The Upper Hudson Valley has along and full-bodied brewing tradition. Arriving in the 1600s, the Dutchestablished the area as a brewing center, a trend that continued well into theeighteenth century despite two devastating wars. The Erie Canal helped developAlbany into a beer capital of North America—“Albany Ale” was exported acrossAmerica and around the world. Upper Hudson Valley breweries continued to thriveuntil Prohibition, and some, like Beverwyck and Stanton, survived the darkyears to revive the area’s brewing tradition. Since the 1980s, there has been arenaissance in Upper Hudson Valley craft brewing, including Newman’s, C.H.Evans, Shmaltz and Chatham Brewing. Beer scholars Craig Gravina and Alan McLeodexplore the sudsy story of Upper Hudson Valley beer.