All posts by John Fortunato

BITCHIN’ KITTEN BREWERY

United States Brewpubs,

MORRISVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA

In the dapper Bucks County borough of Morrisville near the Delaware River falls across from Trenton, BITCHIN’ KITTEN BREWERY set up shop in 2019 after founder Michael Crosson took second prize in a craft brew competition. A casual cat-themed pub with upscale pub fare, Bitchin’ Kitten specialized in ‘big’ hybridized elixirs with offbeat complexities.

Inside the red brick, blue awninged, epoxy floored professional building, there are front windowed chairs plus wood tabled benches leading to the twelve-seat bar (with tin-encased Edison lights). An alleyway beergarden patio provides seating in good weather. ‘Dazzling cocktails’ and local Crossing Vineyards wine are also available.

My wife and I gathered at the cozy two-seater along the left wood paneled wall to quaff a tidy fruited wheat beer and an expansive confectionery stout on a cold winter night, January ’25.

We took home a host of fascinating brews (reviewed in Beer Index) including Freya’s War Cats Norwegian-style Hazy IPA, Dew Claw West Coast IPA, Adventures In Scouting Peanut Butter Brown, Adventures In Scouting Cinnamon Roll Winter Warmer, St. Nick Claw-Us and stone fruited Sourpuss Sour.

As for the tapped suds, tart raspberry puree nestled perfumed boysenberry, strawberry and blackberry illusions plus cucumber watering for dry moderation, Boujee Cat Raspberry Wheat, picking up a ticklish lemon fizz.

Bold dessert nightcap, Wu Dat Bananas Foster Pastry Stout, draped brown-sugared fried banana sweetness with caramelized vanilla and toasted cinnamon while retaining syrupy dark-roast chocolate incisiveness and minty iced coffee smidge.

FREE WILL BREWING – LAHASKA

United States Brewpubs,

LAHASKA, PENNSYLVANIA

In the storybook town of Lahaska at Peddlers Village, FREE WILL BREWING set up a nifty taproom October 2016 – four years after its initial facility opened January ’12. Its white-marbled tile floor contrasts the bar area’s tin-foiled brown ceiling tiles and the white book shelving adds to the quaint charm.

A small serving station with twelve taps supplies the wood tables and private mirrored side room. A front deck overlooks Peddlers Village.

My wife and I grab seats at the green back window to engage in a confectionery nightcap while enjoying the Winter Lights & Ice Sculpture show on a cold Saturday evening, January ’25.

Wintry Snowdrift Mint Chocolate Stout certainly delivered the goods as refreshingly sharp green mint menthol leafing surged alongside chewy dark chocolate richness, perfectly emulating a Junior Mint or Peppermint Patty candy bar.

TRANQUILITY BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

WARMINSTER, PENNSYLVANIA

Inside a tan stucco Industrial mall, TRANQUILITY BREWING COMPANY opened four miles north of Philly in the town of Warminster. Besides its delectably conservative beer fare, Tranquility serves Interstellar Signature cocktails, pizza, sandwiches and light pub fare.

A virtual local sportsbar with ten-seat bar housing twelve tap handles connected directly to the silver brew tanks, the epoxy-floored pub offers black-wooded tables and chairs plus an exterior side deck. The nifty back wall space features a large moonwalk mural and the black art deco ceiling provides a dusky pre-Prohibition setting for my late afternoon January ’25 visit.

Smooth lime-wedged Mexican lager, Below The Equator, revealed musky lemon pit bittering and mild agave snips for its grainy pilsner malt spine.

Mild beechwood smoked amber graining nestled the soft hop spicing of Winter Lager, a pale amber moderation with wispy cured meating.

Nestling vegetal gourd roasting across brown-sugared ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove spicing, Jupiter Jack’s Pumpkin Ale gained a slight perfuming for festive autumnal medium body.

Easygoing NEIPA, Hazy Space Monkey, pledged dank pine tones to brisk orange-peeled yellow grapefruit bittering, subtle peachy pineapple tanginess and dainty floral spicing.

Piney yellow grapefruit bittering consumed Fly Me To The Moon, a moderate-bodied IPA with spritzy lemon zesting and mild orange peel sweetness as well as spicy floral perfuming.

Incisive chocolate stout, The Dark Side, laced its creamy chocolate frontage with dark coffee tones contrasted by maple-sugared dried fruiting, sweet sherry wining, rich chocolate caking and creme brulee caramelization. Superfine nightcap.

MYSTIC WAYS BREWING COMPANY

Beers A-Z,

PERKASIE, PENNSYLVANIA

In the heart of Perkasie since opening in August 2022, MYSTIC WAYS BEWING COMPANY has a cool mystical psychedelic vibe uniquely tantalizing all who’ve experienced the small kaleidoscopic pub. Its black art deco ceilings with glowing celestial starlights perfectly suits the back-walled enchanted forest themed mural, bright magic mushroom surrealism and elliptical wood-lacquered aquamarine figurines at the 20-seat left side bar.

Right side wood tables plus two TV’s fill out the phantasmagorical hideout. There are ten taps including a side pull handle at the bar. Stored brew tanks exist downstairs.

Complexities abound for former homebrewer Joe Winiarski’s winningly diverse elixirs ranging from creamy black kolsch to sour fruited porter to wood-chipped Basil Hayden bourbon stout – many utilizing locally sourced ingredients. Winiarski gained experience at Quakertown’s Red Lion Brewing and boasts “cutting edge” technique brewing his own unique fare.

My wife and I enjoyed our festive two-hour junket on a cold Saturday afternoon, January ’25. We spent time kibitzing with Mystic Ways partner, Alice Krier, Winiaski’s mother.

Muskily herbal Saaz hops greeted barnyard graining for Mystic Premium, a dry Czech pils with mildly creamed sourdough breading.

Offbeat juniper berry-integrated, gin-barreled Scandanavian sahti, Juni, benefited from sparkly-watered Kviek yeast, ‘herbal rye breading’ and minty fern licks, picking up desiccated fig, plum and prune tartness atop creamy Vienna malts.

Resilient lemon zesting and yellow grapefruit tanginess combined with salted guava misting for dry-hopped Celestialdelic, a hazy IPA with heavily wheated oats creaming and slight compost waft.

Creamily smooth black kolsch, Midnight Mystolsch, let ‘dark chocolate-covered biscuit’ entry gain toasted wheat breading to counter its champagne-sparkled kolsch yeast for slightly eccentric fun.

Light-roast coffee picked up cocoa-dried carob riffs and light-roast hop bittering for Ymave Mystic, a dark version of Mystic Premium that stays smooth.

Conditioned on raspberry puree, Elixir Of Krampus, a sour porter, let its dark-roast chocolate malts gain Philly sour yeast musk as well as prune-dried green raisin and black grape tartness plus pipe tobacco sweetness.

Aged in Basil Hayden Bourbon barrels, mighty 11.6% ABV nightcap, Mammothus Imperial Stout, regaled vanilla-creamed bourbon chocolate sweetness for syrupy maple sapped French Toast finish.

VAN LIEUS BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

PERKASIE, PENNSYLVANIA

Starting out as a family farmhouse basement nano in nearby Ringoes, New Jersey, VAN LIEUS BREWING COMPANY opened its Perkasie location October 29, 2023. Two blocks from Mystic Way Brewing in a residential neighborhood, the converted white stucco Texaco gas station (with dark blue Penn State trim, double overhead doors and front benches) houses side-doored brew tanks holding head brewer Galen Barr’s snazzy suds.

Alongside his father, Jim Barr, Galen’s small brewing operation turns out a familiar stylish array of beers with just the right edge. The one-room, cement-floored, white-walled pub features plastic-seated wood furnishings and a couple TV’s. On a cold Saturday night, January ’25, I sojourned to Van Lieus.

For light-bodied thirsts, tidy Lieus Light Lager simply sidled gluey pale malt spicing alongside dry herbal hops in crisply clean fashion.

Green grape must dusted the banana-clove expectancy and sprinkled powdered sugaring of Clouds Over Bavaria, a cereal-grained, pilsner-malted hefeweizen.

Lively Citra-Galaxy-Nelson-hopped NEIPA, Bound By Symmetry, bounced lemony grapefruit rind bittering across sweet orange peel zesting, peachy pineapple tanginess and floral perfumed spicing atop creamy vanilla oats, leaving mild pine tones on the tropical fruited sunshine.

Van Lieus co-owner Jim Barr then came to sit with wife and I, bringing over German Christmastime-spiced Pfefferusse chocolate cookies to eat alongside his persistently percolatin’ porter.

Dark-roast coffee nuttiness darted thru the dark-roast hop char of relaxing coffee porter, Back To The Grind, utilizing sweet Maris Otter and pale chocolate malts to counter its bitter tobacco chaw swerve.

JIMMY CARTER – RENNAISANCE MAN/ HUMANITARIAN/BEER DEREGULATER

Beers A-Z

Georgia Peanut Farmer Jimmy Carter became US prez during a volatile time in the ’70s. Nixon’s impeachment, high inflation, cultural warfare and stagflation really hurt the nation. Though Carter had a difficult time weaving thru so many problems, he was a true Renaissance Man and may be the greatest American of all time.

Besides being a Naval officer, Middle East peacemaker, published author, woodworker and fly fisherman, Carter was a man of character, dignity and honor, creating the highly respected Habitat for Humanity – truly the most awesome achievement by this distinctly pure individual.

What you may not know is Carter deregulated the beer industry by ridding an ancient pre-prohibition law restricting beer production to limited large macros making less than average beer. By allowing homebrewing, small microbreweries began slowly popping up in the late ’80s. Now, there are 10,000 independently owned and operated breweries.

EVERY BEER ENTHUSIAST, SMALL BREWER AND CRAFT BEER PUB OWNER OWES THIS MAN A LARGE DEGREE OF THANKS FOR HIS FORWARD-THINKING AGENDA FOR NOT ONLY THE BEER INDUSTRY BUT FOR HIS IDEAS ON RENEWAL ENERGY, BANK REGULATION (THRU THE VOLCKER RULE) AND DISEASE CONTROL.

THANK YOU JIMMY CARTER FROM ALL OUR HEARTS – RIP (1924 – 2024)

-JOHN FORTUNATO AND EVERY BEER ENTHUSIAST

BACK MOUNTAIN BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

DALLAS, PENNSYLVANIA

Retired military veteran Clay Cadwalader, an avid homebrewer, and his high school sweetheart, Charity, co-owners of BACK MOUNTAIN BREWING COMPANY, develop a splendid cornucopia of stylistic brews (mostly one-offs or recurring) at an aged red brick warehouse. Learning his craft while stationed at Washington’s Puget Sound, Cadwalader returned home to Northeast Pennsylvania’s ‘back mountains’ to set up shop in Dallas during August ’21.

The rustic boiler roomed textile mill that Back Mountain occupies has been retrofit with hardwood floors, antiquated ceiling pipes, elongated window frames and matching wood tables. A small front deck provides more seating. Small -batch brew tanks in the back supply draughts to the central bar station.

My wife and I visited Back Mountain a week prior to Thanksgiving ’24, auditioning eight savory suds while bringing home two fab oak-aged ales – Something In the Dark Bourbon Stout and Rye Whiskey Barrel-aged Old Ale (reviewed in Beer Index).

An autumnal Cream Ale variant, Grandad’s Cranberry, celebrated Thanksgiving with its tart cranberry sauciness given spritzy lemon zest atop gluey cardboard-like pilsner malts.

Clear straw kolsch, Notorious P.I.G., let grassy-hopped barnyard acridity and raw mineral graining spread across tart lemon-candied mandarin orange spritz.

Dry Cascade-hopped K.I.S.S. 2.0 Pale Ale stayed crisp as cucumber-watered lemony orange tang serenaded pale malt pasting.

Piney yellow grapefruit and orange rind bittering rallied for West Coast IPA, Little Squashy, picking up mild juniper and currant snips.

Daringly crossing a farmhouse-dried witbier with a hazy IPA, Rocky Mountain Part Deux White Session IPA allowed its bittersweet orange-peeled grapefruit tang to gain tannic white wining, dill pickled spicing and light pine tones in a sugary pale malt setting.

Floury brown-sugared molasses and caramelized toffee seduced sweet dessert confection, Shoo Fly Pie Brown Ale, leaving residual mocha nuttiness.

Minty coffee-stained dark chocolate scurried thru pumpkin-pied ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and peppermint spicing of robust holiday ale, Lock Shock & Barrel’s Pumpkin Porter, a delightful full bodied mocha-gourd combo.

Tarry dry-bodied Pineland Porter retained fluffy mocha creaminess, chalky cocoa powdering and burnt coffee smidge as oily hop residue secured soy milked bottom.

NORTH SLOPE BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

DALLAS, PENNSYLVANIA

Inside a brown paneled lodge at Northeast Pennsylvania’s “pride of Back Mountain,” NORTH SLOPE BREWING COMPANY became Dallas’ first brewpub, March 2015. Its old brick interior retained an unfinished feel supported by the olden concrete floor, reclaimed vinyl wood top bar, Industrial metal-chaired wood tables and wood-fenced raised platform space (with couch and walled TV).

North Slope’s easygoing fare suited softer palates, but more refined tastes will enjoy the smooth crisping of each golden brew I enjoyed on my mid-November ’24 stopover. There were also six local guest draughts available and fine farm-to-table pub cuisine.

Soft-toned Ganoga Falls Dortmunder Lager let mild lemon spicing fizzle atop dry pale malting.

A sweeter stylistic take, Lil Sip Extra Cream Ale let its honeyed spicing spread across flaked corn pilsner malting and grassy hopped lemon licks.

Spicy floral perfumed lemon zesting embraced Dallas Hop Dry West Coast IPA, a polite off-dry moderation with mild pine tones and distant herbage.

Best bet: Tropical fruited hazy yellowed New England IPA, Beer & Loathing, regaled zesty orange-peeled lemon spicing and crayon-waxed yellow grapefruit, peach and melon spurts as well as subtle juniper-embittered pine resin above lightly creamed oats sugaring.

SUSQUEHANNA BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

PITTSTON, PENNSYLVANIA

Halfway between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre in a spacious tan brick-based warehouse with matching aluminum siding and maroon front-doored awning, SUSQUEHANNA BREWING COMPANY was re-founded in 2010 at its current Pittston locale. Initially the brainchild of German immigrant Charles Stegmaier, the original Susquehanna began operations in 1897 and ceased during 1919 due to Prohibition.

Now under the co-ownership of sixth generation relative, Fred Maier, the bustling Northeast Pennsylvania pub maintains enough backroom space to do larger scale brewing, barrel aging and canning. Despite its relative enormity, Susquehanna’s cozy cafe-styled, red tile-floored tasting room only features a four-seat slate topped bar with eight taps, TV and refrigerator. There are a few metal-chaired wood tables across the bar and exposed pipes hang from the black ceiling.

On a snowy Friday afternoon mid-November 2024, my wife and I tossed back ten variegated brews emanating from the pristine stainless steel backroom brew tanks.

Crisply easygoing German pilsner, Froggy Pond Water, let mild lemon licks and slight herbal musk sit atop mineral grained pilsner malting.

Fizzy Seltzer-like shandy, Blueberry Thrill, retained a snappy sweet-tart blueberry thrust. Meanwhile, fruitier Blackout Berry Shandy coalesced blackberry, brambleberry and blueberry tartness with mild lemony ginger sugaring atop syrupy soda-like malts.

Salted coriander hit the cranberry bog of Crannonball Gose, letting ancillary gooseberry, green grape and crabapple souring seep into candied lollipop tartness.

Stylishly expressive Belgian Tripel brought creamy vanilla frosting to lemon meringue, orange liqueur and Chardonnay riffs as musty fungi earthiness spread thru spicy phenols above its cereal grained pilsner malt base.

Floral-perfumed lemony grapefruit and orange peel zesting stormed piney Hopcellerator IPA, a tropical delight utilizing woody Simcoe-Amarillo hops and yellow-fruited Citra-Cascade hops.

Seasonal spiced brown ale, Stegmaier Pumpkin Ale, paraded brown-sugared cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger seasoning plus light sweet perfuming down the molasses-draped dark chocolate bottom. 

Peat-dried chocolate roast pervaded Toboggan Chocolate Doppelbock, rendering tertiary cocoa powder, vanilla bean and black cherry illusions.

Dark-roast chocolate and burnt caramel topped Toes Up Imperial Stout, picking up mild bourbon vanilla spicing.

Lovely dessert confection, Toss Up Salted Caramel Imperial Stout, spread salted caramel sugaring across candied toffee, creamy vanilla and sweet chocolate.