Upstate New York Brewery Tour Must-do getaways for the suds seeker

Sure, Brooklyn Brewery is fun and smack in Williamsburg, and Six Point is probably fun but in Red Hook so nobody would ever be able to prove it. But upstate NY also offers a wealth of breweries ranging from micro to macro, many of which you can hit with just a quick day trip. Here're some of the best:

Captain Lawrence Brewing Co, approximate driving time 48 mins: Sure, you know the name, but did you know they'll serve you artisanal hot dogs? Or that they're running a new, seven-barrel experimental brewhouse producing pilot batches of only-available-there brews like Spam Spelt Amber Ale and El Scorcho, which will definitely destroy your sweater if you spill some?

Rushing Duck Brewing Co,1 hour 19 mins: They're now equipped with a tasting room, which means you can now down War Elephant Double IPA and Count Koala Killer Quad, which sounds like the best murderous marsupial vampire four-wheeler ever, and also a very good beer.

Newburgh Brewing Co., 1 hour 29 mins: This recently opened joint features weekend tours of their 1850s brick warehouse, which has a top-floor tasting room where you can score their stout smoked over a peat-fueled fire, and a brewery-exclusive called Von Steuben's Gose, a rare German style that's salty and slightly sour, like most Germans.

Chatham Brewing Co., 2 hours 51 mins: Instead of just visiting the Foofsique Quilting Emporium like normal, make your next trip to Chatham even more exciting by hitting the brewery that just won "Best Craft Beer in the Hudson Valley" and gives a very comprehensive free tasting to each day's first customer.

Mad Jack Brewing at the Van Dyck Lounge, 3 hours 7 mins: Bringing back the "historic brewery that was once the the center of Schenectady", a city that was presumably centerless in the interim, MJ is pouring Pinhead Pale Ale, Tub's Stout, and McToberfest while hosting live bands like the Fighting Jamesons.

Druthers Brewing Co., 3 hours 26 mins: Part brewery and part beer garden whose tables get built-in fire pits, Druthers will ply you with smoked sausage chips and pilsner & chipotle-stewed mussels before drowning you in their fine pours like the All in IPA and the "hoppier than English ale" Fist of Karma Brown Ale, meaning that if karma is a bitch, it's one Haywire bitch indeed.