Malt Shop: Beer + Pizza at Subversive Brewing in Catskill

Subversive Malting and Brewing is joining the ranks of the best breweries in the Catskills and Hudson Valley. In addition to using local hops, as many upstate craft breweries do, Subversive also brews with their own barley malt. This deepens their connection to the land and also lends a depth of flavor to their lagers, IPAs, saisons, and sours, along with my own malt-forward favorites — like Elemental Confluence, a crisp ale with the roasted caramel goodness of an English mild, and Dark Harvest, a stout with notes of chocolate and coffee.

Subversive’s bar is tucked into an old mechanic’s garage, surrounded by a welcoming beer garden. Visitors here are greeted by the aroma of melted cheese, charred tomatoes, and woodsmoke, thanks to the on-premise, made-to-order pizza by Be Golden Farms:

Green Ghost pizza by Be Golden Farms in the Subversive Brewing beer garden in Catskill, NY.

This Green Ghost pie, a daily special when we visited, had a chewy-yet-airy crust with just the right amount of char. It was topped with a mild and creamy combo of mozzarella and fontal cheese, spinach and kale crisped by the wood-fired oven, and a golden-yolked fried egg, with a sprinkling of fresh black pepper and a douse of grassy olive oil. From under a tent in the corner of the beer garden, the gentleman making the pizza told a series of stories about a giant, rude pig that resides on his farm. This pizza could stand up to our favorite pies in Brooklyn, but we felt like we were hanging out in a country neighbor’s outdoor kitchen.

Subversive Malting and Brewing transformed an old mechanic shop into a cozy brew pub and beer garden in Catskill, NY.

Personally, I will always choose a malty and toasty Enlgish-style brown ale, a Belgian-style dubbel, or a German-style dunkel over a hoppy and juicy IPA, so I’m a big supporter of Subversive’s approach. It turns out, most local beer isn’t truly local because there’s a shortage of local grain and malthouses, where grain is steeped, germinated, and kiln-dried so that it’s suitable for brewing. Typically, brewers use malt from big industrial operations, but Subversive uses a more hands-on approach with local grains—so their beer doesn’t rely on a global supply chain.

Subversive Brewing’s bathroom wall reads, “NO MALT NO BEER.”

Subversive Malting and Brewing got its start in 2015 in the form of $25,000 grant from the Ithaca College Business School, which owners Max Ocean and Zane Coffey took home after making a case for the earning potential of the craft malt market. I appreciate the brains behind this beer, the truly local nature of the brew, and the “No Malt No Beer” signage on their bathroom wall. Catskill’s Subversive is definitely worth a visit.

Subversive Malting and Brewing is located at 96 West Bridge Street Catskill, NY, and Be Golden Farms serves pizza out of a tent in their beer garden.