Category Archives: United States Brewpubs

17 WEST BREWERY

United States Brewpubs,

17 WEST BREWERY - Brewery - Liberty, New York

LIBERTY, NEW YORK

Located at the crossroads of the Catskill Mountains and Hudson Valley tucked into the valley, 17 WEST BREWERY opened November 12, 2022. A local family-owned brewpub with proprietary beers crafted by co-owner Michael Foster, 17 West’s a dandy blue collar hangout with a brew-kettled pub area and left side dining area along the wall.

17 West’s small L-shaped seven-seat bar features a raw wood bar back storing ten draught handles. An open kitchen supplies expansive pub fare.

Tented picnic tables with Edison lights and tiled floor reside under the small aluminum-and-wood side deck.

My wife and I gathered at the bar to try all five well-rounded, lightly hued homebrews available this warm Saturday afternoon in September ’23.

Spritzy lemony orange zesting picked up engaging sugary spicing for Frosted Pilsner, bound by its raw-honeyed pilsner malt base.

Delicate light-bodied True Blonde Ale sprayed delicate citric hop spicing across mild crystal wheat malts.

Doughy cornmeal sugaring sweetened Honey Wheat before dainty orange lollipop tartness countered latent lemony whiskey souring beneath the surface.

Tangy orange, pineapple, and peach sweetness picked up mild lemony grapefruit bittering for Hazy Double IPA as dank pine resin and wispy herbal licks settled over buttery pale malts.

Super-tart sour ale, Wild Berry, linked pureed blueberry, blackberry and raspberry rasping to sharply acidic white grape vinegaring, strong cider briskness and salty lemon liming.

UPWARD BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

Upward Brewing Company | Livingston Manor, NY

LIVINGSTON MANOR, NEW YORK

Catskill Mountain’s rural mountain vista, Livingston Manor, is home to UPWARD BREWING COMPANY, opened in 2018 (four years after Catskill Brewery formed). A beautiful retreat in the hilly pastures nearing a natural spring on a 120-acre preserve at a black aluminum neo-Industrial hacienda, Upward’s loungey furnishings, stained wood bar back, snazzy wood-slat chandeliers, pristine swivel-chaired serving station (with twelve tap handles) and tiled floor-to-ceiling hearth give the cement-floored interior an exquisite appearance.

An open kitchen serves fine pub fare to go alongside basic nubian beer styles (such as a tart sour, dry-hopped lager and Citra-Mosaic-hopped India Pale Ale) emanating from the right side windowed brew tanks.

A private wood-tabled, aluminum-sided event room reinforces the delightful elegance. And there’s bench seating along the grassy fields.

My wife and I stopped in Friday evening in September ’23 to enjoy five draughts.

The best brewery taprooms in the Hudson Valley

“Classic” dry Bohemian pilsner, Ascension, let sharp grapefruit bittering and spicy orange tang linger thru barley-malted baked breading.

Dry-hopped pale lager, Base Camp, hid tart peach inside musky mineral grained malting.

Easygoing Citra-Mosaic-hopped IPA, Breadwinner, let tangerine tanginess, mellow grapefruit bittering and candied orange tartness pickup dainty perfume spicing and mild dank pine tones.

Effervescent lightly soured tart ale, Watercolours, tantalized with its citric yuzu-juiced adjunct sitting atop acidulated wheat as dry lime-soured lemon zesting remained perky.

On the dark side, OM Oatmeal Stout brought dry Bakers chocolate, mildly bitter espresso, tarry Blackstrap molasses, musty dried fruiting and wispy anise spicing to a fulsome cacao nibs finish.

CATSKILL BREWERY

United States Brewpubs,

Catskill Carriage

LIVINGSTON MANOR, NEW YORK

Established in 2014 and occupying a large maroon carriage house with raccoon-faced grain silo, CATSKILL BREWERY resides at the Sullivan County hamlet of Livingston Manor. A commemorative Woodstock birdie celebrates the rural mountainous surroundings where the ’69 music and arts fare exploded a few miles south.

A six-seat aluminum-topped serving station pours beer emanating from the windowed silver brew tanks and round wooden casks on the left. The cross-barred high ceiling, paneled wood backdrop, barreled tables with steel-wood seating and aluminum-topped side seating spread thru the pristine barn house. A huge TV hangs from the front wall.

An aluminum -topped back deck with wood picnic tables, hung-up canoe and Adirondack chairs provided outdoor comfort.

My wife and visited Catskill Brewery during September ’23 to quaff seven previously untried, well-rounded, efficient beers – four of ’em of the IPA variety.

Spritzy lemon and peppery Saaz hop herbage dotted Ball Lightning Czech Pils, leaving delicate floral spicing and honeyed tea daubs upon its mild oated wheat pilsner malts.

Bittersweet orange oil pasting and leafy hop astringency scurried thru moderate-bodied Octoberfest, Barkaboom Marzen, leaving caramelized amber grain sweetness and chestnut-hazelnut snips in the dust.

Toasted amber grains and dry Noble hop herbage coalesced for lightly caramel spiced German-styled red ale, Little Quarry Franconian Rotbier.

As for the India Pale Ales, sessionable sunny yellowed Grass Wagon gave its dainty Citra-Mosaic-hopped grapefruit peel, orange rind, pineapple and mango licks a light wintry pining above earthy pale malts.

Soft-toned gold-hazed New England IPA, Devil’s Path, let tart guava and green grape esters plus bitter yellow grapefruit and sweet orange peel settle above oated wheat creaming, picking up tertiary lemon meringue, lime gelatin and pineapple chiffon whims.

Hybridized farmhouse IPA, Onteora Mountain, retained a sour lemony orange lollipop tartness and brisk white grapefruit zesting over saison-like barnyard leathering.

Meanwhile, cryo-hopped Rusk Mountain NEIPA, spackled its lemony herbal misting with dry wood tones and dryer pale malts. 

 

ROSCOE BEER CO.

United States Brewpubs,

ROSCOE, NEW YORK

Celebrating its 10th anniversary in September of 2023, ROSCOE BEER CO. continues to roll out fine approachable beers for the Catskill Mountains. Located at the fly fishing capitol of the world in the hamlet of Roscoe, its trusty tasting room and glass-encased brewtanks anchor a former 1,600 square-foot firehouse.

A silver grain silo welcomes beer lovers to the log cabin-sided microbrewery (with green aluminum awning). Tented wood benches, a grassy patio area (with tucked-in stage) and blue-tiled deck offer beautiful outdoor views of the mountains.

Inside the pub, a marbled concrete floor with two central oak trees, chop-block wood furnishings, lacquered wood paneling and hunting club paraphernalia provide a lodge-like feel. A colorful Woodstock festival signpost

The day before the 10th anniversary party, my wife and I stopped by Friday to enjoy all available Roscoe brews, then headed back Saturday for the official celebration, watching a cool local rock band while downing Eagle IPA and Red Wit & Blue before the closing celebratory fireworks. Roscoe Trout Town Two Headed Stout and American Amber Ale were quaffed a few years prior and reviewed in Beer Index.

Maybe our favorite, pinkish beige-cleared Red Wit & Blue (a fruited wheat ale), gave its tart raspberry-blueberry conflux a mild coriander spicing alongside wispy orange lollipop, Bazooka bubblegum and Bosc pear illusions.

Mild Fightin’ 29 Pilsner, a bohemian Czech-styled light body, spread honeyed lemon goodness all over musky hop herbage and white breaded pilsner malting.

Spritzy blonde ale, Peace Love & Ale, tossed lemon briskness, lemongrass oiling and musky grains at its floury white cracker base.

Sharp perfumed grapefruit spicing and blackcurrant tartness spackled Rainbow Red Ale, hiding its sweet amber graining.

Lightly pined citrus spicing engaged hazy IPA, Darwin’s Theory, letting candied pineapple, tangy orange peel and bitter grapefruit find room in a musty green hop setting.

Dark-roast hop pungency and piney residue embittered Eagle IPA, gaining orange-peeled pineapple and grapefruit zesting over its sweet caramel malt backing.

Another dark-roast hop-imbedded medium body, Trout Town Brown Ale, let lightly charred walnut, Brazil nut and cola nut dryness settle alongside mild toffee sweetness above lightly kilned barleymalts.

SOUTH 40 BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

Gallery — South 40 Brewing Co.

EDISON, NEW JERSEY

Inside an old tan warehouse at the end of Raritan Center lies little hidden gem, SOUTH 40 BREWING COMPANY. A bustling 2,000 square foot facility with a small taproom and rustic right side overhead-doored brewing area (with stooled tables, old brown couch, beautiful agrarian proprietary mural and rear brew tanks), South 40 opened up October 2020.

An L-shaped lacquered pine serving station with twelve taps and blackboard beer list consumes the cement-floored taproom. A few sidled TV’s, loungey couches and wood tables fill out the space. A makeshift parking lot patio adds further seating.

Former homebrewing proprietor, Kevin Pacansky, mans South 40’s tanks. Constantly rotating stylistic fare and crafting mostly soft-toned elixirs, Pacansky utilizes different yeast strains for each separate beer. Paying tribute to an old road to Long Beach Island, South 40 has garnered many critical plaudits.

On my initial muggy noontime journey, August ’23, discovered four interesting brown ale variants alongside three locally popular India Pale Ales, a dry pilsner, blood orange pale ale and a fruited sour while chewing the fat with knowledgeable beertender, Dan Scanlon.

Strictly for less discriminating thirsts, but drawing in macrobrew denizens, light aluminum cleared Pilz Lite will please simpler palates with its millet-grained, oats-dried, corny malt liquor musk.

Mild blood orange tartness picked up delicate perfumed spicing and distant tangerine-clementine-cherry snips for honey malted pale wheat ale, One Orange Brain Cell, a nifty orange upside down cake divergence.

Lightly acidic raspberry tartness and sour blueberry rasps guided fruited sour, Blowin’ Raspberries, allowing leathery oaken cherry, white pear and rhubarb pie illusions to latently flow thru its salty acidulated malts.

Unique flagship India Pale Ale, Happily Peared, added subtle pear juicing to sharp citrus bittering, dainty red apple/ prickly pear sweetness and wavered lemony green grape esters, gaining mild herbal spicing over oated wheat flouring. A welcoming IPA changeup.

Easygoing year-rounder 40 Sessions All Day IPA retained frothy oats creaming for smoothly withered grapefruit, orange and pineapple tanginess as well as dry floral-perfumed spicing. Perfect for investigative pale ale lovers jumping over to less hoppy IPA’s.

Another well balanced IPA, Citra Skies, let candied lemon, pineapple and peach plus tangy orange-tangerine snips create a dandy fruit salad with minor bitter pining and a buttery pale malt backdrop.

As for the quartet of brown ales, salted caramel propelled Harvey’s English Style Brown Ale, leaving sweet chocolate hazelnut caking on its lovely confectionery finish.

Off-dry Chuffed Chap Brown Ale combined caraway-seeded rye breading and charred walnut bittering with sweet chestnut-almond-butternut conflux and dark chocolate remnant over a buttered biscuit base.

Toasted coconut sweetness endured for Nui Brown Ale, picking up chestnut, praline and fig niceties over mild chocolate malting.

Arguably the best and most complex of the bunch, Pecan Sky English Brown Ale let candied pecan pie sweetness indulge its fudgy cake-battered chocolate base, gaining hazelnut molasses, burnt caramel, praline and toffee subtleties. 

COVA BREWING COMPANY & COFFEE HOUSE

United States Brewpubs,

Image result for cova brewing

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA

A family-owned enterprise located at a pale blue brick auto garage, COVA BREWING & COFFEE HOUSE became Norfolk’s second coffeehouse/brewery in June 2020 (months after Elation opened for biz). Spread over a generous expanse in the city’s Ocean View section, Cova includes a tent-covered cement-floored deck, large black gated grass courtyard (with large Adirondack chairs and firepits) and a tiled patio.

A proud community-minded business, Cova supports several local non profit organizations. Its pristine neo-Industrial interior features epoxy floors, elegant wood-plastic furnishings, cozy walled benches and a mod self-help 14-draught serving station with brew tanks stationed towards the left.

On my July ’23 Sunday morning stopover, head brewer Matt Topping’s rangy brews caught the attention of my old college pals, Bob and Jeff.

Crisp light-bodied German-styled OV Pils retained dank grain musk and light floral herbage, reaching its toasted white bread base.

Sessionable You’re So Golden Ale let lemon zest brighten its grassy hop stead over mineral grained pilsner malting. 

Polite amber lager, The Rocket, plied light red apple ripeness, subtle coffee-stained toffee and cellared peat mossing to gluey pale malting.

Amiable summertime flagship, East Coast Blonde, let Mandarina Bavaria hops provide lemony tangerine tartness for sweet amber graining in an easygoing manner.

Delightful gose mainstay, Aloha State Of Mind, linked tart passionfruit and floral hibiscus adjuncts to salty coriander-spiced lemon liming, sour green grape esters and herbal lemongrass minting.

Strawberry salted dog cocktail knockoff, Sour Street Strawberry Basil Gose, picked up limey watermelon brining and white peach tartness.

Another fruited gose, Watermelon Crawl, let its watermelon-candied tartness receive blush champagne, sparkling wine, rosé and cranberry illusions as well as mellow rhubarb souring.

Sweet orange peel regaled Shoobie Cold IPA, gaining lemony tangerine and pineapple tanginess over sugary pale malts.

Milk-sugared coffee and Tahitian vanilla beans combined for heavenly Coffee Snob, a vanilla latte stout with bittersweet dark chocolate syruping, nutty caramel sweetness and gentle black peppering.

ELATION BREWING

United States Brewpubs,

Elation Brewing in Norfolk - Restaurant menu and reviews

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA

Residing at a blue-grey Colonial grocery store of the 1940’s in the Colleywood neighborhood of Norfolk, ELATION BREWING became the city’s first combined brewery-coffeehouse during March 2019 (followed thereafter by Cova Brewing).

Serving delicious bakehouse pizzas and pub fare at the spacious bowstring-trussed barroom and while offering biscuits and tea at the left side coffeehouse, Elation will please any serious gourmandizer.

At the arched bark top 20-seat bar, there are twelve taps, hanging Edison lights and a refrigerator for to-go canned beers. The large cement-floored community-tabled barroom features high industrial ceilings, restored beams, old red brick side walls, floor-to-ceiling front windows and varied exposed ducts for rustic effect.

Behind the bar are the windowed stainless steel brew tanks containing nine fine suds my friends Bob and Scott and wife, Karen, help me enjoy alongside a few pizzas on a steamy July Saturday afternoon ’23.

Flagship German moderation, Larchmont Lager, let spritzy citrus-spiced bittering stride by musky floral herbed Saaz hops and earthen graining.

Honeyed lemon herbage, floral-spiced sweetness and white peppered lemongrass tartness serenaded Saaz-hopped That’s Amore Italian Pilsner.

IPA-like piney citrus hop bittering prodded Zuper Pils, leaving lemony grapefruit zesting upon its mineral grained pilsner malting.

Lemon-licked herbage settled across musky pilsner malts for sessionable clear-yellowed Larchmont Light Golden Ale, finishing with light citrus spicing.

Year-round Rosé Gose let its lightly vinous white and green grape esters entice dry rosé stead as salted lime, oaken cherry, tart cranberry and blush pink wine illusions whir.

Coriander-salted blood orange and tangerine tartness regaled briny lemon liming for dry Mimosa champagne spinoff, Mimgosa Fruited Gose.

Ultra-dry lemon limed pineapple and mango tartness informed Beach Please Sour Fruited, a lightly acidic tropical elixir.

Two well-liked bi-coastal IPA’s came next. Dry NEIPA, Highland Park, contrasted tartly sweet orange marmalade against lemony guava-gooseberry salting. Bitterer West Coast IPA, Notice This, paraded piney citrus perfuming thru dry pale malting.

ADVET BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

Photo

ELIZABETH CITY, NORTH CAROLINA

Occupying a faded gray aluminum garden house in a dainty mini mall, Country Inn-styled ADVET BREWING COMPANY is the pride of the Coast Guardian husband and wife team of Mark and Jennifer Napolitano. Opened during May ’22, the cozy nanobrewery became Elizabeth City’s third ‘suds factory.’

Entering thru the Kenyon Bailey Garden Center and taking a right inside Advet’s wooden entrance, my wife and I grab a few aviator themed brews emanating from the rear tanks on a hot July ’23 noon swoon before heading to the nearby Outer Banx for body surfing.

Black and metal four-seat tables surround the marbled concrete-topped serving station of the old wood-floored interior and a gated red brick-paved deck with black metal furnishings provides outside seating for today’s expanding crowd. Two opposing TV’s stare out from the gray front wall.

Visit Elizabeth City | Tourism for Elizabeth City, NC - AVDET Brewing Company

Stylishly delightful British pale ale, Distant Early Warning, plied dewy tobacco roasted crisping to caraway-seeded pumpernickel rye breading.

Soft-toned fruit ale, Could Not Duplicate Blueberry Ale, let tart blueberry puree ride atop herbal hop astringency and a pallid white wheat bed.

Snazzy orange Creamsickle-sugared fruited sour, First Light Search, pasted marshmallow-fluffed lemon custard, orange meringue and tangelo to its orange soda-like pizzazz. 

Zesty lemon fizz bubbled up against banana-clove sweetness for sourdough-sugared Heavy Maintenance Hefeweizen, leaving mild herbage on its honeyed wheat tail.

Spritzy orange-peeled coriander sweetness enjoined sparkling lemon licks for Three Down And Locked Witbier, cloaking its mild lemongrass herbage above delicate white wheating.

Sour cranberry tartness countered mild cinnamon spicing in the briny lime setting of wheat-soured Holiday Routine Cinnamon-Cranberry Gose.

Dry pine tones secured the bitter yellow grapefruit stead and mild perfumed spicing of Considering The Circumstances, a medium-bodied West Coast-styled IPA.

Grapefruit-embittered orange rind and pineapple tang received a perfume-spiced pine lacquering for Giant Killer Double IPA, relegating its honeyed pale malting.

Candied orange, pineapple and mango sugaring contrasted salty yellow grapefruit bittering then picked up recessive herbal perfuming to tease Restrictive Visibility Hazy IPA.

Lightly tarred cocoa dryness penetrated mild black licorice, raw tobacco and chocolate truffle illusions for Area Of Responsibility Brown Ale.

 

ARTIS BREWERY

United States Brewpubs,

FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY

During December ’22, ARTIS BREWERY became Freehold’s first operational brewpub. Located at bustling South Street in the town where musical legend Bruce Springsteen grew up, Artis has been described by Asbury Park Press as an ‘Industrial chic’ pub. Jersey-bred homebrewer, Tim Bubser, educated at Vermont’s American Brewers Guild, spent time in Tampa Bay learning his craft, then worked at one of the Garden State’s best breweries, Kane, before hopping aboard Artis.

A beautifully marbled epoxy floor adds splendor to Artis’ uniquely cushion-seated L-shaped bar. Several seat-cushioned tables also surround the front space while the bar’s centralized tiled draught handles get sidled by two TV’s and a blackboarded beer menu. A spacious furnished balcony area adds extra seating. The white back-walled area stages the brew tanks.

Utilizing a soft water source especially benefits Artis’ worthy India Pale Ales and lagers. There’s a certain clean sparkle to each of their in-house brews.

My wife and I gathered at the back porch to down all seven available homemade suds during June ’23.

Musky grained American lager, Party Of 9, seeped dried orange and Saaz-hopped herbage into pilsner-malted flaked rice for a moderation.

Dewier Dark Horse Lager let peaty earthiness surround Saaz-hopped herbage, dried fruitiness and light chocolate.

Casual Eventide Pale Ale placed dainty citrus tanginess above mild oats-flaked creaming.

Best-selling Glory Daze Haze, an indelible NEIPA, brought zesty orange-peeled grapefruit, pineapple and mango tanginess and syrupy peach to lightly creamed oats-flaked wheat malting.

A zestful West Coast-styled IPA, The One, placed sunny Citra-hopped orange rind and grapefruit pith bittering across piney Amarillo-Chinook-Simcoe-hopped herbage atop a wispy crystal-malted wheat base.

Tart Nelson Sauvin-hopped green grape, guava and gooseberry souring stayed perky alongside lightly embittered Vic Secret-hopped yellow grapefruit and pineapple juicing for Cold Break IPA, picking up dry pine tones and minty herbal whims over honeyed pale malting.

Nitro ESB, Covenhoven House, let dewy peat soak into herb-spiced Fuggle hops and roasted caramel, retaining a mild mouthfeel.

SPELLBOUND BREWING

United States Brewpubs,

MOUNT HOLLY, NEW JERSEY

Inside a tan brick warehouse in the close-knit Philadelphia suburb of Mount Holly, SPELLBOUND BREWING opened its doors in 2014. One of Jersey’s finest breweries, its owners are passionate homebrewing geeks crafting “everyday classics” and “extreme boundary pushing recipes.”

An overhead door leads to the small cement bay where several stainless steel brew tanks and some gray benches exist. Reclaimed wood decorates the eight-seat lacquer-topped bar and a few tables fill out the pub. There are a dozen-plus draughts available.

My wife and I went in late April ’23 to check out Spellbound’s expansive beer lineup.Spellbound Brewing in Mount Holly - Restaurant reviews

Sweet Mango Pale Ale allowed its tangy mango juicing to embrace lemon Pez tartness and papaya-passionfruit zing fortified by lacquered pine tones.

Toning down its sweet banana-clove stylishness for lemon-rotted lemongrass herbage, dried plantain tartness and green grape esters, Dreamnesia Hefeweizen stayed dryer than expected.

Ginger-dried lemongrass herbage and lemony cologne perfuming consumed unique Arcana Ginger Lemongrass Ale, finishing like a rice-wined sake.

Dewy Vienna malted honey white breading and apple-skinned pear crisping gathered for 8th Anniversary Doppelbock, curtailing its wispy dried fruiting.

Fascinating 5th Anniversary Quad dangled dried cherry, sugar plum and date syrup alongside whiskeyed toffee sweetness and roasted tobacco crisping above chocolate pudding creaming.

Easygoing Peach Major Nelson NEIPA let tangy peach lead the way for spry lemon zesting, bittersweet mango salting and delicate passionfruit-strawberry tartness cruising above mildly creamed flaked oats.

Zesty orange-peeled pineapple and grapefruit tanginess picked up mild piney bittering and some grassy astringency for brisk Phase 7 NEIPA, leaving lightly creamed flaked oats on the bottom.

Soft-toned pale yellow cleared Enlightened IPA serenaded mild yellow grapefruit bittering, lemon peel zesting and floral-spiced mandarin orange sweetness with sugary pale malts countering grassy hop astringency.

Brown-sugared gingerbread cookie knockoff, Gingerbread Brown Ale, gained mild cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice illusions atop its sweet chocolate base.

Luscious bourbon barreled stout, Living The Dream, scurried light bourbon sweetness across dark chocolate syruping, picking up burnt wood bittering plus latent dry burgundy licks.  

STRATOSPHERE BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

Stratosphere Brewing Company & NJ Wine of the Week - New Jersey Uncorked

MOUNT HOLLY, NEW JERSEY

Residing at a rustic tan brick warehouse, veteran-owned STRATOSPHERE BREWING COMPANY became Mount Holly’s third brewhouse on St. Patrick’s Day, 2023. Entrepreneurial head brewers Christopher Pike (a navy reservist) and Jason Martinez (union electrician) were experienced home brewers way before taking on this venture with the promising slogan: “Elevating the craft.”

A gray concrete-floored high-ceilinged pub with elongated 15-seat oak bar, three overhead doors and several surrounding wood-metal seats, Stratosphere utilizes reclaimed wood for its bar back, corrugated aluminum siding as its frontage and Edison lighting for olden textile charm. Tanks are stationed behind the bars.

During my one-hour stopover on a Friday evening in April ’23, I discovered five rounded draughts.

Stratosphere Brewing now open in Mount Holly, NJ

Mild wildflower honeyed dryness caresses spicy citrus splash and tertiary peach-apricot-pear conflux above biscuity cornbread base of Lhotse Cream Ale, a popular light body.

Briskly sharp NEIPA, Tropical Depression, retained dried-out yellow grapefruit bittering, sweet orange peel zesting and peachy mango tang above dry pale malts.

Peachy nectarine tang and orange-peeled grapefruit bittering juiced-up Barometer Fruit IPA, leaving wood lacquer upon its pale malt sugaring.

Lemon-dried oaken cherry and tart peach souring inundated U.S.S. Nitze, a fruited sour with moderate acidity and no residual sweetness.

Dark-roast coffee bean nuttiness further embittered by black chocolate chalking of Strato Pivo Dark Lager, letting dewy peat slightly sweeten the rigid mocha insistence.

VILLAGE IDIOT BREWING CO.

United States Brewpubs,

Image result for village idiot mount holly nj

MOUNT HOLLY, NEW JERSEY

Beneath a green and gold proprietary signpost in a red brick downtown Mount Holly shop, VILLAGE IDIOT BREWING COMPANY came to existence in 2013. A prohibition-styled pub with straightforward homemade artisanal beers on draught, its cozy neighborhood feel gets reinforced by the beautiful antique wood mural (at the 12-seat right side bar) plus olden wood floors, furnishings, booths and tables.

Founded by long-time homebrewers Vince Masciandaro and Rich Palmay, Village Idiot enjoys treating its guests to both “traditional and unusual fun ales.” Each small batch brew emulates from the brew tanks in the back. Former home of Bridgetown Pub, Village Idiot preserved the original tables strewn about the bar.

Visited mid-April 2023, I downed eight fine rounded brews prior to dinner on a sunny Friday afternoon.

Lightly creamed pale malted Hipster Lager combined lemony orange fizzing with mild herbage and musky hop astringency.

Smooth summertime light body, Bridgetown Blonde Ale left mild lemon spritz on its doughy white bread base.

Traditional pale ale, Bike Rail, let brisk floral-daubed lemony orange zesting and astringent wood tones softly rise above dry pale malting.

Lemony banana-clove entry of Folestephaner Hefeweizen sweetened its white-peppered lemongrass zesting.

Nitrogenated Monkey’s Breath Banana Bread placed caramelized banana bread sweetness next to sugar-rimmed cinnamon toasting and stayed not far removed from Wells Banana Bread.

Dry West Coast IPA, Hoptimizer, contrasted brisk orange-peeled grapefruit bittering against peachy pineapple tanginess as grassy hop astringency settled atop mildly creamed pilsner-like malts.

Sweet brown chocolate coated the creamy peanut buttering and honeyed Graham Cracker base of Peanut Butter Cup Porter, recalling Reese’s Puff cereal.

Smoothly creamed Elvis Is In The Building, a chewy peanut butter and banana dessert treat, gained bittersweet hazelnut-glazed cocoa nibs richness.