Category Archives: United States Brewpubs

SALTY TURTLE BEER COMPANY

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Becoming the first commercial brewery in oceanic Pender County, Surf City’s SALTY TURTLE BEER COMPANY opened its doors during Christmastime, 2017. Inside a tan aluminum-sided cabin on popular Highway 50, the cement-floored Salty Turtle features a copper plexiglass resin L-shaped 12-seat bar (with aqua blue draught board), wood tables, covered front deck and small turfed benches plus sidling slate-floored patio.

A veteran-owned establishment ‘dedicated to serving the local community with artisan-crafted beers,’ the seven-barrel facility is one mile from Topsail Beach. Described as a ‘beach-themed Cheers,’ Salty Turtle grew out of the spirit of homebrewing and their Coastline Kolsch has reached a high level of local popularity.   

My wife and I hit the pub on a hot, sticky Thursday evening, late August ’24, to enjoy nine stylishly proper, conservatively streamlined brews.

Flagship Coastline Kolsch saddled its brisk floral-perfumed lemon musk with grassy hop astringency and white peppered herbage contrasting wheat-flaked pilsner malts. 

Palest golden Kojima Rice Lager plied sweet rice-flaked pilsner malting to lemon lime-prickled yellow grape esters and dried floral wisps. 

Pleasurable summertime Gose, Hwy 50 Tangerine Vanilla, let sea-salted dried coriander, briny lemon souring and Hallertau Blanc-hopped green grape esters reach tart powdered candy midst as oaken vanilla contrasts sugared vanilla over white wheated sourdough base.

Likable iced latte knockoff, Betio Coffee Blonde, burst forth with whole bean coffee overtones, creamy milk-sugared vanilla sweetness and dark nutty splurge, relegating its spritzy citrus splash.

Then came the India Pale Ales. Sessionable aluminum-cleared West Coast-styled Run It Back let floral-daubed lemony orange tanginess, mild grapefruit bittering and piney herbage merge while bolder West Coast IPA, Meticulous, combined lemony grapefruit sugaring with ascending pine tones anchored by honeyed Vienna malts.

The most straightforward IPA, Alligator Bay, sunk lemon musk, grapefruit zest and orange bittering into crystal malt sugaring, profiling tropical Cascade hops against woody Centennial-Columbus hops.      

Slight roasted coffee nuttiness and caramelized Maris Otter malting set the stage for Barnicle Bill’s Brown Ale, leaving mossy earthen residue upon its biscuity bottom.

Roasted chocolate-coffee gained milk-sugared vanilla sweetness to contrast the nutty espresso reminder of Swingbridge Breakfast Stout, a relaxing mocha bound digestif.     

LOST COLONY BREWING – WATERFRONT

MANTEO, NORTH CAROLINA

Inside a canary yellow sea shanty along the Nags Head Causeway on Pimlico Bay, LOST COLONY BREWING at the waterfront began as a small restaurant in 1995. Started by Paul and Sharon Charron, the colonial-styled downtown Manteo pub, Blue Moon Cafe, added a brewing production facility in 2016. As the newly coined Lost Colony Brewing, the cafe was sold but the facility they acquired along Pimlico Bay remains.

Initially concentrating on British-styled beers, Lost Colony branched out to include a small selection of varied styles. Beside the cozy waterfront, its large brown-benched dock overlooks the bay and sidles Benny Tesoros Pizza and a bakery. There are eight draught handles at the small six-seat, sea-shelled wood bar.

While my wife and I previously consumed some Lost Colony elixirs at the now-defunct downtown location about a decade hence, I discovered a fine dark ale on my August ’24 Outer Banks trip.

Simply named Manteo Porter retained mildly creamed black coffee bittering and charred walnut sear contrasting maple molasses sugaring and dewy peat sneak.      

CYPRESS ROOTS BREWING COMPANY

POCOMOKE CITY, MARYLAND

Opened June ’24 in the central DelMarVa town of Pocomoke City, CYPRESS ROOTS BREWING COMPANY rocks the Eastern Shore of Maryland with a small, eclectic blend of slightly offbeat, yet stylishly mainstream, handcrafted ales. 

Led by co-owners Warren Willey (head brewer) and Jessmin Duryea, Cypress Roots strives to create an ‘individually built, unique fingerprint’ on the local beer scene. Willey learned how to brew with a humble hefeweizen kit before deciding to start up a small brewpub.

A red brick walled, concrete-floored, wood slat-ceilinged pub with lacquered tan concrete top bar, windowed tanks and eight tap handles, Cypress Roots also boasts a rustic reclaimed wood tap list and large stein collection. There are several metal-wood seats and a few front windowed tables for thirsty patrons.

As my wife and I settle in with Willey and Duryea, they mention a new bock recipe they’re assembling on a five-gallon scale while I down six diverse suds.

Mild Session Wheat draped lemony floral perfuming and crisp cucumber watering over oats-dried white wheat doughing.  

Fruity Pebbles with a salty Tang soft drink backdrop, Pocomoke Punch American Wheat picked up mild redcurrant snips above a soft wheat underbelly.

Bolder than its stylistic competition, Cypress Red Ale let mildly creamed caramel malting sweeten the dewy dried fruited center, submerging its dry Bakers chocolate bittering.

Another stylishly bolder brew, Carpe Noctem Black IPA allowed tarry pine and syrupy dark chocolate to embitter its ultra-dry yellow grapefruit and orange rind conflux and charcoaled black grape wisps.   

Authentic Brit-styled dark ale, Riverside Brown Ale, saddld its soft-watered coca powdering with reserved nuttiness, mossy dew and weedy residue.

Sweet milk chocolate contrasted coffee-burnt dried cocoa for Dividing Creek Oatmeal Stout, swerving thru maple molasses oats and recessive hop char.   

SHORTWAY BREWING COMPANY

NEWPORT, NORTH CAROLINA

An inconspicuous mini-mall oasis in the tony Carteret County ‘gateway’ town of Newport, SHORTWAY BREWING COMPANY serves up some of North Carolina’s finest – and often driest – American styled ales. Opened during 2017, the veteran family-owned Shortway Brewing’s understated interior gets intensified when patrons exit thru the rear and reach the garden of earthly delights, a flowery stone-ground back deck with Adirondack chairs and wood benches.

On a sunny Saturday afternoon in August ’24, my wife and I stepped up to the wood top serving station to try ten diversified proprietary suds (while taking three wheat ale variants to Topsail Beach – reviewed in Beer Index). There are twelve tap handles plus a few refrigerator draught lines at the central bar area as well as a blackboard tap list and decorative branched hop vine.

The simple concrete-floored wood-paneled pub includes six wood benches and a few metal-seated tables plus mason-jarred lights on antique gold-plated fans at the low ceiling. Windowed tanks to the right sidle the wood block-tabled metal seating upfront.

Dry raw-honeyed lemon musk, salty husked corn and sweet rice consumed light-bodied opener, Lookout Blonde, leaving barnyard hay-parched herbal hop astringency on the mildly mineral grained finish.

Mild lemon limed agave suited Sol Seeker Mexican Lager, a brisk pilsner-malted lightweight.

Spritzy lemon and dainty berry teased easygoing wheat-cracked moderation, Chatham Street Wheat Ale, concealing some floral-herbed hop phenols.

Tart lemon-seeded raspberry scurried thru the dry wheat-cracked spine of Squeeze The Day Raspberry Lemon Wheat Ale,

Briny watermelon rind and cologne-perfumed lemon liming faded for approachable Ordinance #25 Watermelon Lime Gose, letting its stylish coriander-seeded saltiness seep thru slowly.

Dry West Coast IPA, Down East, retained yellow grapefruit and orange rind bittering plus juniper berry licks to contrast its peachy melon swipes over spicy rye.

Lemony grapefruit and orange tanginess picked up floral perfumed pine musk for off-dry Good Vibes IPA, a tropical delight with tertiary mango, guava and pineapple whims.

Cocoa-dried light roast coffee received walnut, Brazil nut and macadamia nut influence for Newporter American Porter, shading its burnt caramel sweetness.

Soft-tongued confectionery dessert, Almond Coconut Stout, plied mild coconut-milked almond nuttiness to Nilla Wafer-like sweetness.

Whiskey-bent Newport Strong Ale, a caramel-spiced Imperial Red Ale, gained mild barleywine, Chardonnay and sherry wisps.

WITCHDOCTOR BREWING COMPANY

Craft Beer Southington | Witchdoctor

SOUTHINGTON, CONNECTICUT

During Italian Festival in the southern Hartford County town of Southington, my wife and I visited WITCHDOCTOR BREWING COMPANY early Saturday evening, July ’24. We grabbed seats at the lacquered wood bar to enjoy nine stylistically diverse concoctions while a band at the outdoor stage played Italian love songs for the minions out on the streets and sidewalks of the friendly fest.

Taking up a part of a mammoth red brick warehouse, Witchdoctor’s old plank wood floors and ceiling, low-lying exposed pipes, large-bulbed Edison lights and metal chairs provided a proper Industrial feel.

There were 20-plus draught handles and sidling TV’s at the bar and a small stage to the side while a billiards table adds elegance.

Soft-toned bohemian pilsner, Mustache Queen, brought fizzy lemon seltzer to musty mineral graining and slight vegetal herbage.

Sweet corn-sugared lemon spritzing picked up mild spicing for Mic Czech Pilsner, inviting floral herbal mustiness.

Easygoing dry-hopped golden ale, Love Is Blonde, let sugary lemon spicing and spry redcurrant-gooseberry tartness reach crystal pilsner malting.

Enchanting Monk’s Hood Saison spread Chardonnay buttering across lemon meringue, orange marmalade and floral rosebud daubs above salty barnyard graining.

Brisk dry-hopped NEIPA, Space Sheep, merged sharp grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering with sweetly soured guava-gooseberry swipes in lacquered pine surroundings.

Puckered lemon souring exceeded vanilla-creamed orange tang of Dreamsicle Orange Creamsicle Sour, spreading moderate lime rind acidity on the backend.

Slightly divergent oatmeal amber ale, Paupers Porridge, coalesced maple molasses sugaring with glazed hazelnut, roasted chestnut and dried cocoa subtleties plus a sweet cigar ash remnant.

Luscious chocolate coconut stout, Kick In The Coconuts, draped bourbon-spiced brown chocolate syrup over toasted coconut sweetness, picking up lovely creme brulee, coconut caramel butter cake and marzipan illusions.

Creamy oatmeal stout, Oat To Joy, led dark chocolate bittering thru sweet maple oats, subtle hazelnut-walnut snips and crisp tobacco roast.

NEWSYLUM BREWING

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NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT

Amidst the ruins of a multi-acre insane asylum, Connecticut’s historic Fairfield Hills Mental Hospital has housed NEWSYLUM BREWING since March 2020. In a rustic 9,000 square-foot red brick building formerly used as a dining hall, Newsylum’s exquisite high-ceilinged pub and its stone-grounded black metal-furnished pavilion make a strong impression.

Newtown’s second brewpub (Reverie Brewing opened in 2019), is guided by head brewer John Watson, a highly experienced ex-homebrewer crafting a colorful array of beers emulating from the sterling silver barback brewtanks. Wood-fired pizzas, charcuterie boards, hot dogs and pretzels head the light pub menu. Local wines are also available.

The cavernous vaulted ceiling, stark Gothic windows, stately wood columns, antique door frames and white marble-topped bar (with pipe-handled draughts and gray metal chairs) provide a Classic Cathedral architectural vibe.

My wife and I stopped by at noon on a Sunday in July ’24 to down eight fine elixirs – three of which were nifty India Pale Ales.

Flagship New England IPA, Counting The Days, merged dry-hopped Citra/Mosaic/Columbus varietals as juicy orange-peeled grapefruit and pineapple tang joined floral-spiced pine lacquering atop crystal malt sugaring.

Brisk Citra-hopped Imperial IPA, Beautiful Consequences, stayed silken as gentle orange-peeled grapefruit bittering and salty guava-gooseberry souring picked up creamy vanilla-daubed oats sugaring.

Dry-hopped Vic Secret tropicalia embraced West Coast IPA, Coping Mechanism, plying lemony grapefruit-peeled orange, pineapple and tangerine tanginess to resinous pine needling and musky pale malts.

Dry aluminum yellowed pale ale, Therapy Session, put floral perfumed lemon zest across woody hop resin.

Sour blackberry seltzer fizz pepped up fruited Berliner Weiss, Boom-Bang!, a salty acidulated wheat-backed summertime quencher.

Stylishly bolder, Keating Farms Kolsch bolstered its lemon-dried spicing with lemongrass herbage and sparkling champagne spritz atop pilsner malt crisping.

Candi sugared Belgian yeast draped sweet banana pie, tart orange marmalade and pineapple cake illusions for Paging Dr. Strong, a bold tripel.

Lactose milk stout, Cattle Call, let milk-sugared coffee and oats-flaked burnt caramel lead the way with a molasses hint.

SOUL BREWING COMPANY

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PLEASANTVILLE, NEW YORK

Inside a window-fronted cornershop in the Westchester village of Pleasantville, SOUL BREWING COMPANY opened March 2020. Founding brewmaster, Allen Wallace, traveled to Belgium and Germany, getting so inspired by small town Euro breweries he started his own local brewpub downtown near the train station.

Wallace’s admiration for soul music gets intertwined with his love of beer and the back wall pix salute the famous Wattstax R&B concert and Otis Redding. The light Industrial cement-floored pub features a bronze-topped bar (with nine tap handles and large bronzed menu) plus ten metal-tabled two-seaters. The mezzanine area stores the stainless steel brew tanks.

My wife and I hit Soul Brewing on the way back from Connecticut to down proprietary nine suds, mid-July ’24.

Upfront glutenous sourdough yeast guarded the banana-clove-sugared Freya Weizen, relegating its fizzy lemon spritz.

Lemon curd tartness seeped into white peppered herbage and for Summer Soulstice Saison, a silken Belgian styled farmhouse ale.

Polite orange-tangerine tanginess emerged with barnyard-dried herbal musk for sweet breaded moderation, Pollinator Maibock.

Dry cucumbered watermelon rind and briny lime combined for lightly coriander-salted Watermelon-Lime Pop Gose, picking up vinous green grape esters at the tartly puckered finish.

Zesty orange-peeled grapefruit bittering, peachy melon sweetness and salty pineapple-guava tropicalia lifted Rise Above Double IPA, contrasting subsidiary floral herbage with resinous pine atop light oated creaming.

Sunshiny El Tropical NEIPA stayed brightly brisk as yellow grapefruit-peeled pineapple tanginess gleamed alongside evergreen pine.

Dried orange musk, dewy moss and dark floral whims surfaced for Sly West Coast IPA.

Candi-syruped plum spicing gathered alongside chocolate-covered raisin, black cherry puree and sugared date illusions to lightly sweeten Monk’s Dream Dubbel, leaving molasses cookie remnants.

Fudgy chocolate, milk-sugared coffee and creamy vanilla merged for 2-Tone Milk Porter, regaling mild toffee and dark cocoa whims.

HOUSATONIC RIVER BREWING

Housatonic River Brewing Welcomes New Milford Beer Lovers

NEW MILFORD, CONNECTICUT

Taking up a brown brick fronted bunk house with a covered deck and floor-to-ceiling stone hearth plus a separate beergarden pavilion, HOUSATONIC RIVER BREWING perfectly recreates olden New England-styled wood work in purely bucolic fashion. The rustic pub’s pine kiosks, countrified stool seating, wraparound wood coves, wood paneled walls and corrugated aluminum roof suit the aluminum-sided lacquered pine top bar.

Opened in 2018, entrepreneurial brewer David Littlefield perfected his craft at California’s Harbor Lights Brewing before heading east and teaming up with veteran brewmeister, Steve Medd, at Housatonic River. The busy brewin’ duo have made over 150 different recipes in just over six years.

There’s a midsized stage area for music acts and brew tanks are staged in the rear.

I stopped by on a warm Friday evening, July ’24, to try an Imperial Stout and its oak-aged variant – plus a light Bavarian lager – taking home a few more goodies in cans (reviewed in Beer Index).

Duffer Lager - Housatonic River Brewing ...

Easygoing German pilsner, Duffer Lager, brought sourly salted lemon seed spritz to dried plantain tartness, grassy hop astringency and slight vegetal herbage over popcorn-like maize buttering.

Creamily smooth Imperial Stout, Remedy, placed whisked bourbon chocolate sweetness next to caramelized coffee, wood-smoked molasses, chocolate cake, creme brulee and sugary vanilla illusions as its tarry hop char contrasted the mighty mocha nightcap.

Stronger spirits-derived variant, Whiskey River Remedy, aged in Tennessee whiskey barrels, embraced subtle dried fruiting to deepen its oaken whiskey-bent dark chocolate resolve.

NOD HILL BREWERY

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RIDGEFIELD, CONNECTICUT

Inside a tan stucco brick building overlooking the sylvan tree-lined countryside at the foothills of the Berkshire Mountain in Ridgefield, Connecticut, NOD HILL BREWERY came into biz, November 3, 2017. Boasting “separate authentic flavor profiles for its small community vibe,” the popular pub has expanded its taproom, began local can distribution and struggled to keep up with increased demand.

Nod Hill’s spacious wood floored interior features a lacquered wood top bar, two community tables, a few round tables, loungy metal-chaired tree stump tables, several side stands and an overhead door – plus a baby blue-tiled draught board at the back bar listing eight homemade elixirs. Brewtanks are stored in the large backroom and a centralized refrigerator serves to-go brews.

Perhaps the most important part of Nod Hill is its separate picnic-tabled pavilion beergarden. A solar-powered brewhouse, its brewers’ tend to make ‘hop-forward ales, Old World English, German and Belgian styles and spontaneously mixed fermentation oak-aged beers.’

Portishead plays trip-hop in the backdrop as my wife and I sink a few Nod Hill brews on a sunny Friday evening, July ’24.

Bavarian lager yeast, mineralized pilsner graining and Noble hop herbage connected for standard mild German Pils, Beam, a slightly pungent moderation with light lemon licks and recessive doughy breading.

A frisky lemon spritz sparked bustling hefeweizen, Fritz Walrus Edelweiss, retaining stylish banana-clove sweetness but adding date, plum and raisin subtleties to the rich honeyed wheat base.

Lemony white peppering, green grape esters and soft floral spicing engaged Trappist single, Ace of Wands, a delicate pilsner malted patersbier (best described as Belgian Monk’s lawnmower beer).

Mixed fermentation red wine-barreled Belgian dubbel, Queen Of Funk, stayed dry as leathery muscat grape, oaken vanilla and charcoaled black chocolate illusions picked up light lemon acidity.

Buttery dried fruiting draped lovely Belgian quad, King Of Swords, leaving candi-sugared raisin, plum and prune sweetness plus nutty toffee spicing and cotton candy confection upon brown chocolate malting.

Flagship NEIPA, Geobunny, raised grapefruit rind bittering, orange peel sweetness, tangerine tanginess and tart gooseberry-guava souring above vanilla-daubed oated wheat creaming.

Another flagship NEIPA, Super Mantis, maintained a sunnier, brighter disposition as its tropical fruit juicing embroidered a dryer wood backdrop. Peachy pineapple tanginess, lemony grapefruit bittering, navel orange sweetness and salted mango-papaya tropicalia reached mild oats-flaked pilsner malting.

English-styled dark mild, Eynsham, let bland dried fruiting run thru light-roast burnt coffee tones, buttery cocoa powdering and murky nuttiness.

SPACECAT BREWING COMPANY

Spacecat Brewing Company

NORWALK, CONNECTICUT

At the edge of downtown on Chestnut Street in the thriving coastal suburban town of Norwalk, SPACECAT BREWING COMPANY occupies an olden red-bricked Industrial mill with polished wood floors, ancient window banks and stark wood trusses. Opened during October 2021, Spacecat became the first brewpub to operate after Norwalk lost Iron Brewing a year hence.

On an early Friday evening stopover, July ’24, my wife and I initially grabbed seats at the wood plank-topped bar adorned with Edison lights and featuring twenty draught handles. There were plastic-seated butcher block tables and six dual-stooled wood tables filling out the rustic barroom. Huge windowed brewtanks stored the straightforwardly variegated, dependably rounded and usually easygoing fare.

We then headed outside to the narrow biergarden where a nifty duo played cool tunes for the neighborhood crowd scurrying in. Local wine, spirits and ciders plus homemade cocktails were also available.

Contentedly crafting conventional brews celebrating familiar stylistic terrain, Spacecat’s (mostly) year-round suds, classic seasonals and one-off elixirs stay predictably sound and consistently rewarding.

Rustic yellow-bellied German-styled moderation, Whistleville Pilsner, combined musky lemon rot, dark floral must and dusty herbage atop maize-dried barnyard graining.

Soft-tongued Helles Lager retained spritzy lemon souring, spiced Noble hop herbage and cabbage-like vegetalia above bready pilsner malting. Toastily caramelized amber grains weaved thru Vienna Lager.

A saltier lemon thrust and muskier herbal response led crisply deviant kolsch, Spacecat Summer, a ’24 seasonal hiding delicate lemony grapefruit bittering and light pine tones over white wheat breading.

Brisk yellow grapefruit sunshine and tangy mandarin orange zesting stayed laid-back for Session IPA, utilizing newfangled Azacca-Strata-Sabro hop combo.

Raw-honeyed desiccated orange received musky fungi earthiness for The Tree Cat, a resinous hopped West Coast IPA.

Possibly my fave, spectral New England IPA, Orion, sashayed sweet orange peel zesting and yellow grapefruit bittering alongside salted mango, passionfruit and guava tropicalia while remitting light floral perfuming.

Dewy off-dry The Irish Red nestled hazelnut and chestnut subtleties beside mild toffee sugaring.

Lightly nut-toasted Brown Ale placed tepid toffee sweetness against mossy truffle murk.

Dry dark German lager, Schwarzbier, relegated mildly embittered black chocolate and light-roast coffee tones as well as musty dried fruiting.

TALL OAKS FARM & BREWERY

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FARMINGDALE, NEW JERSEY

In the “serene countryside” of Farmingdale (a few miles west of Asbury Park), panoramic family friendly microbrewery, TALL OAKS FARM & BREWERY opened its doors, January ’24.

At a white aluminum sided, shutter-doored barn house on 5-acre farm, Tall Oaks includes a pristine barroom, heated covered porch and separate large pavilion. Inside, white plastic seats and tables spread across the post-Mod pub where unique metal piping fills the brew tanks servicing the rounded elixirs poured for beer-centric minions at the wood top serving station.

Head brewer Rebecca Barry honed her skills at popular brew school, UC-Davis, joining Pennsylvania’s Weyerbacher and Newark’s Anheuser Busch before becoming Tall Oaks’ top cat.

My wife and I settle at the fenced-in picnic grounds, grabbing a few Adirondack-chaired round wood tables to suck down eight fine suds, July ’24.

Freshly baked breaded sourdough wheat engulfed crisp light pilsner, Berm, leaving slight floral herbage upon its sour lemon surge.

A West Coast IPA vibrancy enhanced bolder pale ale, Redwood Grove, bringing slightly embittered Cascade-hopped lemony grapefruit tanginess plus orange-peeled peach, pineapple and papaya sweetness to dry Centennial-Chinook-hopped pining atop dainty Vienna-Crystal malting.

A mild IPA, Open Field allowed brisk lemony grapefruit and orange sunshine, salted guava-passionfruit tropicalia and floral-daubed evergreen minting to rise above biscuity Vienna malts.

Lacquered mango sweetness grazed glutenous white wheat for Fruit Stand Mango, a summery soft-toned pilsner-malted wheat ale.

Spritzy lemon fizz sparkled above the freshly baked French breading consuming Meadow, another soft-toned moderation (with ‘white grape skin and pear’ nuances).

Offbeat farmhouse-styled grisette, Petal Rustic Ale, dripped Lemon Pledge-wafted citrus moisture into white-peppered sage and parsley herbage atop pilsner-malted cracked wheat backbone.

Serene dark-fruited date, plum and apricot fronted easygoing doppelbock, Cultivator, a German-style lager with musky cellared fungi digging into cardboard-like brown breading.

Light-roast coffee nuttiness, chalky cocoa powdered Black malt bittering and musky dried fruiting received dry hop char for Cottage, a mossy English mild ale.