The Ruck

Finally made it here. I should really visit more often when seeing in-laws. Troy isn’t nicest but this place is a little gem. Mix of regulars drinking labatts and Bud light and then craft beer people. I didn’t get any food. Skipped over Hill Farmstead and Trillium on menu to get some new brewery ticks they had a bunch of breweries I’ve never seen in area before. Could’ve done damage if didn’t have to drive and meet up with family. I got 4 5oz pours including an Imp Stout and bill was $14.50 so quite reasonable. And I like 5oz size can try a bunch but feel more substantive than standard 3oz flight. Friendly bartender who was by herself and it was busy but she was quite efficient.

They have Hill Farmstead, good tvs & wings. My Local. Best place in the planet

Long and spacey bar with dark wood everywhere, decorated with tap handles on the ceiling, a shuffleboard and other English pub memorabilia. A vry good list of 30 beers on tap, small but nice food menu, knowledgeable and friendly bar staff, soft music and not too many people on a Sunday noon. A very good option to visit if you’re in Albany or Troy.

Ahhh, the Ruck....Troy.....Troilet. This is a great bar for Troy. Probably the only reason I venture out an hours ride to Troy anyway. While Troy is making a comeback, the overall area is still strugling. The Ruck is the best foot forward from Troy. Filled with tons of dark wood, and dim lighting. Definitely has that local neighborhood city bar feel.... Plenty of patrons any time of the week. GREAT beer selection, with more than enough to satisfy anyone’s palate, including a cask ale. Servers are quick, polite, knowledgeable and are there for you. Prices are about what you expect for craft beer. Overall, check the website for tap offerings and make your way over.....at least once to check it out, you won’t be dissapointed.

A diamond in the rough. This used to be a generic dive/college bar but has morphed into a full craft beer bar and restaurant in the last few years. The food menu was recently given a complete makeover with a lot of creative options. Though the "wing burger" is still a safe bet.

The interior has a ski lodge type of look to it. Everything’s made of wood! There’s usually plenty of seating around the bar or at various tables and booths. The bathroom needs to be re-done as it always looks kinda dirty.

Service is usually pretty good. You order from the bar and they’ll bring food to your table. Prices on food and beer are reasonable.

Beer selection is very good, especially for a bar of this type. There was a time when they’d carry Miller Lite on tap, but now all BMC beers are only available in bottles. Tap lineup is usually mid-range craft like magic hat and Sam Adams, though there’s always higher-end stuff like Southern Tier, Dogfish Head, Stone, Allagash, Evil Twin, etc. There’s also a cask engine that’s constantly rotating (the taps are, too). I wish they would put the tap list all in one place and make it easy to read instead of having three chalkboards scattered around the bar and high up difficult to read.

They have tap takeovers all the time, sometimes on a weekly basis. Dogfish Head Night is HUGE.

If you want to avoid the college crowd, weeknights before 7pm are best. In fact, they have a great happy hour selection of drafts from 4-7. After 8pm there’s almost always live music, a DJ or trivia or something like that.

This place is getting better all the time.

Apparently this is the best beer place in the capital region of New York state. Seeing the tap selection, I am not surprised. That said, you are better looking up the tap list online than trying to figure out what it is in the bar because it is scattered on a number of chalkboards throughout the place without any rhyme or reason. However, the bar has the feel of a neighborhood sports bar, which is fine in its own way. Plenty of TVs that happened to be playing America’s Funniest Home Videos and Wipe-Out while I was there. The food was plenty good enough. Good wings, OK hamburgs, and quite tasty tater tots (covered in God-knows-what... but all the better). I had two beers I have never seen in NYC, which is big ups of course.

Really cool bar in Troy. Nice old bar ambiance (lots of wood, almost looks like an old barn or horse stable) with a solid selection of beers, and the wings were quite tasty. Didn't try any other food, but the beer list and wings and cool atmosphere would easily get me back there. Great bar.

Visited: 1-24-12 A: The place looks like a dump from the curb..and even when you enter inside, it is not that impressive but eventually turns out to be a good low key beer bar...a shit hole..but a good shit hole. Q: The quality of beers were decent, my biggest complaint was I had several beers that were under carbonated...a big deal!!! S: The service was decent, no issues but didnt smoke you either. S: A decent selection, of 20+ taps, very very few macros but you do see a good amount of style overlaps for a small tap list. F: Had a mediocre turkey burger with over cooked fries....ordered chicken wings later on which were worthy of the 40 cent wing night value. The place seems to be over valued by the locals....this is the Buffalo NY equivalant of Mr.Goodbar (with better bathrooms). V: A decent value...not over nor under changed on food or beers. Overall, the bar is a decent beer bar but you can find better places in the greater Albany area (but not more interesting).

seems like a college dive bar with an excellent tap list, for being so busy, service was good enough. i will have to go back earlier in the day.

This place gets crowded and noisy, but their tap selection is unmatched locally. Not only do they have many taps, they are hard-to-find beers and at cheap prices! Go early in the day so that you can get a seat, and be sure to try their buffalo fries. Delicious! Also, check their website frequently, they often do tap takeovers!