Soccer Fans Unite for a Pint at this Salt City Biergarten
A view of the seating area at Wolff's Biergarten on Montgomery Street in Syracuse, New York, aka Salt City.
For a beer connoisseur like myself, walking into a casual beer garden can be a relaxing way to experience local drafts, mingle with friends, or go stag to sit back and indulge in a crisp lager, a refreshing Kolsch, a toasty red ale, or a smooth and roasty stout. Preferably, served up in a cold pint glass, or better yet, a litre with a foamed rim, served in a stein with an almost burdensome weight to carry back to my wooden shared table, this I call metaphorical bliss.
A liter of Wolff’s house lager served cold and on draft at the Biergarten.
Wolff’s Biergarten is a local Central New York (CNY) bar and restaurant rooted in Albany, dating back to 2009, with locations in Syracuse and Schenectady. While the Syracuse location does not feature a food menu, the bar shares an ethos of serving delicious craft beers by the litre, hosting karaoke and trivia nights, college nights, industry nights, Bingo, and an awesome happy hour. Importantly, Wolff’s Biergarten and many of its patrons all share one commonality: a love of soccer.
The beer garden in the Salt City has been serving up brews since its opening in 2015. Modeled after their Downtown Albany location, Wolff’s specializes in the congregation of people, namely to watch European Football (Soccer) matches while experiencing an authentic German-style beer garden, or biergarten as referred to in Germany. While you can grab a pint or a litre of local and international drinks, they also serve non-alcoholic options, house-made cocktails, specialty shots, and wine pours.
A view of the bar and draft list at Wolff’s Biergarten, while a soccer match plays on the two television screens.
Stepping into Wolff’s Biergarten is like stepping into another world. The bar was designed to authentically represent a German beer garden, and it acts as a portal upon entering the space. In a way, it’s Oktoberfest year-round.
You can also add indulging in a “boot” filled with beer to the list of fun and interesting things to do when visiting the Salt City. Reminiscent of “Das Boot,” the boot-shaped glass featured in the 2006 Jay Chandrasekhar comedy, BeerFest. To be descriptive, it is a glass boot filled with beer that one chugs and must gracefully tilt to avoid an air bubble that launches a wave of beer to your face. You can compete for the title of fastest time downing a boot, or show up on your birthday, and you’re gifted a free 2.0L boot of beer. It is a unique and fun experience, if, you know, that’s your thing.