Thanks to great homegrown brews coming out of places like Brewery Ommegang, the empire state may be the next hot spot for beer tourism. That's right - beer tourism.
After winding through curvy country roads and gawking at the splendid hills and lonely ­Victorian homes, we turn into a driveway and pass through the center arch of a long, white, European-looking farmhouse. It's late November, and the trees that scale the hill behind the parking lot still cling to a bit of autumnal color. The air is cool, crisp. The sun beams. It's a good day to drink beer.

We arrive with a mission: to taste Belgian-style ales at Brewery Ommegang, the first farmstead brewery built in America in over a century and a beer geek's mecca. Located­ on a 140-acre former hop farm just outside of Cooperstown, New York (home to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and where a popular T-shirt reads ­"Cooperstown: a Drinking Town with a Baseball Problem"), Ommegang has earned critical success and a cult following. Here, they create award-winning, flavorful, effervescent beers that employ Belgian brewing techniques and rely on European ingredients such as Czech hops and Belgian specialty malts.

My friend and I wait behind a group of about 20 people (mostly men), and as we lean against a wall and breathe in the slightly sweet aroma, about eight more people join us. When our turn comes, a knowledgeable host walks us through the process, giving us a history of this hop-growing region, explaining the difference between lagers and ales, extolling the benefits of the two wells on the property that are fed by underwater springs, detailing the process of bottle conditioning (which is similar to that used for Champagne and which gives the beer its bubble), and sharing some of the spices used (following the Belgian brewing tradition of adding flavorings such as coriander, orange peel, ginger, and star anise). The tour ends at a tasting room with a toasty fireplace, a sampling of foods to pair with the samples of ales (chocolates and cheeses and dark mustards to sample with bread), and an educated barkeep who explains the different brews and logical food pairings.