Travel and Video by Sonja Stark

The 16th annual TAP New York Festival was held at Hunter Mountain last Sunday and I’m just about sober enough now to blog about it. Was I supposed to sample all 85 breweries? Absolutely!
I held off only long enough to finish working on a video of the event, then I swigged, swooshed and swallowed repeatedly.

Since it’s humble beginnings 18 years ago, TAP has morphed include largest gathering of breweries in New York State. Craft micro and nanos are now a force to be reckoned with.

Big beer labels are running scared because independent breweries like The Beer Diviner, Chatham Brewing, Empire Brewing, Lake Placid Pub and Brewery, Rushing Duck, Three Heads Brewing, Upstate Brewing Co. and Schmaltz Brewery are bottling product that tastes better and helps the local economy.

“Beer is really coming into it’s own right now,” says Aaron Whittman, brewmaster general (or president) of the Albany Brew Crafters. “The so-called ‘winification’ of beer is actually a great thing for the industry.”

Just like wine, Whittman described how consumers are pairing up the different colors, textures, smells and most importantly tastes of beer with their everyday meals. Indeed, I caught dozens of sophisticated drinkers smelling their beer and swishing it from cheek to cheek, as if they were in a vineyard.

Inevitably, busloads of over-21 college revelers made attempts to turn the day into their Grandfather’s frat party but with prestigious award contests like the Governor’s, Matthew Vassar’s and F.X. Matt Memorial Cups, reverence was paid to innovators who made and make the brewing world a better place for all.

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Never pass judgement, so say all the best travel writers; write only what you see and hear, avoids speculation and opinion and keep it simple.

Old Greenwich is not simple.

“It’s all because of hedge funds” insists my friend Olive who moved from Rye, NY to Old Greenwich, Conn. 13 years ago. “…that’s the reason this town is so (super) rich. Yet, surprisingly, the taxes are really low.”

Indeed, it doesn’t take long to notice the hallmarks of Fairfield County’s mega-earners: beautiful waterfront mansions, turn-of-the-century stone homes, landscaped courtyards, private yacht clubs and spinnakers dotting the bay horizon. How the area maintains such a low tax bracket remains a mystery.

Some of the billionaires that make this hamlet home include investors (and founders) of big commercial names like Subway, Bumble bee Tuna, Vlassic pickles, Ghirardelli chocolate and the Hyatt Hotel chain. Celebs include Diana Ross, Judge Judy, Regis Philbin, John Travolta and an endless parade of entertainment tycoons.

While working in Old Greenwich (though, I can hardly call it working) my clients treated me to an English manor-styled Greenwich hotel with a soaring atrium inside. My 2nd floor room overlooked a man-made pond with, what I thought, was a rare albino snapping turtle basking on a rock. It turned out to be plastic… oops.

Nautical-themed filming locations included the Indian Harbor Yacht Club, the Crew Restaurant and the Belle Haven Country Club. All were wonderful; delicious food, warm atmosphere and friendly staff. No doubt about it, living among high society has social privileges.

Old Greenwich is unusually quaint and charming with a strong sense of nostalgia, much like a Norman Rockwell painting.

After probing the coveted Colonial homes of yesteryear, I walked the sandy beaches of Greenwich Point Park. Bring ‘old money’ if you have any because a day pass is not cheap – $20 entrance fee.

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Sponsor-a-Scholar videos from PilotGirl Productions on Vimeo.

The last couple months have been spent working with some amazing students, mentors and guidance counselors of the not-profit Capital Region Sponsor-a-Scholar program. Embedded here (just push the arrow above) are 3 of 4 marketing videos that I thought I’d share with my readers.

The program provides high school students of low-income families with an extra push in resources and services to help elevate their grades from C’s to A’s giving them the opportunity to go to college. Even after high school, the program continues ensuring success for an additional two, four or six years in college.

Results prove that the cycle of poverty stops once and for all when a family member graduates with an education that he or she is passionate about. In the case of Naquan King, undergrad at Rochester Institute of Technology, his future holds great promise in the business and engineering world.

Thanks for watching!

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85 breweries, fifteen of which just started operations this year, will be showing off their suds at the annual NY TAP FESTIVAL this weekend.

If you’re like me (is it a curse or not being German?) you’ll want to stop drinking now (it’s Tuesday) and save up your calorie count to sample all 85.

Chocolate peanut butter, coffee, pumpkin and banana nut are the mainstays but new seasonal sensations like Watermelon Wheat, Strawberry Cream and Raspberry Jalapeno from Ithaca’s Bandwagon Brewpub sound just as yummy.

Other breweries of interest include Sloop Brewing’s “The Sauer Peach,” Three Heads Brewing’s “Bromigo Smoked Maple Amber Ale,” and Rohrbach Brewing’s “Pineapple Wheat.” You won’t find Anheuser-Busch, Coors, or Miller products here!

Get your recommended daily or monthly dose of fruits and carbohydrates all in one weekend.

Tickets are going faster than a college kid pounding a keg so act quickly – CLICK HERE: TICKETS

After that, watch this entertaining ditty was made by cheerleaders who love the beers at the community supported “Beer Diviner.” I’m personally anxious to try their Ancient Gruit Ale that aims to defeat the drowsy effects of hops with a slightly psychotropic concoction of medicinal herbs.

See you at the experimentation tables!

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Amelia Fredendburg, Henrietta Hood, Cynthia Cummings, Ronnie McCrea, Anthony Simone, Laurie Desmarais, Angel Vasquez, Theresa Nocerino, Teri Tarshus and Alex Spektor – if you don’t recognize any of these names it’s because you’re not suppose to. They are the industries hardest working, behind-the-scenes hotel employees in New York State. They perform their jobs so flawlessly it’s almost intuitive.

Every year, the New York State Hospitality & Tourism Association (NYSH&TA) recognizes 10 unsung heros who go above and beyond your every day room attendant, bellman and manager. Of their 1300 members only a select few make the cut. Tonight, hotels like the Sherry Netherland in NYC, Holiday Inn in Elmira, Otesaga in Cooperstown and the Country Inn & Suites in Cortland took center stage for a night dinner, drinks and videos (that’s where I come in).

Italian Bellman Anthony Simone of the Westin Grand Central in NYC has been written up so many times on tripadviser.com that guests ask for him by name. Tobago-native Cynthia Cummings of Albany’s own Homewood Suites discreetly wipes her finger across every sill, counter and surface ensuring spotless cleanliness from her staff. Guest Services Representative Laurie Demarais of Elmira’s Holiday Inn will fix a pair of broken glasses, provide you with a bible should your Wedding Minister forget his or craft you a personal Finger Lakes wine itinerary.

If your travel plans take you to any of the destinations where these top ten work, tip wholeheartedly – they deserve every penny.

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