Finger Lakes Explorers

The microbrewery scene has been booming here in the Finger Lakes for a few years now with dozens of new amazing craft breweries having opened within just the past 5 years or so. And the region is becoming known as a hub for really good beer. Some of the local breweries have already gained a national reputation, like prison City in Auburn and Other Half in Bloomfield. But there are dozens of other breweries in the area that are flying under the radar and producing some phenomenal beers. So today we’re going to check out three of those breweries that all happen to be around Conesus Lake and the western edge of the Finger Lakes. All three have developed quite a reputation with at least one already rising to the national scene. These should definitely not be overlooked by visitors to the region. So come along with us as we check them out!

No BS Brew Company

The first stop on our beer tour takes us to a brewery just north of Conesus Lake in Livonia. No BS Brew Company opened in this location back in 2019. The name of the brewery comes from the first initials of the co-owners and founders, named Ben and Steve, and the brewery fittingly operates as a down-to-earth business with a neighborhood feel. No BS has been so successful since opening their Livonia location just a few years ago that they opened a second location in the village of Victor, just southeast of Rochester. 

No BS offers a pretty lengthy and varied menu of beer options along with several choices of local wines and spirits if beer isn’t your thing. We decided to split a flight of 5 beers to get a sampling of what they had to offer. 

The California Common Steam Beer, North End Cream Ale, and Silvera New England IPA were all solid and very drinkable. None really jumped out at us but they were definitely enjoyable. Next up was the Basil Brown Ale, which we had to try because who’s ever had beer with basil in it? It was a really interesting flavor and great if you’re looking for something a little different. Almost tasted like liquid pizza, if you can imagine that. And last up was the Winter Warmer Ale. This beer was a New York State Craft Beer Competition gold medal winner. It was very smooth, a little sweet, and had just a hint of spice. It’s a great cold weather beer.

Rising Storm Brewing Company

After a great first brewery, our second stop of the day brought us just a few miles up the road from No BS to Rising Storm Brewing Company. Also located in Livonia, Rising Storm opened its doors in 2018 when two avid home brewers took a leap of faith and made the brewery a reality. Since then, Rising Storm has been consistently cranking out high quality craft beer and creating quite a local reputation at the same time.

The brewery is located on a large plot of land with plenty of room for parking and spreading out on their expansive lawn. In the warmer months, there are several picnic tables and Adirondack chairs, and they have a stage for live outdoor entertainment. 

The draft list here was heavy on IPAs, which makes me happy, but those IPAs came in a ton of styles and flavors.  So we opted for a flight here, as well. 

First up was the Nocturnal Rainbows Black IPA. This was solid and smooth and really tasty. It didn’t have much of a burnt flavor, as you can sometimes get with black IPAs. The After Hours IPA was a New England Style IPA. It was a little buttery and very easy to drink. The Nocturnal Storm Vanilla Porter had a good vanilla flavor without being too overwhelming. And the Kiwi Passion Fruit Coconut Sour IPA was big on flavor and had a big hit of sour. Perhaps a little too much sour for me, as I’m not a sour fan, but my husband enjoyed it. 

Like No BS, Rising Storm has had such success that they’re going to be expanding to a second location just outside Rochester. We look forward to checking it out!

Mortalis Brewing Company

After another very enjoyable flight, we were off to our last, but certainly not least of our Conesus Lake brewery stops: Mortalis Brewing Company. Motrtalis is located in Avon, about 5 miles north of Conesus Lake and right off Interstate 390. Mortalis exploded onto the beer scene in 2018, offering unique and extremely flavorful beers that appeal to both beer lovers and non-beer lovers alike. In doing so, they have developed a national reputation for their creative flavors and high quality brews and often have lines of cars waiting to buy new releases. 

The brewery is tucked away in an unassuming building in an industrial area. The interior matches the no-frills exterior, with a few tables surrounding the large the brewing vats. The focus in here is strictly on community and creating good beer, which they’ve been succeeding at since the get-go. Over the 

What makes Mortalis unique is their flavor-forward, inventive use of fruits and everyday food items to take their beers to another level. They don’t tend produce generic, easy drinking lagers and ales, at least that I have had. The beers coming out of Mortalis are way outside the box. It’s not uncommon to see flavors such as carrot cake, marshmallow, milkshake. But unlike many other breweries where you might get a hint of those flavors, they’re the first thing you taste at Mortalis. 

We’ve enjoyed the beers here many times since their opening but on this most recent visit we decided to pick four 5 ounce pours of flavors we hadn’t yet tried. 

Up first was a sour with passion fruit, mango, and peach. This had a super strong mango flavor. It was more fruit forward than sour and the consistency was more like a fresh squeezed juice than a beer. Even as someone who’s not a huge fan of sours, this was a really tasty beer. Next was a Japanese rice lager. This was crisp and clean and easy to drink. This was more of a traditional beer flavor but the rice added something a little unique. Next we tried an Imperial IPA. It had a very solid flavor, slightly sweet and smooth. Nothing too exciting, but good. We wrapped up our tasting with an Imperial Stout that had been conditioned on cinnamon coffee cakes. It was delicious. Lots of sweetness, but not sickeningly so, and just the right amount of cinnamon flavor. 

The folks of Livingston County and the Conesus Lake area are cranking out some amazing beers. If you want to experience some of the best of the brewing scene in the Finger Lakes make your way west and check these breweries out. You won’t regret it.