SpottyDogBooks and Ale

The Beer & the Bar

Artisanal Ales at The Spotty Dog

Once you get past the fact that we’re a bookstore who serves beer and wine, you’ll notice (or should notice) that we don’t just serve “beer”: We have a terrific selection of hand-crafted ales from many known and lesser-known brewers. We tend to keep our selection local, as there are many wonderful brewers in the Northeast alone, but we’re not against bringing in the occasional keg from Colorado or Seattle. If you’re looking for tasty ales, we’re happy that you found us. And if you’re looking for Michelob Ultra or Coors Light, just let us give you a sample of ales that are comparatively sublime, multi-layered, subtle, and made with great care by human beings. The taps and kegs are rotated often, so we can’t guarantee up-to-the-minute accuracy of our list to the left, but feel free to call and see if your favorite keg is on. We’d love you to stop in for another pint or a tasting and take it all in.

The Evans Family, and their Ale

The Evans family was in the commercial brewing business for three generations. The original brewery was built in Hudson, NY in 1786 and was bought by the Evans family in 1860. It continued production until prohibition in 1920. Its award-winning ales were well known in the Northeast and were also exported to England and France. Production levels peaked in 1915 when 65,000 barrels of beer were produced at the Hudson Facility.

The brewery bottled its own beer in Hudson at one of the country’s earliest bottling facilities (1889) and later at a plant in New York City. The family also malted much of their own grain in their malt houses at the Hudson facility. C.H. Evans IV (Neil Evans) revived this rich heritage at the Albany Pump Station in 1998, through great food, and the creation of lovely hand-crafted ales. Neil’s niece, Kelley Drahushuk, and her husband Alan Coon opened The Spotty Dog in 2005, in a happy marriage of over 10,000 books, eight artisan beers on tap, and an amazing building. Turn-of-the-century advertising from  C.H. Evans Brewing Company is displayed at the Spotty Dog, as well as pictures and memorabilia.

The CH Evans Fire Company

Founded in 1803, the CH Evans Fire Company has been putting out fires in Hudson for over 200 years. While they currently reside in the new firehouse on Glenwood Boulevard, the CH Evans volunteer firemen occupied this building from its construction in 1889 until 2002, when a number of Hudson’s independent fire companies were consolidated.

Is our ceiling the original ceiling?
Yes, it’s from 1889, and spanned over every fire truck ever parked in the bay (which is now the bar area of the store).

Where is the pole?
No firemen slept in the building regularly, so there was no need for a pole. They came to the fire house from their own homes, and after victorious celebrations over extinguished fires, we assume that they went back home to bed.