On tap at Ambulance, tropical fruited moderation merges peachy passionfruit-licked Nectaron hops, orangey tangerine-spiked Idaho 7 hops and woody Simcoe hops given sugary lemon fizz and wispy herbal notion fortified by mild oated wheat creaming.
On tap at Ambulance, bright yellow grapefruit bittering, salted pineapple-mango-guava conflux, peachy tangerine tang and tannic white wine esters reach mild pale malt spicing. Straightforward moderate-medium body.
On tap at Plank Pizza, brusque lemon-seeded grapefruit rind bittering rides alongside dank pine resin as ancillary spiced pineapple tang and navel orange spritz sweeten pale malt spine.
On tap at Plank Pizza, beachy soft-toned easygoing blonde swings mild lemony orange tang and floral-bound grape tannins into black peppered herbal spicing atop buttery biscuit bottom.
On tap at Loading Dock, brown-sugared cinnamon pumpkin swirl with light vanilla creaming and recessive sharp citrus fruiting felt first. Spiced-up pureed pumpkin theme includes mild ginger, clove, allspice and nutmeg seasoning.
On tap at Plank Pizza, festive golden cleared lager celebrates Octoberfest with spruced-up wintry spiced dried fruiting and musty apple rot angling towards crisp leafy hop astringency over raw-honeyed sourdough malts.
“Harmonious” idiosyncratic Bavarian hefe may be America’s finest and boldest. Effervescent lemon spritz welcomes sweet banana-bubblegum-clove expectancy, vanilla eclair creaming and white-peppered respite atop floury sourdough wheat base of meringue-headed golden bliss.
Decocted melanoidin green grape tannins sidle stylish lemony banana-clove stead given mild vanilla creaming, dainty floral perfuming (and herbier backup than most Bavarian hefes).
On tap at Backyard Ale House – Scranton, creamy peanut buttering spreads thru burnt toasted barley malts but semi-coarse phenol fizz depletes some peanuty goodness.
VERNON, NEW JERSEY
Sharing an unwavering love for craft beer, brewmasters Jonathan Fernandez (formerly of Nyack’s Two Villains Brewing) and Tom Troncone (from Franklin, New Jersey’s Muckraker Brewmaker) hooked up to start Alias Brew Works during May 2024. While Fernandez makes what he calls “clean beers,” Troncone specializes in spontaneously fermented sour ales.
Residing at a green shingled garage-doored barnhouse in the Vernon mountainside nestled between upscale Crystal Springs, Mountain Creek and Mineral resorts, Alias’ dual overhead doors lead to a wood top serving station with twenty taps and central TV. Several tables and chairs consume the rest of the cement-floored barroom. Through a side overhead door are the pristinely staged brewtanks.
My wife and I grab bench seats at the wood barreled front deck on a beautiful, seasonally warm All Saints Day, ’24, quaffing all available tapped brews while conversing with Fernandez.
Citric-spiced Cascade hops joined woodsy Simcoe hops for West Coast IPA-styled pale ale, Scooter, meshing orange, pineapple, mango, grapefruit and white peach tanginess with lemony yellow grapefruit bittering as green tea-backed fresh cut grassiness stays mildly astringent.
Soft-toned triple IPA, Beggars Tomb, retained tropical Citra-Mosaic hop sunshine above mild flaked oats cushioning its peachy pineapple tang, subtle yellow grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering and light floral daubs.
Similarly vibrant dry-hopped hazy IPA, Its Time, combined New Zealand-hopped guava and green grape souring with Citra-Mosaic-hopped lemony yellow grapefruit bittering and tangy peach, pineapple and orange peel sweetness plus subtle floral perfuming above oated wheat creaming, picking up hard-candied tartness.
Fizzy lemon zest, candied pineapple, tangy peach and white grapefruit settled alongside the light pine needled cannabis resin of briskly tropical, Magical Haze, a heavily oated NEIPA.
Dry “fruited” kolsch, Laughing In The Sun, conditioned on plum, let candied orange-pineapple fruiting and lemon-rotted Noble hop herbage deplete its plum scrum over a delicate wheated pilsner base.
Stylishly richer schwarzbier, Darkness Consumes You (2024), a ‘black kolsch,’ placed fluffily creamed coffee-burnt cocoa powdering alongside debittered black malts and burnt toast remnants, depleting its kolsch-like orange-oiled lemon musk.
Alias’ first so-called ‘wild’ spontaneous saison, Season Of The Devil let dry-hopped Motueka bring salty herbal lemon zesting to lovely lavender, chrysanthemum and daisy florality above bready pilsner malting.
Black chocolate syrup draped toasted coconut sweetness and wintry cinnamon-sticked cardamom, thyme and nutmeg spicing for rich stout, Coconut Days, leaving tertiary anise, toffee and hazelnut snips.
Ceylon cinnamon sticks enhanced the gingerbread theme enlightening Christmastime nightcap, Hostile Gingerbread Takeover, scattering sun-dried clove, nutmeg, and allspice seasoning across dark cherry, sugarplum and fig nuances.
SCOTT, PENNSYLVANIA
10 minutes from Scranton at the hilly agrarian town of Scott in peaceful Lackawanna County, LAST MINUTE BREWING began operations in 2020. Inside a tan aluminum shed-like garage, the overhead-doored nano pub serves classic contemporary brews from its crystal clean silver kettles.
Last Minute’s porcelain floor leads to the aluminum-sided wood top bar where twelve draught taps are stationed. I tried six proprietary suds during my seasonably warm late October ’24 Northeast Pennsylvania trip.
Crisp New Zealand-hopped pilsner, Painted Window, let its IPA-fruited gooseberry, guava and papaya tropicalia gain spritzy lemony grapefruit salting.
Another NEIPA-inspired moderation, Towering Gaze Haze, a hazy pale ale, placed dry lemony grapefruit bittering across mandarin orange and strawberry rhubarb tartness (utilizing Motueka and Strata hops).
Dry grassy-hopped Cream Ale seeped lemon rot into skunked lagered malt in fine stylistic fashion.
Mild witbier, Gotta Go Wit It, brought its subtle blood orange puree adjunct to mild Cascade-hopped lemony yellow grapefruit sunshine. In the midst, mild orange and lemon peel bittering contrasts delicate coriander spicing.
Dry NEIPA, Don’t Watch It, let its lemon zest sprinkle salted yellow grapefruit, guava, gooseberry and mandarin orange tropicalia atop lightly acidic oaken vanilla tannins.
Dark-roast coffee frontage and mild dark chocolate backup fortified creamy Pendulum Stout, a cocoa nibs-laden full body with dark-roast hop char.
SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA
Residing at a white stucco garage catty-cornered into a hilly residential neighborhood, GROOVE BREWING opened its black overhead doors for business January 2023 (after operating out of a former dentist office since 2020). Scranton’s first brewpub, Groove’s smooth nano brews have captivated Northeast Pennsylvania.
Brewmeister Ed Generose crafts delightful one-off batches of stylishly varied suds plus two flagships, Steamtown Gold Lager, and Brooks Drift Wheat Ale. Alongside Generose, co-owners Joe and Shannon Bonacci strive to gain an imprint on Scranton’s redevelopment, prosperity and beer culture.
The red cement-floored, white-walled interior features an eight-seat Formica top bar, several four-seat tables, a couch, black-ceilinged exposed pipes and a spacious staged backroom for private parties. Windowed brew tanks carry the liquid load.
Our first stop sojourning to Scranton late October ’24, my wife and I slurped all available 5-ounce brews and took home a few reviewed in Beer Index.
Dry German-styled pilsner, Garden Party ’24, let dewy honey drip into subtle lemon adjunct and moist orange tartness.
A richer Vienna malted marzen, Groovefest, plied honeyed red-orange fruiting to leafy green hop resin, dark floral mustiness and musky mineral graining.
Spry kettle-soured Key Lime Pie caressed its pie-crusted key lime tartness with lime-peeled gooseberry, guava and green grape souring as well as lemon meringue piquancy, parched limestone chalking and minty ginger snips over honeyed Graham Cracker base.
Dry pumpkin pureed spicing embedded semi-sweet dark chocolate and confectionery marshmallow fluff for Marshmallow Pumpkin Porter, gaining resonant vanilla bean influence as latent anise spicing coats pumpkin pied cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg aspect.
One of the best American smoked lagers, Chimney Man Rauchbier may lack the brash cured meat goodness of Germany’s Aecht and Bamberger, but its scaled-back smoked salami, bacon fat and pastrami banter retained a sizable Scotch-licked cocoa malting.
Easygoing java-influenced Belgian blonde, Morning Joe, spread creamy milk-sugared coffee atop cellared Belgian yeast funk as restive lemon zesting fizzled. Supreme breakfast fodder.