Category Archives: BEER PUB

GINGER MAN

   

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

 

From its humble Houston digs in 1985, the original Texas-based GINGER MAN was considered the first multi-tap bar in America. Quite a huge statement considering the Lone Star state’s more conservative liquor laws. More than a decade hence, GINGER MAN’s prime midtown Manhattan franchise instantly gained a sterling reputation from beer geeks and snobs far and wide upon opening in ’96.

An Olde World-styled Irish-spirited pub with Gothic lamps hanging above a cozily cavernous wood-leathered interior, this charmingly classicist Herald Square beer haven serves some of New York’s greatest tapped selections alongside excellent single malt Scotches and worthy pub fare. Two bronze-backed serving stations at the 25-stool right bar offer 66 draughts listed on a crowded cardboard menu (alongside 160-plus bottled selections). A back lounge with couches and tables serves as an easygoing alcove retreat.

Sitting at one of the crimson suede-designed left side pews, my two colleagues dig into cask conditioned versions of Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA while I sample six previously untried brews on this dank Monday afternoon. For lunch, the Cobb Salad is crisp and fresh while the Shepherd’s Pie is undeniably rich. For dessert, we get amazing cinnamon-sugared soft pretzels with honey  mustard.

While Dortmunder-styled Riegele Commerzienrat Privat stayed mildly creamed and delicately grassy hopped, dry-bodied old ale Greenport Harbor Anti-Freeze brought soft-toned dewy peat to dark-spiced dry fig and molasses breading. Brooklyn Oishi Belgian Session Ale layered lemony curacao orange above plastique lemongrass tones.

Those easygoing starters were blown away by winningly peculiar Founders Mango Magnifico Con Calor, a tropical mango-juiced fruit ale with throat-clearing habanero burn.  Smooth oak-aged Element ESO (English strong ale) tasted just like dry Scotch and Abita Macchiato Stout featured a monstrously peppery espresso-like coffee roast. Full reviews in Beer Index.

Based on a classic post-war novel by American playwright JP Donleavy, each Ginger Man franchise does the legacy proud with uncommon bohemian ambiance meeting elegantly upscale vintage decor.

www.gingerman-ny.com

THE DRAFTING ROOM TAPROOM & GRILLE

EXTON, PENNSYLVANIA

A long-time staple amongst Chester County’s newsprung gastropubs, THE DRAFTING ROOM TAPROOM & GRILLE began serving fabulous local brews in ’94 – way before the craft beer renaissance took hold permanently. Back then, Victory, Troegs and Stoudts were just starting to receive underground plaudits as the Keystone State’s finest microbreweries. But nowadays, new breweries and beerpubs, big and small, keep turning up everywhere.

Located at Exton’s Colonial 100 strip mall in a glass-windowed red brick edifice, The Drafting Room also operates a second successful pub in nearby Spring House. Serving fine Americana fare alongside well-chosen wines and spirits, both spots cater to families, local businessmen and beer geeks equally. At Exton, plentiful left side dining is available in two rooms across from the quaint 12-seat marble-topped bar at the far right (with 3 TV’s).

During my initial January ’14 visit, I passed up Sunday brunch for dinner, finding three previously untried draught beers from Pennsylvania Maryland and Illinois at my afternoon session. Though only 13 tap handles (and one hand-pulled cask condition station) are currently on hand, there’s a large cooler with 100-plus craft beers for on-site and off-site consumption plus 70-plus single malt Scotches.

While alternative rock played in the background, I consumed floral grapefruit-yellowed Victory Hop Ranch, cider-sweetened Flying Dog Orchard Ale and barleywine-fruited Two Brothers Revelry (all reviewed in Beer Index).

After getting my daughter at Philly airport from joyful Jamaican jaunt, my wife and I came back for dinner. And we wouldn’t be disappointed. I chowed down chicken wings and delicious Turkey Melt (on pecan raisin bread with aged Swiss cheese, peach lager jam, arugula and sweet potato fries) while my other half enjoyed Warm Tuscan Dip (mozzarella cheese, sun-dried tomatos, roasted garlic, artichokes and celery).

For dessert, Drafting Room 19th Anniversary Ale (a celebratory Imperial IPA recipe brewed at Troegs) brought mellow Chinook-hopped bittering and wispy grassy-grained musk to tropical grapefruit, pineapple and peach bluster.

www.draftingroom.com

 

REDLIGHT REDLIGHT CRAFT BEER PARLOUR

Redlight Redlight Beer Parlour is one of the best places to party in Orlando

ORLANDO, FLORIDA

Atop the heap of escalating Orlando beer destinations in the neighborly Audubon Park Garden district lies REDLIGHT REDLIGHT CRAFT BEER PARLOUR, an indisputably inspirational guiding light for the Sunshine State’s latent craft beer revolution. Making its inconspicuous debut inside a downtown Winter Park second-floor hole-in-the-wall in 2005, this intriguing beer pub truly welcomed Central Florida to America’s growing cultural movement.

Formerly a dormant ‘beer scene’ dominated by cheap Bud-Coors-Miller grub, forward-thinking owner, Brent Hernandez, changed the entire scope of business by allowing Floridians to discover craft beer at reasonable prices. Taking its name from Amsterdam’s famous De Wallen-based red light district (where sex shops, peep shows, coffeehouses and marijuana boutiques thrive), the dankly pristine premise also has a rustic pre-prohibition ambiance.

Occupying an unfinished maroon-walled concrete-floored roadhouse mall since 2012, the highly praised Redlight Redlight made Draft Magazine’s 100 Best Beer Bar list recently. Its aquamarine-lettered signpost and neon beer insignia’s (Cigar City, Sweetwater, Anchor Steam, Victory, Brooklyn, Founders, Wittekerke) adorn the unassuming glass-fronted white exterior. Inside, the raw industrial space is consumed by exposed beams, ducts and pipes.

Featuring 23 draughts and a leather-back menu loaded with 300-plus exclusive international bottled beers, its roomy 20-seat, concrete-topped, J-shaped bar gets packed slowly during my initial twilight rampage in mid-December ’13.

Enthusiastic beer slinging manager, Teege Braune, twice voted Orlando’s best bartender,  serves as convivial host by pouring two interesting Belgian strong ales and one wintry German dunkel (reviewed fully in Beer Index) to this perusing northerner. His knowledge of fine wine and beer cannot be underestimated. A snarky poster next to my left side bar stool provocatively boasts “Fuck Art This Is Red Light,” a marvelously snide interjection that’ll form the context of this establishment’s daringly independent vibe and the basic sarcastic attitude surrounding the first beer I’ll drain as the moon comes up ’round 6 PM.

As my lips get captivated by the first drops of To Ol’s ultra-dry saison,  Fuck Art This Is Architecture (Belgian Pale Ale), with its soured yellow fruiting and herbaceous brettanomyces-affected barnyard funk, Braune lets it be known that Redlight Redlight plans to use the mezzanine space above the bar for a small upstairs brewing operation. And a veritable cornucopia of beer styles are expected to be crafted.

While thoroughly enjoying an  ‘Immaculate’ hybridized collaboration called Cathedral Square/ He’Brew St. Lenny’s Belgian Strong Ale, with its candi-sugared yeast picking up tangy IPA-like pineapple, grapefruit and orange juicing over peppery hop resin, the beer-centric Braune points to the nearby Randall system. As it turns out, on the last Monday of every month, the pressurized cylinder gets used to infiltrate tapped beers with fresh adjuncts. Recently, Breckenridge Vanilla Porter was put thru crushed-up ginger snap cookies and made quite an impression.

Peter Bjorn & John’s melodically whistled pop gem, “Young Folks,” plays loudly as I consume Weissenohe Monk’s Christkindl Dunkel, a German dark wheat ale layering musky tobacco-roasted earthen rusticity above molasses-buttered nutbread and muted fruitcake illusions.

Though I’ll likely never find half the vintage one-off international bottled selections available, it’s good to see Florida no longer lacks serious craft beer enthusiasts. Hipster beer geeks unite!

redlightredlightbeerparlour.com

 

 

TAP & GRIND

   

ORLANDO, FLORIDA

Across from the Orlando Fire Department in a small downtown ground floor space carved out of a large parking garage just off Route 4 lies TAP & GRIND, a ‘psychedelicized’ beer-centric tavern that’s become a top destination spot alongside inspirational mentors, RedLight RedLight Beer Parlor. Retaining a relaxed folksy vibe and friendly intimacy, the cozy craft pub began operations during February ’12. And local loyal minions have sung its praises from the get-go.

Hands-on proprietor Jason Chan serves as congenial host for my wife and I as we settle in before dusk on a muggy Wednesday in early December ’13. A revolving Tap & Grind Craft Beer pole and windowed frontage (featuring neon Victory, Green Flash and Left Hand signs) welcome patrons to the narrow black-walled interior.

Celebrating nautical beachcombers as well as sporting landlubbers with ceiling-hung surfboards and wall-bound skateboards, visiting Chan’s delightful cavern is like slipping into a fascinating underground artists’ subterranean digs. Two blackboards list the well-chosen tapped selections and indigenous Florida cypress wood furnishings adorn the 14-seat bar, strewn benches, community tables and trusses. A visually enlightening blue wave gives the bar a bright oceanic atmosphere surrounding one large TV. Provocative philosophical quotes appear when the black lights are turned on in the glow-in-the-dark bathrooms.

Reggae legend Bob Marley gets saluted with memorabilia and a large poster as “Roots Rock Reggae” plays in the background and I get set to imbibe a few previously untried local brews.

“I love beer and started drinking imports after branching away from Bud Lite,” Chan explains while I dig into Green Room 400 Beer Storm IPA and Green Room Royal Palm Belgian Blond (from Jacksonville Beach). “I was hooked on Bud Lite like cigarettes. Then I discovered Killians Red, Guinness and Beck’s. That was when American brewers began crafting better beer. Americans are doing the best job of brewing now. I completely respect English, German and Belgian beer. We borrowed from all those styles and are now better.”

A cool dude with noble intentions, Chan just expanded his rotating tapped selections from 16 to 20 and a refrigerator next to the bar carries 40-plus bottled beers. Though the current landscape for locals is to party hard, he believes they need to be more cultured. And that’s where the prolific Florida craft beer movement comes in.

“We feel we’re giving back to America and it makes me sleep well at night,” Chan quips.

Starting with RedLight Red Light and Rossi’s Italian Restaurant as well as the proliferation of Orlando Brewing Company, Central Florida’s beer scene has increased by leaps and bounds since my last visit nearly a decade hence.

As darkness settles in, I quaff two more worthy local beers: Fort Lauderdale-based Funky Buddha Crusher and Orange Blossom Pilsner Back In The Day IPA (all beers mentioned reviewed in Beer Index). 

Before leaving, the gracious Chan shares a few Brouwerij West beers from San Diego while associate Megan Cheeks serves Dogfish Head Piercing Pils. The daughter of Orlando Brewing’s co-owner, John Cheeks, she recently developed Girl Stout, a peppermint-leafed dark ale with cocoa nibs that received plaudits from everyone who has tried the respected elixir.

Here’s hoping I get back next year when I return to Disney to watch my nephew’s Bergen County Stars football team win the Midgets Football Championship.

www.tapandgrind.com

HOUSE OF BEER

  

 

ORLANDO, FLORIDA

Along John Young Parkway in the Village of Hunters Creek at Orlando’s western outskirts lies HOUSE OF BEER, a fabulous two-room watering hole in an earthen slated mini mall with a small front patio and totally beer-centric interior. At the 12-seat stainless-steeled L-shaped right bar, I grab a chair in early December ’13 on a Sunday afternoon to drain a few diverse offerings while watching NFL football on one of the three TV’s.

A glorified sportsbar for those well-versed in craft beer, neon Sweetwater and Leinenkugel signposts (plus various craft beer logos) spread across the walls while exposed pipes line the ceiling. A black beer booklet with descriptive reviews lists all 48 revolving tapped beers currently available. A refrigerator stores 200-plus bottled craft beers and several Coastal Wines. To the left, a gorgeous Widmer Brothers mural covers a brick wall and several couches and booths assure plenty of seating. A large Ommegang banner leads patrons to the front hall billiard table.

During my 2-hour stopover, I quaff lactobacillus-derived citric-soured New Belgium Yuzu Imperial Berlinerweiss, zesty citric-fronted herbal-spiced 7venth Sun Intergalactic Pale Ale, dew-dropped reedy-hopped Cigar City Minaret ESB and fruit-caked holiday-spiced St. Bernardus Christmas Ale (full reviews in Beer Index).

Before leaving, I pick up Cigar City’s Jose Marti Porter and Tocobaga Red Ale alongside Inlet Monk In The Trunk Amber Ale and France’s Bellerose Blonde.

On the way back to Disneyland, journeyed quickly to nearby ABC Fine Wine & Spirits for a host of local brews including Cocoa Beach Pale Ale and Not Just Some Oatmeal Stout, Florida Lager, Holy Mackerel Mack In Black, Red Brick Hop Lanta plus Sweetwater Blue and India Pale Ale.

www.hobflorida.com

BEER AUTHORITY

Nyc, Nyc trip, Beer

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

Located directly across 8th Avenue’s Port Authority one block from Madison Square Garden in midtown Manhattan’s Hells Kitchen section, BEER AUTHORITY opened April 2012. Inside a spacey two-storey golden browned corner spot, this emblematic beer-centric sportsbar gained initial acceptance from true beer geeks as well as casual businessmen and curious tourists.

Initially visited in the late afternoon during November ’13, Beer Authority’s bountiful brewery banners cover nearly every wall and crevice. Its glass-windowed second floor illuminates the large-lettered gold-on-brown signpost glistens upon arrival. And a spacious open-air rooftop bar with bright blue parasols adds to the overall magnificience of this prime urban hotspot.

Upon entrance, a dimunitive ground level 8-seat bar with antique bronze ceiling tiles, fine wood-shelved liquor, 16 tap handles (of familiar craft beers) and large-screen TV welcomes patrons. Chimay, Rogue and Sixpoint banners proudly display the walkway to the sizable second floor.

A massive oak-furnished, beige-sided, duct-exposed expanse with 20 stooled dinner tables cornering the well-kept 20-seat inner-walled bar and TV’s at every conceivable angle bedecking the beer-bannered wall of fame (featuring Flying Dog, Green Flash, Smuttynose, Founders, etc.), its impressive Stone Brewing murel truly seals the deal.

At the bar, two opposing refrigeration units center the two brass tap mounts (pouring 60-plus tapped beers) and a blue Weihenstafaner flag hangs over the prominent Beer Authority NYC mirror. Formidable red and white wines are available on the Brit-twisted pub-fared menu (Roasted Vegetable and Lentil Shepherds Pie; Beef Pot Pie; Lamb Shepherd Pie; Roasted Wild Boar Sausage). “The Authority,” a petite filet mignon with shallot-buttered onions, deserves to be tried.

As night falls, I enjoy one obtuse South American stout and three unconventional Midwest pale bodies (fully reviewed in Beer Index). Out of Brazil, Guanabara Imperial Stout allowed sour-fruited burgundy to upstage expectant brown chocolate creaming. Underwhelming, perhaps, but slightly intriguing.

While Illinois-bound Goose Island Lolita brought vinous raspberry-soured white grape tartness to the fore, Michigan’s Kuhnhenn showed off sweet and sour sides. Kuhnhenn Fluffer Gone Wild (a brettanomyces-funked IPA with sour Gose-like coriander salting dabbing herbal lemon zest) and White Devil (a mellow vanilla-sugared banana bomb with cane-sugared sweetener).

www.beerauthoritynyc.com

ROCKAFELLA’S SPORTS BAR & GRILL

Rockafella's Sports Bar & Grill, East Rutherford NJ 07073  l.jpg

Inside a rustic saltbox-styled tan edifice with earthen stone base, East Rutherford-based ROCKAFELLA’S SPORTS BAR & GRILL came into existence during ’97. By 2012, the well-established Paterson Avenue pub (with windowed neon signs featuring Yards, Flying Fish and Dogfish Head) expanded its tap selection to include a host of recognizable craft beers sidling blue-collar Bud-Coors-Miller fare.

During a two-hour October ’13 dinnertime perusal with the wife, we also discovered the delightful pub fare – which included the loaded cheese nachos and garlic chicken wings devoured alongside two previously untried brews originating from Virginia’s Old Dominion and California’s Stone.

Sitting at the left side of the rectangular bar, long-time bartender, Jessica, keeps patrons happy serving pub fare while a dozen TV’s capture the eye at every possible angle. A drop ceiling hovers above the bar area. Bead board paneling covers the side walls and exposed pipes bedeck the ceiling. A dartboard at the entrance keeps a few folks busy.

The mixed crowd consumes a wide range of beers going from macrobrewed faves such as Blue Moon to micros from Ballast Point, Founders, Lagunitas and Southern Tier.

Dominion Gigi Farmhouse Ale (an herbal sour-fruited saison with white-peppered perfumed hops guiding banana-clove wisps) and Stone Farking Wheat WootStout (a bourbon-aged Imperial with oaken vanilla serenading chocolate-spiced toffee, molasses and hazelnut) appeal to both ends of the sweet-sour spectrum.

Behind the bar area lies an open kitchen with ample dining space, one billiard table and 11 more TV’s. All in all, it’s an unassuming neighborhood joint that keeps ’em comin’ back for moderately rotated craft draughts, light food fare and friendly atmosphere.

LAZY BOY SALOON

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As the commercial hub for affluent Westchester County (just north of New York City), White Plains boasts a host of upscale shopping centers and restaurants in close proximity to busy Route 287. Amongst several neighboring Mamaroneck Avenue bars such as Brazen Fox, Porter House, Hudson Grill, Element Food & Spirits, Ron Blacks Beer Hall and Black Bear lies the city’s best beer pub, LAZY BOY SALOON.

A tan exterior with brown company lettering and windowed garage door-like entrance welcomes varied patrons to the partitioned one-room pub. A closed-in patio with twelve tables and tan umbrellas allows for outside dining in the warm weather months while the exquisite cherrywood interior, with its pristine crown molding, retains a splendid cocktail-lounged sportsbar atmosphere. The elegant six-column right side bar features five tap stations with forty-two draughts, 200-plus bottled beers, sterling spirits, twelve stools, several TV’s and a mirrored inlet etched with the proud historic slogan ‘established on a Tuesday in 1994.’

Along the front wall are several neon craft beer signs from Paulaner, Founders, Abita, Pilsner Urquell, Palm and Sam Adams. The side walls are cluttered with sundry tin beer logos. The seperate partitioned left side dining space serves early Saturday afternoon ‘comfort food’ with a Southwestern flare as the place fills up during this late September ’13 sojourn.

Celebrating Octoberfest with twenty tapped pumpkin beers, my wife and I share jalapeno-peppered chili-cheesed nachos before I settle on the renowned tequila citrus wings while imbibing five previously untried libations. Two well-defined dessert-like Alaskan seasonals hit the spot post-haste. First, Midnight Sun Trickster Pumpkin Ale coalesced pastry-caked banana daiquiri sweetness, honeyed pumpkin spicing and black-peppered Belgian yeast. Then, Midnight Sun TREAT Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin fused dark-roasted black chocolate and fudgy caramelized molasses to cinnamon-nutmeg spicing. Another autumnal fave, soft-watered Kuka Pumpkin Porter (from local New York state brewer, Andean) layered dry cocoa-powdered chocolate malts alongside pronounced pumpkin-pureed spices.

Breaking away from the seasonal deluge, Robinsons Iron Maiden Trooper brought lightly creamed corn-sugared caramel malting to perfume-hopped citrus illusions for an approachable ESB. Bayou Teche LA 31 Passionne (a pale wheat ale) layered mild passionfruit across tart guava-mango tropicalia, biscuity malt sedation and mild smoked peppering (all fully reviewed in Beer Index).

www.lazyboysaloon@gmail.com

GROWLER & GILL

Shopping in Nanuet: Growler & Gill and A Matter of Health - Sour   Growler & Gill (GrowlerNGill) on Twitter

Occupying an inconspicuous red brickface corner lot tucked into Route 59 East at the easternnmost part of Nanuet (just one mile off Route 287), GROWLER & GILL CRAFT BEER SHOPPE serves Rockland County as a homey country store doling out craft draughts, fine wine, mixed 6-packs and light food. Opened during 2012, its white-trimmed glass windows and etched Growler & Gill insignia welcome true beer geeks to a fascinating one-room boutique. And its kid-friendly board games will keep families busy while imbibing 4-ounce tray flights or pint-sized offerings.

On a rainy Sunday afternoon in October ’13, my friend Dennis and I grab one of the 4-seat tables to watch the Giants-Eagles football on the two TV’s sidling the back bar. Refrigerated and shelved beers are located to the right behind a few bar-stooled barrel tops. Sundry tap handles line the shelves above the blackboard beer list (along the bar walls) while exposed ducts and large wood moulding help define the cozy cafe-styled ambiance. People next to us munch on giant pretzels and barbecue wings as we settle in to catch the Giants lose their fifth straight game.

Artisanal cheese, hummus and sandwiches are available alongside today’s draughts from local (Newburgh/ Rammstein/ Captain Lawrence), national (Victory/ Ommegang/ Left Hand/ Allagash) and international brewers (Schneider/ Paulaner/ Lindemans).  Furthermore, 25-ounce bottles of eight different barrel-aged Hof Ten Dormaal Belgian strong ales pique the interest of true conniosseurs.

Dennis and I reach for pints of Newburgh Peat-Smoked Stout, a rich dry Irish stout (with low 4% alcohol volume) parlaying its coffee-burnt chocolate roast into compost-wafted peat smoke and tar-like charcoal bittering, leaving a lightly peppered hop-charred espresso finish.

On Wednesday Trivia Night during October ’13, revisited Growler & Gill with wife to try a few new Jack’s Abby brews from Massachusetts. We ate the hot spinach with artichoke spread alongside hummus and pita (with green olives and sun-dried tomato dip) before devouring the fish and chips.

For starters, Jack’s Abby Smoke & Dagger Smoked Porter liberally doused black chocolate malts, molasses-smoked hickory and hop-charred dried fruiting with rauchbier-like kiln-fired beechwood. After dinner, Jack’s Abby Copper Legend Octoberfest brought fall foliage to bright citric spicing and honeyed tea illusions (check Beer Index for full reviews).

Oodles of brewer specials, tap takeovers and Meet The Brewer nights should keep the beer hounds comin’ out for more. Whatever cannot be found at Growler & Gill may be available at nearby Bardonia’s Cable Beverage (also recommended).

A few days later on Halloween Eve, my wife and I chowed on Bavarian Soft Pretzels (with separate pilsner cheese and stone-ground honey mustard dips) while consuming three local one-off brews including Rushing Duck De Levende Doden (strong dark ale with Trappist yeast and chocolate spicing), Barrier Saazsquatch (Saaz-hopped fall seasonal with butternut squash, ginger, honey and peppercorn) and Newburgh Squashtoberfest (hybridized Belgian pale ale with butternut squash restraint and salty pumpkin seeding).

www.growlerandgill.com

 

DOHERTY’S ALE HOUSE

So many beers! - Review of Doherty's Ale House, Warwick, RI

Conveniently located next to Courtyard By Marroit and La Quinta hotels just off Route 95 in a freestanding brown and gray vintage mill, Warwick-based DOHERTY’S ALE HOUSE opened in January ’13. Serving a remarkably copious 124 tapped craft beers alongside Americana and Cajun-styled cuisine, the roomy barn stable-like wood interior features a spacious central bar (with 3 TV’s and a large ‘Craft Beer’ insignia), several oak booths, seperate left side family dining space, massive exposed pipes and wood-pillared ceiling.

My wife and kids grab a pew near the burnt sienna-hued right wall next to the glass-encased private event room for a Saturday lunch in September ’13. Classic sandwiches, fish ‘n chips, ribs, bacon-wrapped pork chops and burgers fill the menu. We share cheese-dipped pretzel balls before munching down Beer Can Chicken, jambalaya and a muffeletta (with provolone cheese, Genoa salami and capacola). Besides the awesome draught beers, Doherty’s also offers well-selected spirits, original cocktails and Beer Fusions such as Banana Split (Youngs Double Chocolate Stout with Wells Banana Bread), Dirty Hoe (Murphys Stout with Hoegaarden) and Scarlet Begonia (Lindemans Framboise with champagne and orange juice).

I settle on two previously untried libations while consuming the generous food portions. First up, Foolproof King Of The Yahd Imperial IPA brought wood-dried grapefruit rind bittering, tart orange peel briskness and gin-like juniper berry dryness to resinous hop fodder. Caramelized crystal malts contrast the overwhelming bitterness.

Afterwards, Two Roads Roads Mary’s Baby Pumpkin Ale allowed pumpkin puree spicing to saddle plastique gin-soaked boozing and astringent hop sharpness. For contrast, brown-sugared nutmeg, cinnamon and pecan illusions gained sweetness over time.

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Tossed back a few more untried brews during Johnson & Wales Parents weekend, October ’13. Alongside moist beercan chicken (with roasted Brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes), quaffed rye-fruited Smuttynose Rhye IPA and citric-crisped Magic Hat Humdinder Over The Pils (reviewed in Beer Index) while watching shocking upset of New England Patriots at the hands of long-time rivals, the Jets.

Thanks to Doherty’s, Track 84, Shannon View and Dave’s, Warwick has become one of New England’s premier craft beer towns.

www.dohertysalehouse.com

SPOT PIZZA GRILL

Spot Pizza Grill in Point Pleasant and Toms River | New Jersey Spot Pizza Grill Bar

POINT PLEASANT, NEW JERSEY

While staying at popular Jersey Shore haven, the White Sands Resort, August ’13, found upbeat pizza-beer joint, THE SPOT PIZZA GRILL, one mile west of Point Pleasant’s beach and boardwalk. Perfect for family dining, business gatherings and beer geeks, this roomy sportsbar-geared neighborhood cafe opened in 2010. Located directly behind Spirits Unlimited (one of 25 Ocean and Monmouth liquor chains), its earth-toned stacked slate columns provide a stellar bucolic tone enhanced by pendant lighting, ceiling fans and exposed pipes.

Besides having arguably the best pizza in town, The Spot’s central bar features 20 tap handles serving regular fare such as Guinness Stout, Smithwicks, Blue Moon, Yuengling and Budweiser alongside several local faves by Carton, Kane, East Coast and Flying Fish (as well as nationally recognized micros by Starr Hill, Ithaca, Founders, Lagunitas, Allagash and Leinenkugel). The varied bottle selection will also please beer aficionados. Dining booths and TV’s surround the bar at every angle.

Seated at the open air front deck with family in tow, my wife and I share Arugula Pizza (garlic-oiled tomatos, bruschetta, pancetta bacon and oregano) after quaffing white wine-sauteed drunken clams and blackened tuna appetizers. My kids thoroughly enjoyed the thin crust pizza and black angus burger.  A local artist plays Harry Chapin’s melancholy epic “Taxi” at the makeshift stage just past the entrance foyer as I consume Starr Hill Double Platinum IPA and East Coast’s Beach Haus Cruiser IPA.

The Spot wants to be a ‘foremost retro-diner with an Irish pub fare.’ Happily, it’s all that and more.  A second location one-half hour north at Toms River in a tan-bricked building (also housing Spirits Unlimited) with 25-seat central bar and sidled dining tables is also worthy.

www.spotpizzagrill.com

IRON MONKEY

Jersey City's Iron Monkey restaurant will serve 1,000 'grab-n-go'  Thanksgiving dinners - Hudson County View

IRON MONKEY’S YARDS NIGHT UNDER JUNE MOON IN JERSEY CITY

On a beautiful early June eve in 2012 I finally got the chance to peruse the wholly revitalized Jersey City financial district at a highly praised drinking establishment founded when the craft beer revolution exploded upon the Jersey scene in’96. Thanks to a much needed and overdue redevelopment and beautification program, this Hudson River sanctuary across from Lower Manhattan (and staring out at Lady Liberty) has gained belated prominence over the past decade.

Once a destitute urban wasteland filled with political corruption, shattered railyards, and rundown factories, Jersey City’s reputation changed with the building of several upscale riverfront properties, shopping plazas, residential towers, and waterfront walkways. Best of all, a local red-bricked tavern with a wiry iron monkey figure and baby blue sign with beige insignia changed the way these territorial beer drinkers viewed handcrafted American brews and vintage imports.

Tucked into its downtown Greene Street neighborhood on the York Street corner, IRON MONKEY RESTAURANT & BAR serves over 100 bottled beers and a dozen tapped beers at any given time. Owned by Steve Mc Entire, a local entrepreneur whose meditational ’80s China trip inspired him to open a successful restaurant-bar, this narrow 4-tiered tavern appears out of place amongst the mammoth multi-office edifices in its modernistic urban surroundings, but local businessmen and post-teens keep this intimately rustic hotspot going.

Two benches, a chalkboard menu, and neon beer signs welcome patrons to the ground-floored, low-ceilinged, slate-topped right side bar. Sanctified beer bottles line the walls and a glass mural centers the 12-seat bar, where a few TV’s are tucked into the corners and 24 tap handles serve only the finest craft beers.

Patriarchal mahogany stairs lead to the second-floored 4-seat bar (with several family-styled tables, olden tiled ceiling, gothic-draped windows, taupe walls, and antique wood-steel furnishings). Beyond the third floor open kitchen lies an upper deck open-air 5-seat bar serving red umbrella-sheltered lunch tables. A copper water wall with greenish oxidized patina and an adjacent building serving as a video projection screen add to the coolness factor.

As Oasis’ heavenly “Champagne Supernova” blared from the rooftop patio speakers, my wife and I struggle to find space in the cozily cramped outdoor confines for this evening’s highly anticipated event, YARDS MEET THE BREWER NIGHT. Celebrating Philadelphia’s oldest living microbrewery (established 1994) with 6 well-priced libations, Iron Monkey is packed to the hilt tonight. The highest demand is for Yards India Pale Ale, which was finished off by 9 PM.

Founded by Tom Kehoe and Jon Bovit, who’d previously worked at an English-styled Maryland brewery, Yards Brewing Company began as a garage-sized operation in the yuppie-like Manayunk section in northwest Philadelphia, crafting Yards Entire Porter and an adjunct non-spiced golden barleywine, Old Bart. Soon after, caramel-honeyed, almond-toasted, off-dry conqueror Extra Special Ale debuted at ‘95s Philadelphia Beer Festival, increasing Yards recognition.

From 2001 to 2007, Yards moved to the Kensington area of Philly, but the space became too tight and the brew crew had to move yet again, allowing the smaller Philadelphia Brewing Company to thrive better in this former spot.

Now stationed at the Northern Liberties district north of Philly’s Center City, Yards gets respect for being the first 100% wind powered brewery in Pennsylvania. In fact, this very ‘Green-leaning’ brewery recycles hot water and cardboard, provides spent grain for local farm animals, and even uses salvaged mahogany trim for its bar and walls.

After ordering my Yardage samplers, we decided to sample each refreshing tasting at the less populous second floor bar, where the taps serve Lindeman’s Framboise and Peche, two world-class Belgian lambics, plus exotic herb-spiced, rye-dried, Finnish-styled Dogfish Head Sahtea. My wife, Karen, had to get her fruit juices going, settling into the middling Boulder Kinda Blue Blueberry Wheat Ale while I ripped into the previously untried Yards Brawler Pugilist-Style Ale.

A soft-tongued, dry-toned, bronze-bodied, English dark mild ale, the feisty-named Brawler Pugilist brought brown-sugared, raisin-greened, port-sauced, plum-fig-apricot illusions to coffee-iced chocolate nibs duskiness, picking up ashen nuttiness as well as chamomile tea herbage along the way. It’s claim as a pugilist styled ale may be a bit overstated for such a calming moderation. Perhaps, it’s only supposed to be a welterweight boxer they’re trying to emulate.

As a bunch of admirable post-collegiate craft beer denizens begin to assemble at the bar behind us, we’re now in very close quarters, unable to freely swing an arm or stretch a leg. But I feel fortunate to be here since a rep from Hunderdon Distributors that came earlier never gained access due to the incommodious dinner time conditions. She had to go elsewhere in Jersey City to find a cool brew, but then admitted to being a bit impatient following the heavy traffic conditions pre-Fourth Of July. At least we’re seated. And I’ll need to be for the more Herculean 18th century presidential offering about to reach my lips.

One of Yard’s ‘Ales of the Revolution,’ which includes General Washington’s Tavern Porter and Poor Richard’s Tavern Spruce Ale (in honor of Ben Franklin’s 300th birthday), the exquisite Thomas Jefferson’s Tavern Ale was originally made with ingredients grown at the ex-prez’s self-sufficient Monticello, Virginia estate. A fully expressive English Strong Ale, the Jeffersonian vintage placed honey-sugared caramel malts and butterscotch spice caking atop berry, citrus, and quince fruiting ‘til its gin-soaked, ethanol-burnt aftertaste threatened to overwhelm the 8% alcohol elixir. It got the eyes bleary, numbed the body, and ultimately pleased three of my five senses.

Moving on…

Yards boss, Tom Kehoe, claims he liked Bass Ale and wanted to make a beer that retained similar characteristics, resulting in the beefed-up chocolate malting of Yards Extra Special Ale. At Iron Monkey this eve, the subtler cask version of the bottle-conditioned ale was available for scrutinizing. Its cherry, citrus, and berry illusions stand out a bit more as the frisky spice hop tingle of the bottled edition gets toned down against the enhanced fruited niceties.

Yards Saison Belgian-Style Ale benefited most from its tapped version, escalating its peppery-hopped, orange-peeled, lemony grapefruit bittering and counteractive sugared spicing.

Though I didn’t get to try the ever-popular English-styled Philadelphia Pale Ale at this mobbed shindig, its bottled version had a sourdough buttering that usurped the understated wheat-chaffed dryness and roasted hop bitterness.

Now and then, Yard’s onsite tasting room, open from noon to 7 PM Monday through Saturday and noon to 4 PM Sundays, features ambitious tap-only concoctions such as bourbon barrel aged beers and other one-off specialties. But customers will also find 6-packs, half-gallon growlers, cases, kegs, and pints of their favorite delectable liquids as well.

In its newest warehouse space on North Delaware Avenue since 2008, this ascending microbrewery continues to craft quality beers and ales for essential East Coast imbibing. Surely, as proven here at Iron Monkey, there’s a major interest from Jersey City’s proudly elitist craft brew hounds, heretofore labeled ‘brewpies,’ courtesy of Mercury Brewing’s head zymurgist James Dorau.

www.ironmonkey.com