Genesee Brew House - A pleasant surprise

About:

Genesee Brew House is the oldest brewery in Rochester. Founded in 1878, it offers a plethora of options for beer lovers. This place has everything from light to dark, fruity flavors to strong stouts and IPAs. One of the best features of Genesee Brew House is its location. Situated right in front of the High Falls, it offers a breathtaking view of the waterfall as you sit back and relax with family and friends. The food is good but the beer lives up to its standards.

The brewery as seen from the high falls bridge

We went to this brewery sometime in the last week of May 2022; that was one of the most relaxing days of that week. My girlfriend and I had been touring downtown Rochester on foot and were pretty tired by the time it was 4pm. We were at High Falls when we saw the iconic Genesee Beer and Ale signboard at the other end of the bridge. Our impromptu plan to visit this place turned out to be one of the highlights of the day.

View of the High Falls from our table on the balcony

First Impressions:

As we entered the brewery we were greeted by the receptionists and were notified that there was a wait time of 45 minutes. We agreed to be put on the waitlist. While waiting, we explored the brew house. They have a very good collection of merchandise such as beer pints, mugs, shirts, stickers,  magnets posters, etc,. One of the cool things was the timeline mapping of breweries in Rochester starting from the 19th Century. It shows a chronological order of all the breweries that opened up in Rochester by lighting up LED lights on the map. I recommend you to check it out as it is quite fun.

View of the high falls bridge and the city from the roof of the brew house

The Good:

We got a table on the balcony and the view was just magnificent. Right in front of us was the High Falls. I ordered the Genesee Tropical Pineapple Kolsch and the Brew House Scotch Ale. Both of them were very refreshing. I would definitely order the Scotch Ale if I visit this place again. My girlfriend ordered a lemonade and she enjoyed it as well. As we were not too hungry, we only ordered fries and chips to munch on as we enjoyed our beverages. The portion sizes were quite large and we had to order a to-go box as we were unable to finish the fries and chips. 

Genesee Tropical Pineapple Kolsch

The Not So Good:

While the brewery's view of the High Falls is beautiful, sadly there is nothing interesting around the brewery. We tried to explore some places nearby while waiting for our table to be ready. However, we soon realized that there was nothing exciting or interesting.

Conclusion: 

Before leaving we went up to the rooftop to admire the view of the High Falls and that of the city. We clicked a few pictures and headed back home.

In conclusion, I recommend beer lovers to try out this place as it has more than just good beer to offer to its customers.