Beer By The Tank
A visit to a lager festival and a lager specialist
Well, I didn’t think that Logjammin’ could outdo itself, but it really did for its sixth interation. The event, held last Saturday in Schoharie, New York, about a 45-minute drive from Albany, was an outstanding celebration of lagers, this time in an outdoor space on the grounds of Wayward Lane Brewing. The celebration, started by Philadelphia’s Human Robot, is very much un-changed apart from its setting. There was a stellar list of breweries, including a very well-represented New York City (Eckhart, Finback, Grimm, Kills Boro, KCBC, Niteglow, Test, Threes, and Wild East were all in attendance). I rode the previously-mentioned shuttle bus — a school bus — to the event from Fidens in Albany along with a bunch of other thirsty lager lovers.
The festival felt a bit smaller than its predecessor in Philadelphia, but the amount of open space to roam around made it feel like you were attending your own personal lager festival. Every booth was a pause for conversation — about beer, about life, about the weather (which turned out to be great after a brief passing shower in the first five minutes of the event). I got to catch up with some old favorite beers and breweries of mine (Zillicoah from Asheville, Living Haus from Portland, Cohesion from Denver), and I got to familiarize myself with some new ones (Eno River in Hillsborough, North Carolina and newcomer Blue Duck in Kingston). It was just a lovely, lazy day of floating around a field full of beers, and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more.
Also, despite the torch being passed from Human Robot to Wayward Lane, Ken Correll, the ever-present co-founder of Human Robot, was there all day and hyped us up as we lined up to get into the festival. Never change, Ken.
Upcoming Beer Events of Note
Bronx: Brew at the Zoo at Bronx Zoo, Friday 6/12 from 6-11pm, tickets start at $94.99
Manhattan: Curds & Hops Cheese & Beer Tasting at Murray’s Cheese, Friday 6/19 from 6:30-8pm, tickets $110
Brooklyn: Green City at Other Half Brewing Gowanus, Saturday 6/20 from noon-4pm, tickets start at $85
Staten Island: Kills Boro Pizza Party at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, Saturday 7/25 from noon-4pm, tickets start at $72
Brewery Tracker
Total brewery count: 4,003
Total breweries visited in 2026: 80
Total breweries visited in Maine: 48
Brewery Visit of the Week
Brewery #3984, Sacred Profane Brewery and Tank Pub, Biddeford, Maine (Visited 3-May-2026)
On a recent visit to Maine, I finally got a chance to visit one of the most unique additions to that state’s beer scene in the past half-decade. Sacred Profane is a Czech-inspired brewery that initially launched with two beers: a pale lager and a dark lager. The beer itself is not the only thing that makes the spot Czech-inspired. The most notable thing as you walk into Sacred Profane are the tanks suspended above the bar intended for serving beer — something you’d find throughout Czechia. Fresh beer off the tanks is hard to find in the U.S., so it’s exciting to have it in Maine. They’ve branched into other lagers (and even an IPA), but the tap list has remained squarely in the Czech corner since it opened in 2022. I enjoyed a Smoked Amber and a Dark Lager with a plate of Cheeseburger Egg Rolls which, despite the beer being excellent, absolutely stole the show. In fact, they might be the best thing I’ve eaten this year — and even more impressively, they’re vegetarian. So, come to Sacred Profane for the lagers, the convivial vibes, and the tanks. But definitely stay for the food.
The Doom and Gloom Tracker
At least 1 brewery I’ve visited closed or announced their closure in the past week:
Brewery #1388, TrimTab Brewing Co., Birmingham, Alabama [Visited 28-Dec-2018]
The Weekly Reader
Knicks fever has swept into the Bronx Brewery [Mike Lamorte, News 12]
Get to know Moor’s Brewing, the Chicago-based Black-owned brewery with a New York tie [Stephen Montemayor, Block Club]
The origin story of Cream Ale [Will Cleveland, Cleveland Prost]
Meanwhile, at another lager festival last Saturday… [John Holl, All About Beer]
One Last Thing
I was back on the wonderful Steal This Beer podcast this week for the first time in 573 episodes (and several thousand breweries) to talk about my visit to my 4,000th brewery and to answer the tough questions (mainly from Augie Carton). I hope you’ll go and give it a listen and listen to Steal This Beer on the regular — it’s one of the few beer podcasts I always have in rotation on my podcatcher.
Cheers,
Chris