HOPS n DOGS

Just on the edge of the New York-Pennsylvania border, among the rolling hills of New York State's Southern Tier, stands a mighty tree: a Beer Tree. Beer Tree Brewing Company is a well-known name in and around Binghamton, New York, an area for producing some of the area's most beloved, flavorful beers. The brewery is quite large, with 3 taprooms, and its primary brewing facility is in Johnson City, known as the Factory.

But for this visit, we visited the smaller, original brewing facility, also known as the Fram. The Beer Tree Farm location is in Port Crane, New York, and is a much more rural, down-to-earth brewery and taproom. We would describe it as modern-day rustic luxury, with a large open-concept seating area surrounded by beautiful country scenery visible through panoramic windows that wrap the length of the building. Much of the brewing has moved to Factory, but the Farm still has a smaller, active brewing setup here. But, what sets this location apart is the massive property, which is perfect for our four-legged friends.

While the inside brewery is off-limits to dogs, this location offers two outdoor areas to relax in whule you visit with your furry friends. For those who want to stay closer to the bar and kitchen, a gorgeous gravel patio surrounds most of the brewery's perimeter. The patio offers a wide range of seating, including open tables, covered tables, and patio chairs with and without fire pits, all covered by an assortment of shade sails that help keep the patio cool.

For those who want to stay closer to nature, a large collection of picnic tables sits just down the hill from the patio. The picnic area is surrounded by a large open field where families and pets can play yard games or enjoy the clean country air.

One of the biggest surprises for us was the on-site brewery's kitchen. The kitchen serves all three dining areas; just remember your table number, as that will be key at a place this large. Overall, the food was pretty decent for the prices, and there was a solid selection of your standard pub fare. One must-try for visitors is the “Foxy fries,” and they seemed to be a major crowd favorite!

This was a fantastic brewery to take your pup. A brewery that maintains such a large open field is very hard to find. And this is no small field; it's not uncommon for this brewery to launch a hot air balloon or two throughout the year. And the field was very well maintained. The field was freshly mowed, and based on our initial walk when we first arrived with Ein, there was no sign of trash or other animal droppings as we took Ein for a long walk before we sat down for a meal.

As for overall amenities, the brewery has a handful of dog bowls throughout the patio grounds, but we definitely recommend bringing your own water dish or dispenser. There is a self-service water station inside that we used to fill a travel dispenser.

Staff as a whole were amazing with Ein. One of the bartenders actually stopped out specifically to see her when we first arrived. Throughout the visit, a few other patrons stopped by to see Ein, and a few others brought their four-legged friends, too.