Category Archives: BEER PUB

YARD HOUSE – WEST NYACK

BEER PUB,

WEST NYACK, NEW YORK

On the fourth floor of Palisades Center in West Nyack, YARD HOUSE is part of a beer-chained franchise originally founded in Long Beach, California during 1996. Providing six conventional mainstay brews alongside dozens of guest craft beers and fine pub cuisine, Yard House captures the sportsbar crowd, heady beer enthusiasts and families alike.

During November ’24, my wife and I perused the spacious malled pub house.

Classic Golden Pilsner let sour lemon musk and astringent herbage join hay-like barnyard acridity.

Succinct House Lager 125 seeped red-orange fruiting into musky floral hops and dry pale malts.

Yard House’s Honey Blonde seeped orange blossom sweetness into mild grassy hop bittering that lingered into the vanilla-daubed creaming.

Laidback orange-peeled coriander sweetened Belgian White, bringing zesty lemon, mild herbage and light creaming to the surface.

Bronze-hued India Pale Ale placed lightly embittered lemony grapefruit and orange rind bittering across juniper-licked pine and cedar woodiness.

Dry-hopped Hazy IPA, a streamlined yellow-hazed moderation with mellow yellow grapefruit, navel orange, pineapple and peach zesting reached mild oated wheat creaming.

SEAN’S BAR & KITCHEN

BEER PUB,

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

In the heart of Manhattan within walking distance to Broadway shows and Rockefeller Center, SEAN’S BAR & RESTAURANT opened during September 2016. Offering fine pub cuisine alongside 54 rotating draughts beers and a large booze selection, Sean’s quickly gained an audience with local beer and spirits goblins.

Sean’s long marble top bar features 3 large TV’s for sportsbar enthusiasts and across the way is right side dining. The resilient tile floor, olden wood furnishings and beer paraphernalia secure the black art deco walled NYC pub.

Though Sean’s does not brew on premise, there were five reliably conservative proprietary beers on hand during my October ’24 visit prior to hitting fabulous Broadway show, Hadestown.

Dry pilsner malt graining surfaced near hay-like barnyard astringency and lemony licks of Sean’s Pils, light-bodied German fodder.

Crisp pale wheat-malted Sean’s Lager brought mild IPA-like citrus bittering to the fore.

Dried red and orange fruiting laced Sean’s Irish Red, a standard amber grained moderation with phenol hops.

Summery Sean’s Golden Wheat allowed white wheat breading to reach yellow fruited sunshine in a lightly creamed froth.

Dark chocolate and maple molasses posted gains for milky sweet Sean’s Porter, a casually nutty medium body.

LOADING DOCK BAR & GRILL

BEER PUB,

DUNMORE, PENNSYLVANIA

In the suburban Lackawanna County borough of Dunmore just outside Scranton off the Harry O’Neill Highway, LOADING DOCK BAR & GRILL truly keeps beer geeks happy serving 25 local craft draughts alongside a superb seafood-heavy menu (with top-notch pretzel melts, sandwiches, salads and entrees) and cordial cocktails. There’s even a backspace refrig with dozens of to-go cans.

A family-friendly sportsbar for serious beer tossers, Loading Dock’s square block interior includes a granite-topped 15-seat halfmoon bar (with Mosaic-tiled frontage), Prohibition-styled bronze-tiled ceiling and elongated pendant lighting – all providing vintage flare for the otherwise conventional setting. Walled sconces lit up the left side wood tables and chairs.

On a crowded Saturday night, October ’24, my wife and I grab bar seats as several college football games blare from the multi-TV’s. The bacon-wrapped scallops and pound of clams went well with my Rusty Rail Pumpkin Swirl, a popular local autumnal ale reviewed in Beer Index).

Competes favorably with Scranton’s Backyard Ale House and Cooper’s Seafood so get yer ass there.

SEA DOG BREW PUB

BEER PUB,

Locally owned and operated SEA DOG BREW PUB gets supplied by Maine’s Sea Dog Brewing, but there’s so much more to enjoy. On a crowded Saturday night in Cape Cod in late September ’24, my wife and I perused the classy South Yarmouth pub for dinner and beer. A wide variety of upscale food was served alongside a few nifty Sea Dog draughts, ciders and seltzers. The revolving beer menu includes several respected, well-known local brews.

Inside the pale yellow sided, white windowed beer parlor, the rounded 20-seat right side wood bar services the four-chaired tables up front. The tap handles are located below one of the multiple TV’s strewn about and watched by curious college football fans this warm weekend.

My wife settled into one of her faves, Sea Dog Blueberry Ale, while I stepped into newly discovered Sea Dog Sunfish Wheat, a delightful peach and grapefruit variant (both reviewed in Beer Index).

CASUAL PINT – VIRGINIA BEACH

BEER PUB,

An enviably veritable family friendly ale haven on the outskirts of Virginia Beach in the upscale Princess Anne community, THE CASUAL PINT is buried inside an industrious modern mall. The ‘ultimate neighborhood gathering place,’ this tan columned, cafe-styled “beerstro” features a vast selection of local East Coast beers both on tap and in bottles and cans plus a worthy food, wine and cocktail menu.

A small black metal-fortified front patio welcomes patrons to the pristine epoxy-floored, high aluminum-ceilinged pub. There are 35 draught handles at the rear left bar (listed on the large blackboard) and TV’s all around for those sitting at the few high tables and four-seaters.

I slurped down nine fine brews on my late August ’24 journey before headin’ home to Jersey from the Carolina coastline – all reviewed in Beer Index. These included Delaware’s Dewey Secret Machine Pontoon Punch, New York’s KCBC Deadpoodle Hazy IPA, Hampton, Virginia’s Nost Lady Hefeweizen, Hampton, Virginia’s Capstan Solo Voyage Singel, Virginia Brewing’s Free Verse NEIPA and Elbow Patches Oatmeal Stout , Chantilly, Virginia’s Mustang Sally Paradise Stout and Chesapeake, Virginia’s Big Ugly Barrel Aged Rum Barleywine (plus the updated Elysian Punkuccino).        

OLNEY TAVERN

BEER PUB,

OLNEY, MARYLAND

Residing at a storied 1920’s era haunt in the Delmarva village of Olney, red brick-walled village-squared OLNEY TAVERN serves flatbread pizzas, soups, salads and entrees alongside sundry local beers.

A varnished wood-topped bar with twenty seats centers the quasi English-styled pub. There are stained pine-planked draught lines, several surrounding booths and tables and a white tile ceiling with four TV’s atop the bar.

My wife and I tried Tradition Willie Irish Red, Caiseal Treat Me Wrong Imperial IPA, Sycamore Mountain Candy IPA and Momac Craney Island Brown Ale (reviewed in Beer Index) during sunshiny dinnertime stopover on the way to the Carolina Coast.

HOP & VINE TAPROOM

BEER PUB,

Hop & Vine, A Self-Pour Taproom, Is ...

STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT

Just past the center of town in Stamford, HOP & VINE TAPROOM began its journey in springtime 2024. A revolutionary self pour taproom featuring over 50 automatic draught taps on two floors, the roomy dark windowed gastropub also includes a couched front patio with firepit and benches.

At the marble-floored main space, there are cafe-styled four-seat tables and right side wall handles featuring draught beer as well as local wines and seltzers. The porcelain-tiled upstairs back bar offers liquor and to the right are more wall handles. Front windowed couches with pale blue hanging lights offer city views, a few community tables fill the middle and a beautiful green and blue hop vine mural lines the left side wall.

During my midday July ’24 perusal, discovered a few good local craft brews such as East Rock Rocaveza Mexican Lager, Jack’s Abby Banner City Light Lager, Back East Czech Mix Pilsner, Berlinetta Pilsner Velvet, Whalers Rise Pale Ale, Captain Zig’s Sound Summer Pale Ale, Captain Zig’s Goosecake IPA and Hanging Hills Open Container Irish Stout (all reviewed in Beer Index).

hopandvinect.com

 

STOSH’S

BEER PUB,

Opening Alert: Stosh's, Fair Lawn, NJ – Boozy Burbs

FAIR LAWN, NEW JERSEY

An inconspicuous hole in the wall serving the finest craft beer plus pizza and cocktails, cozy Fair Lawn, New Jersey tavern, STOSH’S, retains a friendly neighborhood atmosphere. A colorful hop design at the front door welcomes patrons to the blue collar establishment.

Stosh’s U-shaped wood lacquer-topped bar features fourteen tap handles plus top shelf liquor. Its bronze tin ceiling adds a cool prohibition feel to the one-room pub. There are several TV’s along the red brick walls and a few 2-seat tables plus a pinball machine at the diminutive hotspot.

As for the beers, Stosh’s takes pride serving mostly local microbrews. On my initial March ’24 trip after scoring at Paterson dispensary, Rise, my wife and I downed Wayne-based Seven Tribesman’s Chieftain Witbier and Clifton-based Ghost Hawk’s Sentience West Coast-styled pale ale (both reviewed in Beer Index).

THE HELM

BEER PUB,

649 Jersey Ave #4, Greenwood Lake, NY 10925 - MLS H6040448 - Coldwell Banker

GREENWOOD LAKE, NEW YORK

In the village of Greenwood Lake, cozy tavern-styled restaurant, THE HELM, came into existence in 2015. Serving upscale contemporary American cuisine alongside more than a dozen draught craft beers, fine wines and specialty cocktails, The Helm sits across the lake in a stark black haunt with painted cedar shanks and nautical designs.

The low-ceiling wood floored 20-seat rectangular bar and main dining area consist of reclaimed wood walls, old hardwood paneling and a small brick-encased fireplace, providing a homey English pub atmosphere.

There are several front porch seats with a beautiful river view.

On my initial April ’23 dinner visit, my wife and I gathered by the fireplace to munch on Tuscan Panzanella salad and Fish ‘n Chips and down a flight of four beers. Main course dinners, sandwiches, steak, salmon, salads and wings were also available.

As for the beers. Aslin Double Orange Starfish NEIPA retained a crisply clean sunshiny citrus vibrancy while District 96 Essential Juice with Coconut had a tropical cocktail splendor. Cinnamon toast crunch-like Burlington Dreameater Stout and coconut flaked, cacao-nibbed, vanilla-beaned Fiddlehead Hodad Porter were fabulous dark ales (reviewed in Beer Index).

NORTHERN BARRELL

BEER PUB,

Northern Barrell - Home

VOORHEESVILLE, NEW YORK

In the small suburban village of Voorheesville just outside of Albany, NORTHERN BARRELL was established in 2021.  A family-owned, family-friendly restaurant specializing in craft beer and cider, the amiable yellow vinyl-sided warehouse pub is situated right inside a residential neighborhood.

Northern Barrell’s bulbed front deck features rocking chairs plus general seating and its white overhead doors lead to the high ceiling interior where the right side concrete-topped 10-stool bar with plank wood siding offers twelve draughts and a rear stone hearth provides warmth. Several wood tables fill the left side and a small mezzanine sported an olden bicycle, milk jugs and antique chair. There are four TV’s above the bar for sports fans. A casual-to-upscale food menu betters most brewpub fare.

My wife and I spent an hour at Northern Barrell in January ’23 to consume three previously untried brews including Torch & Crown Tenant Pilsner, Modist Forbidden Canyons Imperial IPA and Prairie Seasick Crocoldile Sour (reviewed in Beer Index).

KIMBALL’S PUB

BEER PUB,

Kimball's Pub - Restaurant | 972 2nd St, Williamsport, PA 17701, USA

WILLIAMSPORT, PENNSYLVANIA

A glorified hole in the wall diner at an unassuming gray barn house just south of the heart of Williamsport, KIMBALL’S PUB proudly features 20-plus draughts and the finest top shelf liquor with fine light pub fare. Hanging fans at the high V-shaped ceiling light the 14-seat L-shaped aluminum-sided bar as well as four chopping block-topped wood tables, one community table, a front pew and a billiard table.

Offering wonderful local craft beer from its middle taps and the two sideling refrigerators, Kimball’s draws a colorful array of neighborhood denizens and traveling beer enthusiasts. A rear kitchen serves food.

During my one-hour stopover in May ’22, discovered two fabulously rich dark ales, Shiner Candied Pecan and Upstate Big Nerd’s Coffee Blueberry Stout.

SCHATZI’S PUB – POUGHKEEPSIE

BEER PUB,

Poughkeepie Schatzi's Vies For DVLicious 'Best Craft Beer Bar' Win | Southwest Dutchess Daily Voice

POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK

A nifty baby blue round signpost (with emblematic pint-guzzling skunk) welcomes patrons to SCHATZI’S PUB – POUGHKEEPSIE, the original storefront gastropub with second location ten miles west across the Hudson Bridge in New Paltz. Both ‘homey’ pubs offer a German beer hall experience serving top-notch local brews and international faves alongside tasty Anglo-Bavarian dishes.

Opened during autumn 2013, Schatzi’s lies right in the middle of downtown Main Street a few doors down from Zeus Brewing (which began operations ’round 2019). Its narrow interior features an elongated 20-seat, bronze-topped bar (with several tap stands holding 16 draughts), a blackboard beer list, top-shelf spirits and four TV’s. Antique wire-meshed lighting fixtures add a Speakeasy feel. There are four chaired tables towards the rear and a black metal-furnished backyard beirgarten.

While visiting November ’21, sunk four previously untried suds, including Hamburg Berry Berry Sneaky! Sour, Crown & Torch Breakshot India Pale Ale, Maine Wolfes Neck India Pale Ale and UFO Journey To Planet Pumpkin! (reviewed in Beer Index).