Saranac Beers From Utica, NY, USA, 2007

Yeah, yeah, I know that this photo is overexposed a bit. I didn't have any studio lights, so I had to use my built-in flash. I still wanted to post this in order to show everybody one of the few interesting things still made in Central New York. :-) Saranac is not actually a brewery, but F.X. Matt's most popular brand of beer. To be more precise, the name is used on many, many different beers marketed by F.X. Matt, and now makes up the vast majority of sales. I just found a couple of sixpacks to photograph, one of "Season's Best," which is only produced (to a different recipe every year, or so I've heard) at Christmas, and another of Saranac Smooth Lager. On March 17th of this year the brewery suffered a fire during a construction project, but only the bottling plant was damaged and as of this past Monday it was back in operation. Although there was $10m in damage, making it, supposedly, the most costly fire in Utica's history, the brewery received mass support from the public, and not only continued to enjoy success, but also received visitors on its brewery tour before production even restarted. Less happily, it is one of the only factories in Utica which still runs, and Saranac is now one of the only brands of anything still associated with Utica, NY.