Foley Bros. and Brandon’s Neshobe Winery

Foley Bro’s Fair Maiden Double IPA is just one great reason to stop in Brandon after a tiring bike ride.

By Bill McKibben

The fifth hole on the Neshobe Golf Course, one of the best little golf courses in the state, backs right into the lovely vineyards of the Neshobe Winery.  Open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, the tasting room is a great place to stop after a ride over Brandon Gap. There are decent wines, but the real reason to stop is that the folks behind Neshobe are also responsible for Foley Brothers Brewery.  And the Foley’s Fair Maiden Double IPA is worth stopping for. This double IPA is fairly widely available in bomber bottles (we  even found it at Costco in Colchester). In the ever-growing hop sweepstakes, the double IPA is what it takes to give hopheads the fix they once got from first-generation microbrews and, in this case, it comes with some fairly rich malting as well. If you really concentrate, you can get tropical fruit flavors, but it screams pine resin. So if you’ve come off a gap ride from Rochester, with its glorious white pines along the ridge, you’ll be making a day of it. The one other gauge you might want to check is a breathalyzer; this is 8.2% alcohol by volume and it comes in a big bottle, so share.