Local 315 Brewing

Today, I took the opportunity to visit the Local 315 Brewing Company. Previously, I was aware of its opening and existence but, had not ventured to try this place. Why here and today? I read a review on Unilocal
of Toss ‘n’ Fire Wood-​Fired Pizza, a pizza food truck with a wood fired oven. Then I checked their social media and saw they would be here today.
The Local 315 Brewing Company is a farm based microbrewery located in Camillus on Warners Road, not far from Rt 690. The setting is part of a farm located on a hilltop. Some background is here:
My experience today was focused on visiting the farm based brewery, exploring the grounds and buildings and seeing what else I could discover. The entry from Warners Rd. is uphill and leads to generous parking areas once you pass the sheep and donkeys. Everything appears to be newly constructed. The primary red steel building accommodates the brewing facility and the bar area. Outside the entrance of the barn like building is a porch with seating. To the left of the building is a beer garden, for lack of a better term. Even though I write this 2 days prior to Easter, it was cloudy and 34 °F degrees in tropical Upstate NY. There is also a stage like structure under construction so, I speculate that entertainment may be offered in the future.
I briefly entered the bar area. There is bar and table seating in a clean brewery environment. The brewery itself is open to view from the bar area. If you want to eat and enjoy your brew, Toss ‘n’ Fire Wood-​Fired Pizza was available this evening. People were drinking the beers and going outside to order their fresh pizzas to bring them inside and enjoy the beer and pizza together. Since I was driving, I don’t drink and I only had the pizza, which is a separate review.
They grow their own hops for use in the brewing process and seem self sufficient. I’m a carnivore and I wonder what plans they have for the sheep and other animals :)
Just based on the setting, I can give 4 stars yet I haven’t sampled the beer. I’ll revise in the future as needed.

3^rd time coming back to this place. First time was during their soft opening. Their beer was some of the worst I have tasted in the craft brew department. My credentials are somewhat decent since I have been to 80% of the craft breweries along the east coast as well as part of the Midwest.
Went back a 2^nd time because I felt there was something majorly off with their brewing equipment and it was the soft opening. Beer was still awful.
They made a statement on heir Facebook that the problem was they weren’t used to the larger brewing system they had to jump up to. Ok cool I will check back in a few months. Low and behold 5 months later the beer is still some of the poorest brewed craft beer I have ever tasted.
Word of advice. Get a new Brewer. You have a great location, why ruin it with horrible brews. Your double IPA isn’t even an IPA let alone a double. Take a little trip and go try brews and get an understanding of your own industry. Your way off. But I’m sure the Budweiser drinkers looking to «get crazy» with their beer palette along with friends that won’t give you an honest opinion will keep you in business.
3^rd time beer is still horrible. Does this place have a passion for great New York craft beer or just someone with some cash to try and take advantage of the craft beer market?

Charging $ 6 for a pint of beer when you are going to the source is not very local… but seriously even in the high-​cost of living area I live in NJ breweries charge between $ 4-​$ 5/​pint and we’re talking bourbon barrel-​aged stars, not amateur Oktoberfests.
I want to love this place because it’s local, it’s beer, it’s my 315 roots, however, the focus of the brewery is clearly on profit and not on passion.
If you want a trendy place to bring a date, this is a good place. The service was nice (although they should make an ordering line), the space is new, farm-​house chic, and there are lots of photo ops for instagram if that’s what’s important to you.
If you are a craft beer drinker and looking for a good brew, this is not the place.
I am rooting for them because I want CNY to become a craft beer destination, but I got bad vibes from the focus on branding as opposed to product. The high prices were the final nail in the coffin.

A brewery should never charge bar prices, so $ 6/​pint just seems excessive, especially considering the styles being made here are exceedingly basic and not well-​executed at all. I thought the Townie Session IPA was fine, but everything else lacked — the pumpkin beer was a straight-​up cinnamon candle, the double IPA lacked body and had way too much of a prominent malt flavor (where’s the hops?), and the Oktoberfest was flat and one-​dimensional. Raspberry sour just tasted old and stale, not particularly sour.
I realize they are transitioning to a larger brewing system, hence a «learning curve», but it’s very apparent that this business should not have been opened until they mastered how to brew with larger equipment.
Every beer possesses the same watery, thin characteristics; they need to crank up the body, hop prominence, and overall taste of their beers. Good atmosphere and a hard-​working staff can’t compensate for non-​brewery pricing and a sub-​par product.

I came here early on their opening day and will definitely be back. My husband and I shared a beer flight and then each got a pint. For the flight, we got 2 IPAs, the Red Ale, and the Oktoberfest. The first IPA we had tasted a little weird and flat to me, but the second IPA in the flight was pretty good.
Overall, I wasn’t a huge fan of their beers, but I really liked the atmosphere and space. We sat outside at one of the many picnic tables and were able to enjoy the beautiful fall weather while sipping a beer — can’t get much better than that. The day we came here they had a pizza truck out front, so we also grabbed a pizza. I don’t think they will always have that, but I think it is a great idea. It made the experience more complete. The do crowlers (can-​growler), though we didn’t get one.
The owner and staff were all so friendly and welcoming, and they have goats and a donkey down by the parking lot. I adore all animals, so it made my day to pet the goats. I love supporting local businesses, and I am already looking forward to coming back.

Grand Opening! Today was the big day! New local craft brewery, family run and owned I believe. After an hour in line, we were finally we able to get a flight of 4 samples for $ 7. They had 16 beers on tap! My favorite was their IPA and took home a growler for $ 15. I also tried their chocolate stout, red ale and Oktoberfest. They had live music from 4−6pm and food trucks. I wish the food trucks stayed longer. By the time we finished getting our samples, the food truck was all packed up to leave a little after 5pm. In the future, it might be nice to have them stay longer especially when there is an event going on! Service was a bit disorganized too. After the line grew past the goats down the hill, they added a few tap lines outside to help decrease the crowd inside and wait time for purchasing pints. We were able to find a picnic table easily and enjoyed our samples! Next time I’m in the area, I plan stopping by to enjoy another flight of samples with less of a crowded bar and learn more about their beers on tap.