Now that I and the rest of Binghamton has had a chance to check out the new Water Street Brewing Company, what’s the verdict? They opened up at the beginning of March (preceded by a Facebook page diligently updated by the proprietors to this date), and everyone seems to like it. The tap room can reliably be found packed with customers; They have already closed a number of times due to beer running out. I have been there several times, tried all the types of beer they have offered so far, and all their vegetarian food options. I am pleased and pleasantly surprised by how much I like about this place.

The Beer. They are very meticulous about the beer all the way up until they hand it to you in a glass (which are very nice as well).

• They pay close attention to the temperature of the beer and what the temperature of the beer is supposed to be served at
• They have special soap to wash the glasses with less surfactants so as not to ruin a nice head
• To further ensure the purity of flavor and head longevity, they have a little pressurized water fountain next to the taps that blasts a jet of cold water into the glass to cool it (but not too cold – a frosty glass, as the proprietor explained, is a recipe for too much head and distraction from flavor) and remove any traces of soap residue.
• Before they started posting ABV on their ever-changing chalkboard beer list on the wall behind the bar, they posted specific gravity and the Plato scale measurement for each brew. A true brewer’s beer bar – they get beer points for this.
• Each of the beers I’ve tasted have a layered flavor delivery with a start, a middle, and a finish, or at least a start and a finish as opposed to many cheapo brewpubs with one-flavor flat beers.
• Their Hefeweizen is the best I’ve ever had – it’s dulcet and glittery and layered with numerous tinges of flavors.
• They had a smoked porter that gave dark beer a new meaning. It tasted like a hearty combination of charcoal and coffee and strength – I’m clenching my fist as I describe it now, and it made me want to listen to metal. I loved it. I’m glad they occasionally take the risk in making a less accessible beer cerebral and heavy enough here to remind me with flavor that life isn’t always light and easy… but maybe I’m just projecting. I digress.

The Food. The food doesn’t stand out as much as the beer, but it certainly isn’t worth forgetting either.

• I think their pub food menu is well-confined and respects the veg*n diet enough to make me happy. They don’t just slap something they found at the store that says “vegetarian” on it on a plate and sell it; They do a fine job with their marinated tempeh spiedies (which uniquely, and to my delight, are served in a tortilla instead of italian bread) , shepherd’s pie, spicy carrot soup, and their homemade vegan meatloaf is notably pleasing.
• They are currently sending their spent grain to a local pig farm (McRey Farm), fattening up some pigs that will eventually be cooked up as pulled pork at the brewery. Seeing them working with local farmers is very encouraging and I’ll be first in line when that meat makes its way onto the menu.
• They have a beer and local cheese flight in the works (suggestions for this may have been made by yours truly and his celebrity chicken-keeping neighbors). Very excited for this. Most people are unaware of New York State’s droves of world class cheeses.
• I’m glad malt vinegar and tabasco are among the condiments available at every table
• I like that they have specials each day that repeat weekly, such as meatloaf day, shepherd’s pie day, bratwurst day, etc.
• I wish they used less iceberg in the salads – hard to take a salad seriously when there’s an iceberg in it.
• I wish they had more serious and spicy mustard, particularly given their penchant (and skill) for German beers.

The Atmosphere. They clearly thought a lot about the decor, ordering style, and how those influenced the culture of the place.

• The colors they used are not too dark, but not too pastel – they seek a nice balance between being too sterile and bright and too dark and loungey.
• I think the way they take orders (customers go up to the counter to make orders, receive an alert coaster, and return to the counter for the food when the coaster vibrates and flashes to indicate when the order is ready) is a brilliant idea. I’ve never been to a place quite like it, and I don’t think it’s too much to ask of a customer. I like it. I think most people are inclined to be so polite at restaurants when they are getting poor service and would rather just get the food themselves than criticize a scatterbrained waitor/waitress. Parenthetically, something I’ve noticed about this is for some reason (myself included) having an alert coaster presents an interesting responsibility – that thing goes off and the conversation immediately halts – your food is ready and takes number one precedence in the world when they probably wouldn’t mind if your food sat at the counter waiting for a couple minutes. It’s weird being inclined to promptly obey the request of a small blinking hunk of plastic rather than prioritize the smooth trajectory of a conversation with friends.
• Bathrooms – very nice. Air dryers would be nice and probably save them some money.
• I wish the lighting were just slightly more dim. The lights over each table (60W regular tungsten bulbs) sometimes feel bright like an interrogation room. It might be trite, but those long-filament Edison style bulbs sure do have a friendly glow.
• The recent façade lighting was a very nice touch that did not go unnoticed. Next time you go, look up before you walk in and tell me Binghamton is a total pit.

Overall I don’t have anything to truly complain about with this place. I’m very proud of its proprietors, and feel lucky that it’s around, and most importantly they try. Hard. I continue to stop in and enjoy on a weekly basis. Finally something that has lived up to the hype!