SCRANTON / TANNERSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA

Five miles from Barley Creek in northeast Pennsylvania village of Swiftwater, visited POCONO BREWING COMPANY (opened 1998 and affectionately known as PBC, but now closed), December ‘07. Though its ‘brewing’ allegation is a misleading misnomer (since windowed copper kettle remains dormant and original recipe brews get crafted by nearby microbrewer Lion Brewing), ski chalet sportsbar boasts 100 tapped-bottled beers and affordable pub grub.

A large fireplace warms central bar while cozy right side family dining area (with TV/ sports jerseys), game room, VIP balcony, sushi bar, and Poconuts comedy club provide vacationers with cornucopia of choices. Sampled simple barley-roasted grapefruit-quince-backed hop-tingled Ball & Chain Lager, lemon-limey grapefruit-embittered floral-tinged caramel-backed Old Bastard Ale, and coffee bean-soured chocolate-malted licorice-laced Black Ghost Porter.