as, say, the Busch Brewery in St. Louis of the Yuengling Brewery in Tampa, it was in the same general order of magnitude. Massive brew kettles, massive aging tanks. Multiple buildings, all of soaring brick construction.
The beerhall here played a lot like a dark mahogany Prohibition-​era speakeasy. The only air that came in came from the open door near the fire escape. There were three bartenders frantically pouring drinks (everyone on the tour gets two) as folks crowded into tight clusters and sipped their beer while soaking in the history.
If you like beer or are a brewery tour fan, I’d recommend making the trip. It’s four hours or so from both Boston and NYC, and you can stop at the Dinosaur BBQ in Troy on the way home. That’s what I’d call a roadtrip.

This was a really cool brewery tour! Our guide was a little dry, but did throw in some fun facts and a little bit of humor.
Saranac is one of the largest breweries I have ever been to (Yuengling and Anheuser Busch being the biggest, of course). The bottling line was enormous. It was also cool to see the huge brew kettles and big room of fermenting tanks.
I wish I gained a lot more information though. I love brewery tours for the academic aspect (because I’m a nerd like that). They talked a little bit about beer brewing (generally the basics) but didn’t say anything about their soda production. The only thing they mentioned was that the soda and «club» drinks gained popularity during the Prohibition Era.
The tour is $ 5 but you see a lot, learn a little bit, and receive two free beverage coupons. The free «samples» were generous — full pint glasses full of whatever you wanted! Beer, draft root beer, basically any of their beverages on tap or bottled. Really nice selection.
The gift shop is great and has a huge selection of goods, gifts, and bottled beverages. So glad we went here!