Category Archives: United States Brewpubs

HOG RIVER BREWING COMPANY

 

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT

In the rustic red-bricked Parkville section of Hartford, HOG RIVER BREWING COMPANY occupies a warehouse backspace in multi-storied Parkville Market, a recently renovated and reenergized food and drink complex.

Owned by German beer-lovin' husband-wife team, Ben & Joy Braddock, Hog River began operations springtime 2016 and quickly flourished in its historic neighborhood digs (formerly Hartford Rubber Works factory). The Seibel Institute grad previously honed his craft at nearby Thomas Hooker and Willimantic breweries.

The cavernously cement-floored, reclaimed wood-clad, catacomb-like Industrial pub features a ten-seat/sixteen-draught serving station, several community tables, butcher block tables, several gear-related metal machine relics and cozy wood-bound couch lounge (with opposing elongated cafeteria counter). Barrels, tanks and brewing equipment settle at the overhead door.

A spacious outdoor patio fills up during my sunny August '21 sojourn.

 

Hog River Brewing | Hartford's Craft Brewery

My wife grabs some Parkville chow to down at Hog River as I consume seven wonderfully diverse libations.

Dry earthen grains and wheat-husked astringency provide raw grained rusticity to the citric-spiced hop zesting of Warehouse Pils, an appealing lightweight.

Sweet Scotch-licked Vienna malting, leafy hop dewiness and mild dried fruiting saddled Oktoberfest, a crisp autumnal moderation.

A slightly drier stylistic changeup, Peels & Blossoms Wit forwarded lemon-peeled chamomile tea to coriander-spiced orange tartness and musty white peppered whim.

Tangy pink guava and pineapple puree adjuncts outdone by salty lemon-limed green grape vinegaring and chalky limestone parch penetrating Thingaling Sour, a mildly acidic tropical dry body.

Then came the "Big Beers." Creamy peanut-buttered dark chocolate malting dominated Princess Butter Cup Chocolate Stout, overriding sweet vanilla-spiced bourbon and port wining plus subtle red grape tartness.

"Luscious" vanilla ice cream-drenched hot fudge sauce sweetened tart maraschino cherry bruise for luxuriously rich Brain Freeze Ice Cream Sundae Stout, leaving bourbon-soaked anise spicing and maple-glazed cocoa nibs splendor upon Graham Cracker honeyed wheat spine.

Heavenly lustrous Caribbean elixir, Mango & Coconut Tripel, aged in Jamaican rum, let mango-pureed coconut toasting, mild vanilla-spiced creaming and ancillary pineapple-salted guava tartness get seeped in buttery Chardonnay wining before boozy phenol ethers hit the tail end.

BRICK & FEATHER BREWERY

Blog — Stephanie Gaston Designs

TURNERS FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS

Inhabiting a blue-gray paneled river-bound shack in the village of Turners Falls, BRICK & FEATHER BREWERY started operations October '15 (and closed . Entrepreneurial husband-wife team, Lawrence George (experienced brewer formerly at Flying Fish and Berkshire Brewing) and Emily George specialize in "soft, rounded Belgian and American style ales" in a family friendly light Industrial environment.

Though Brick & Feather's diminutive white-walled front pub contains only a few community tables and an L-shaped wood top bar in its aquamarine-walled setting, its cement-floored interior extends to an expansive stainless steel brew tank back space (with seven barrel system and canning line).

Right off the canal bike path at an olden bridge on the Connecticut River, B & F craft some of the best brews in the state. I bought five home brews on my July '21 Pioneer Village journey.

Muskily dry yellow-cleared light body, Montague Gothic Kolsch brought champagne-licked green grape esters and wispily lingered herbal-tinged lemon rind bittering to cracker-like pilsner malts.

Musky straw-dried mineral graining and delicate floral herbage backed the brisk lemony hop fizz of Kitten With A Whip, a Bavarian-styled helles lager.

Lemony grapefruit salting spread to tart green grape, guava and red berry illusions as piney herbal-hopped floral whims gathered for Positively 11th Street, a dry-hopped pale ale.

Semi-sharp citrus spicing rode above dry pale malting for Scotland But Further, another dry-hopped pale ale. Lemony yellow grapefruit spritz mellowed out alongside mild mandarin orange tartness as lollipop-soured strawberry, peach and apricot illusions surfaced.

Exquisite hazy golden glowed Letters From Zelda, a zestful IPA, let pineapple-juiced orange peel tanginess settle alongside mild lemony grapefruit rind bittering and rustic pine resin.

 

TOMS RIVER BREWING

Toms River Brewing Is Serving Up Their Own Ocean County Path TOMS RIVER, NEW JERSEY Assuming the beige marbled brewhouse previously run by Rinn Duin, TOMS RIVER BREWING took over this novel Jersey Shore chateau-like villa springtime 2019. New owner Jim Mulligan's transformative grand reopening featured head brewer Bob Warzecha's newly designed wide ranging ales, utilizing natural fruit extracts and flavoring. A left side community-tabled Beer Garden (with green umbrellas) edges the narrow pub space. A ten-seat L-shaped bar with speckled gray granite top opposes the windowed brew tanks and a few high top tables line the walls of the high ceilinged room. My wife and I visited TRB, August '21, to suck down a dozen varied 5-ouncers in the breezy warmth of the Beer Garden. A well respected holdover from Rinn Duin, St. John's Irish Red took perfumed hop-spiced red and orange fruiting to caramelized barley-roasted chocolate and toffee whims. Delightful light-bodied Koastal Kolsch let sweet-riced maize-flaked pilsner malting receive slightly sour lemon-dried Noble hop herbage and wispy floral-daubed botanicals. Cali-styled Cascade hops provided perfumed lemon oiling to mash-billed corn flaked Kentucky graining for Cal-Tucky Common Ale, a simple carapils-malted moderation. Diffident coriander-spiced orange zesting slacks off for soapy At Wits End, a grassy herbal hopped witbier with frail white wheat base. Traditional Polish smoked wheat ale, Thadeusz Piwo (Ted's Beer), a low alcohol 'grodiskie,' promoted beechwood-charred blackened rye graining over proper phenol hop astringency. Summery watermelon-pureed Jolly Rancher bubblegum knockoff, The Gnar Watermelon Gose, a sea-salted Sour Patch-candied libation with earthen herbal frisk. Sea-salted peach puree souring guided The Dude Peach Gose, relegating lemony grapefruit bittering. Tart Belgian-styled hybrid, Celtic Sunrise Blood Orange Pale Ale, rendered salty blood orange, tangerine and clementine spicing for its light herbal soothe. Sessionable yogurt-soured New England IPA, Gimme Mo,' brought Motueka-hopped guava, gooseberry and green grape tartness to herb-licked pale malt spicing. Floral-perfumed citrus spicing guarded white IPA, Windy Seas, forwarding its brisk lemon spritz to the cracker-like spine. Limey mango salting picked up earthen herbal compost reminder for lactic IPA, Takes Two To Mango, leaving grassy hop astringency on its mild fruited tropicalia.       Bold dry-hopped Imperial IPA (9% ABV), New Beginnings, placated its sweetly soured passionfruit-addled melon scurry and lemony grapefruit bittering with floral-bound pine tones above plentiful caramel malt sugaring. Revisited Toms River Brewing mid-July '24 to enjoy another nine rangy suds. Mild Blueberry Blonde Summer Ale had a breezy blueberry spritz, polite hop astringency and subdued honeyed wheat base. "Pillowy" lemony orange spicing introduced What'sa Bro Pale Ale, a lactic milk-sugared NEIPA-derived moderation with tropical Huell Melon hops adding pine-daubed gooseberry and guava tartness to lactose milk-sugared wheat-flaked pilsner malting. Rustic barnyard graining secured the sharp lemon-soured herbage of Stick Toss Kolsch, thickened by eggy sourdough wheat. Offbeat hefeweizen, Slice Of Hefen, let spritzy lemondrop soaping and smoke pineapple tartness overtake stylish banana-clove sweetness swiping its thick sourdough bottom. Tropical lime-salted candied lemon briskness, floral honeysuckle perfuming and spiced redcurrant reached fresh-cut hay barnyard acridity for Barbe Rouge-hopped French red ale, Brewlon Rouge, picking up light fungi musk for its distant rye breading. Ultra-dry lactic IPA, Boots On The Ground, placed sharp lemony grapefruit rind bittering and lightly hop-charred pine lacquering across peachy mango-passionfruit fodder and wispy floral spicing atop heavily oated wheat creaming. Interestingly woven Belgian Brown Ale, I Blame A.I., spread mild coconut-toasted cocoa nibs sweetness into subtle molasses-sugared hazelnut, chestnut and almond riffs as well as pureed raspberry snips. Dry whiskey bent (10.5% ABV) barleywine, No Whining, bent hop-spiced dried fruiting into laid-back chocolate malting, staying a tad thin. S'mores-inspired pastry stout, Mulligan's Delight, knocked of a marshmallowy chocolate Graham Cracker sandwich, could've been richer, but its ancillary coconut toasting, chocolate pudding skin richness and candied toffee sweetness paid dividends.

BATTLE RIVER BREWING

See the source image TOMS RIVER, NEW JERSEY Inhabiting a red brick-based Main Street storefront in Toms River, BATTLE RIVER BREWING opened its doors August '20. Utilizing a crisply clean water source second to none, head brewer Ian Barlet specializes in an interesting assortment of eclectic stylized brews, salty oceanic elixirs, hard seltzers, shandys and a beer-cider hybrid. The red brick-walled interior features an art deco black ceiling, hanging Edison lights, exposed pipes and a narrow hallway leading to the back-sided beer tanks. At its gray granite top bar are 30-plus tap handles, a blackboard beer menu and centralized TV. There are windowed community tables for extra seating. My wife and I sat down for some sassy suds August '21. Unconventional German pilsner, Mariner, allocated sweet rice-wined corn sugaring for herbal-hopped green peppering. Traditional New Zealand-styled pilsner, Haka, a dry-hopped lightweight, let salted lime zest provide tart zing to its soft white wheat base. Aluminum golden-hued dry lager, Battle Light, segued lemondrop candied piquancy into mineral grained maize astringency. Dry Mexican-styled Vienna lager, Rio Bueno, placated its sweet corn frontage with white wine esters, herbal agave nectars and mild maize astringency. Spritzy hybridized hefeweizen, River Lady Ruby Red Grapefruit, took its lightly spiced grapefruit adjunct to salty lemon-limed souring contrasting stylish banana-clove sweetness. Subtle orange-peeled lavender and tart strawberry plied hybridized witbier, Wartime, a lightly sugar-spiced moderation. Salted blueberry subtlety and lemony white peach tartness secured the clean-watered Kveik yeast-based Bluecoat Blueberry, a saison-inspired blonde ale with dry wheat-chaffed straw leathering. Salt-watered raspberry and blueberry pureed fruit ale, Main St. Mosaics, allowed sour New Zealand hops to add abrupt limey gooseberry-guava tartness. "Crushable" red-cleared kettle sour, Courthouse, brought tart blackberry adjunct to vinous green grape esters and cucumber-watered earthiness for mouth-puckered succulence. Flagship IPA, Patriot, gave its straight-up lemony orange peeled grapefruit bittering a dank piney hop astringency and herbal-spiced floral flutter. Easygoing East Coast IPA, Irons Street, daubed its vodka-licked citrus tang with wood lacquered residue and jasmine snips over syrupy pale malt sweetness. Uniquely offbeat Belgian dubbel, River Root Bier, a crossbred cane-sugared soda alternative, dangled raisin, prune and plum sweetness alongside Jamaican sarsaparilla, sassafras birch, wild cherry bark and dandelion root. Brown-sugared cinnamon anchored Snow Melter, a spiced-up Belgian strong ale, coalesced nutmeg, cardamom and ginger above dainty pilsner malting. Combining chocolate, coffee and Madagascar vanilla, Headquarter Porter picked up toffee-spiced sweetness and tertiary cola nut, coconut and hazelnut illusions. Richly rewarding chocolate raspberry porter, Robbins Street, forwarded bittersweet molasses-daubed cocoa nibs creaming to tart raspberry-pureed blueberry, blackberry and boysenberry licks. Wildflower-honeyed dark chocolate enriched nitro stout, Bayonet, a smooth espresso-like nightcap with ancillary coffee, toffee and sarsaparilla tones. During Super Bowl weekend, February '22, revisited Battle River to suck down seven more diversified suds. Crisply clean blonde ale, Full Day Sesh, brought spritzy lemony grapefruit zesting to mild clementine and mandarin orange snips above delicate pale malting. Dewy toffee-spiced English Mild Ale, M24 Toffee, let caramelized fig, candied apple and sour prune pick up mild cellared fungi musk and crisp tobacco roast. Brisk lemon spritz splashed banana-clove-induced hefeweizen, Huddy's Revenge, to its honeyed wheat base. Mellow beige-yellowed white IPA, Privateer, coalesced salty lemon spicing with tidy mandarin orange sweetness and white grape tannins as light pine lacquering coated the delicate wheated oats spine. Wet-hopped red IPA, Super Maroon, plied rye-dried amber grains and roasted tobacco crisping to caramelized red fruiting (with a hint of beechwood smoke in the distance, perhaps). Delightfully complex Belgian Quadrupel, Cannonball, maintained cherry chocolate sweetness enhanced by candi-sugared dried fruiting, dewy peat mossing, cinnamon-smoked nutmeg spicing and mild barleywine snips in a subtle bourbon barrel-aged setting. Wintry spiced stout, Jockey Hollow, seeped cinnamon-nutmeg spicing into chocolate-y vanilla maple walnut sweetness and burgundy-draped prune, date and fig illusions.

MONTCLAIR BREWERY

MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY

Embracing their Afro-Caribbean heritage in a whimsically uplifting tan-bricked neighborhood joint, MONTCLAIR BREWERY resembles a beachy shanty town shack with its oceanic aquamarine aluminum topped exterior, reclaimed wood interior furnishings, onsite sugar candy machine, interestingly offbeat tropical elixirs and lemonade-flavored shandys.

Spiritedly celebrating their cultures, husband and wife entrepreneurs, Leo and Denise Sawadogo, opened Montclair Brewery October '18. A beautiful right side mural portrait features the beer-lovin' couple. A snazzy milk stout, root beery brown ale and the pair of candied shandys honor Denise's Jamaican origin while a baobab fruited golden ale and several herbaceous concoctions salute Leo's ancestry.

Mash tun wafts from the brewtanks in the back as my wife and I grab chairs on a sunshiny Wednesday afternoon, August '21. The elongated, aluminum-sided, wood top, L-shape bar featured 20-plus tap lines and several community tables dotted the surrounding area. Exposed pipes and a TV hang from the barren ceiling and two electronic boards list today's offerings.

Perfumed herbage seeped into limey lemon peel bittering for light-bodied Claremont Pilsner, a style-defying Czech pils hybrid with rosemary seasoning (and basil-sage wisps) guarding its earthen grain spine.

Another unconventional stylish departure, Bellevue Blueberry let wildflower-honeyed blueberry jam pick up lime-soured floral herbage in a unique lacquered manner.

A clover-honeyed Creamsickle knockoff, Frog Hollow Orange Wheat brought candied orange, tangerine and clementine to its lacquered wood retreat, leaving bittersweet orange peel zest upon its citric vanilla finish. In the can, rustic raw-grained hop musk wandered alongside navel orange tartness.

Tame baobob-fruited Baobiere Golden Ale, a tropical vitaminized antioxidant, relegated its Africanized citrus zesting for creamy vanilla buttering and serene floral daubs. In the can, mild lemon-pitted mandarin orange and passionfruit tartness gained light peppery snip and fungi yeast funk to propel spiced-up baobob briskness.

Bold for its style, passionfruit pureed Golden Buddha Golden Ale left subtle lemon meringue tartness, zippy orange zest, salted pineapple whims and tidy white peach snips on its latent chamomile herbage.

Sweet orange peel seduction and distant grapefruit misting tingled the mild rosemary springs placating City Green Farmhouse Ale, an off-dry saison with leathery barnyard acridity.

Laidback Raspberry Framboise retained subtle lemony raspberry souring over mildly creamed wheat malts but seemed tame next to the more ambitious fare.

Approachable raspberry pureed Belgian Red Devil Lambic gained cherry soda pop sweetness for its ancillary bubblegum sugaring contrasting tart lemon candied raspberry souring over a Graham Cracker honeyed wheat base.

Herbal-spiced dried fruiting received candi-sugared sweetness for Peoples Republic Of Montclair, a busy Belgian dubbel.

Mellow guava puree souring mollified loosely West Coat-styled Hava Guava IPA, prodding lemony orange powdered candy tartness above sweet wheated oats.

Lemony pineapple, grapefruit and orange amplified spiced-up Waga Dipa, a zestful Imperial IPA with mild piney hop bittering contrasting a heady pale malt sugaring.

Tangy navel orange spritz led Poor Richard's India Pale Ale, an herb-daubed piney hopped moderation with celery watered pale malt crisping.

Way beyond stylish definition, Tropical Brown Ale let sour-creamed soy milking curdle sarsaparilla sass, cherry baby aspirin tartness and candied orange whims.

Nearly as idiosyncratic, brown-sugared Jamaican Me Crazy Milk Stout allowed black licorice, black cherry and molasses to sway its soothing milk chocolate resonance.

During Halloween '21, enjoyed sunny Sunday at noon with wife and dog, talking to brewer Leo Sawadogo while downing eight previously untried brews.

Nearing sour IPA territory, tart peculiarity Baobiscus Milkshake promoted yogurt-milked Mandarina hops above Citra-Simcoe variants as hibiscus-flowered passionfruit, apricot and guava tropicalia plus limey Margarita salting gained musty strawberry, watermelon and gooseberry snips.

Oaken cherry enlivened kettle-soured Cherry Fresh, leaving tannic green grape esters upon the salty acidulated malt spine.

Smoked peat drifted past brown-sugared barley malting of Fume, a beechwood-aged rauchbier with subtle pastrami-licked cured meating.

Candi-sugared banana sweetness contrasted orange-dried phenols for Tuxedo Strong Belgian Golden.

Homemade raspberry syrup profoundly sugared-up Raspberry Holiday Jam, bringing candied cherry tartness to its treacly sweet-toothed raspberry gulch.

Lime-soured Jamaican rum drove Weh Deh Yah Stout, routing its Bakers chocolate bittering, oaken cherry tannins, Pinot Noir dryness, desiccated fig-orange tartness and light charcoal singe.

Dry Irish Stout, Connor Hill, draped Blackstrap molasses upon anise-spiced fig, pecan and sassafras peculiarities.

Enhanced by date syrup, molasses and honey, lactose oatmeal cream stout, Blind Date, let its black licorice entry saturate treacly caramelized chocolate sweetness.

Nearly two months hence, December '21, traveled to Montclair again, trying five varied stouts alongside a juicy IPA, roasted porter and pumpkin ale.

Powdered sugar coated vanilla-creamed pumpkin spicing for Hallow's Eve Pumpkin Ale II, leaving nutmeg, cinnamon, clove and coriander seasoning upon hop-prickled phenols.

Vibrant orange-peeled grapefruit rind, pineapple and peach juicing and sharp piney hops lifted sunny IPA, Brewer's Beer, a smooth Citra-Mosaic-hopped moderation.

Robust Kingston Porter let dark roast chocolate engage smoky Jamaican coffee bittering and mild hop-charred nuttiness.

Creamily milk-sugared coffee overtones guided MB Espresso Stout, gaining espresso-dried chocolate syruping by the finish.

Succinct coffee-dried black chocolate picked up earthen peat and charred nuttiness for lactose-aided Highmont Stout, a bittersweet full body.

Garish vanilla creaming and syrupy dark chocolate soaked into Vanilla Aged Highmont Stout, a marshmallow-sweetened dessert treat with delicate bourbon whims.

Toasted coconut jolted the caramelized chocolate sweetness of molasses-sapped Barton's Bush Coconut Stout, leaving tertiary bourbon vanilla, peppermint and anise illusions upon the mocha-creamed coconut pureed finish.

Peanut buttered dark cocoa spread across Nutty Dread Peanut Butter Stout, contrasting tertiary black licorice sweetness with finishing dark-roast hop bitterness.

During mid-September '22 Saturday afternoon jaunt, discovered seven more Montclair goodies.

Husked grain musk placated the lemon-soured orange rot of MB Lager, an unevenly Vienna malted Munich dunkel.

An abstruse Hawaiian Punch soft drink, Bellaire Summer Ale brought lacquered blueberry-sugared passionfruit adjunct to mild lemony woodruff syruping and unanticipated pomegranate-jammed rhubarb tartness.

Candi-sugared banana and white-peppered lemon brining secured Jazz Fest Belgian Blonde, dropping herbal fungi into the lightly sweet pilsner malt base.

Mildly bittersweet strawberry adjunct edged out by lemon-candied orange desiccation for The Last Straw Lambic, picking up wispy dried fig and sour apricot snips.

Fruited rauchbier variant, Frais Fume, let smoky beechwood outdo its bittersweet strawberry adjunct and mild raspberry-boysenberry swipe.

Tarry dark chocolate roast and dry nuttiness contrasted brown-sugared caramelization for Blue Mountain Dragon Stout, retaining a bitter hop char.

Velvety smooth updated Blind Date Imperial Stout (a.k.a. I Didn't See That Coming) utilized molasses-honeyed pureed date to sweeten its spicy toffee midst and black licorice-daubed chocolate malt finish.

During March '23 noon time journey, discovered another rangy variety of brewer Leo Sawadogo's Afro-Carib-inspired concoctions. Effectively combining disparate ingredients in an original manner, he's unafraid to stretch stylish boundaries.

Take, for example, MX Black & Tan, a mild traditional Irish ale-stout blend with expectant dry walnut-charred coffee/espresso tones given unanticipated evergreen-daubed anise spicing, desiccated orange spoilage and weedy earthen soiling.

Attempting to make a worthy gluten free brew from sorghum ain't easy, but Motherland Sorghum betters most as its rice cake flouring and raw-honeyed wheat grist picks up delicately spiced lemon-dropped orange oiling.

Olive green-hazed St. Patrick's Day leftover, St. Patty's Green Munich Dunkle Lager, despite its sea-like hue, was a simple, basic pilsner-malted amber lager with spritzy lemon zesting and light herbal respite.

Another amber-grained lager, Blue Stripe Oktoberfest, plied raw-honeyed dried maize to lightly toasted white breading.  

A unique floral summer ale dedicated to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Fragile Like A Bomb, contrasted lavender-honeyed wheat breading with lemony yuzu baobab fruiting and lightly embittered juniper tips.

Dryer, less hazy and more yeasty than typecast New England IPA, National Emergency draped streamlined yellow grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering, sedate guava salting and mild plantain starching over gentle oated wheat bed.

Mild coffee beaning seduced Tantrum Sour Ale, leaving tart lemon rind bittering upon the dry mocha finish.

   

PIONEER VALLEY BREWERY

PIONEER VALLEY BREWERYBEERMELODIES « BEERMELODIESTURNERS FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS

Occupying a bright red former gas station-garage in the old Industrial village of Turners Falls, PIONEER VALLEY BREWERY came into existence, December 2019. Entrepreneurial spirits Chris Fontaine and Steve Valenski guide this rustic epoxy-floored pub, sometimes skirting conventionality for slightly less stylishly conservative fare leaning heavily on IPA's.

Along the Connecticut River at waterfront recreational center, Unity Park, Pioneer Valley's splendid bucolic surroundings promote leisurely activities that build thirsts for locally sourced craft beers.

The sparsely decorated interior includes a ten-seat bar serving eight surrounding tables and a few countertop stools. Plastic outside furnishings provide further seating.

On a sunny Saturday, July '21, convivial bartender Sydney offers my wife and I all eleven currently available PVB draughts.

Musky pilsner-like cereal graining, dewy earthen mossing and herbal hops coalesced for light-bodied Trolley Lager, a satisfyingly crisp sedation.

Mild vanilla-creamed yellow fruit spicing serenaded Golden Valley, a semi-sweet blonde ale with floral-herbed nuances.

Dry yellow fruit spicing and light celery-watered herbage saddled Heroes Pale Ale, riding above biscuity malts.

Dry Western Mass IPA brought mild grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering to mild wood tones.

Similar in style, "classic IPA," West Coast, linked sunny Citra-hopped lemony grapefruit tang to wood-toned Amarillo-Simcoe-hopped dryness.

Sweetly soured passionfruit and grapefruit zesting caressed Fruited IPA, a tropical moderate body with herbal lemongrass tease.

A few hazy IPA's then entered the fray. Lemony grapefruit-splashed orange peel tanginess boosted Bridge Closed, a moderate-bodied NEIPA with light vanilla-creamed pale malting. A bit richer, Double Feature burst forth with grapefruit rind bittering, naval orange sweetness and salted pineapple sass above sturdier sugar-spiced malt turbidity.

Mellow pink champagne-cleared kettle sour, Got No Money, placed slightly soured passionfruit and guava adjuncts and soft pink grapefruit, strawberry and gooseberry illusions in a briny lactobacillus yeast setting.

Sour-creamed black chocolate malts and musty nuttiness gathered for Powertown Brown, a plodding dark ale.

Milk-sugared coffee enlightened Fogbuster Coffee Stout, a sweetly soothing chocolate-backed after dinner treat.

FLOODWATER BREWING COMPANY

Floodwater Brewing Co - Shelburne Falls, MA SHELBURNE FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS Alongside the banks of the Deerfield River and walking distance from the bucolic Bridge of Flowers, the village of Shelburne Falls' FLOODWATER BREWING COMPANY opened on a weekly basis November 23, 2018. Beforehand, the rustic nano was a small tasting room. Operated by long-time mad scientist, Zack Livingston, a veteran Control Engineer for green energy waste water treatment, Floodwater's inspirational all-purpose entrepreneur enjoyed the brewing environment California's highly regarded Bear Republic, Lagunitas and Firestone Walker provided while working out west. Floodwater's diminutive gray-walled barroom consists of an eight-seat L-shaped aluminum-topped bar containing six tap handles. There's also a couch area (with small table) plus plastic and wood beach chairs strewn about. Stainless steel brew tanks are behind the bar and at the basement (where fermenting tanks and a canning line exist). I visited Livingston's retreat on a bright sunny day, July '21, downing a terrific nitro stout and locally-sourced grain-billed NEIPA before taking home the sassy saison and mellow maibock also reviewed below. Rustically tranquil, One Fuggley, an earthen Fuggle-hopped blonde ale, placed sharply prickled lemon lime spritz inside caraway-seeded rye breading, hay-like buckwheat grassing and dry wood tones, leaving wispily spiced dank floral aspect on the back end.       Efficiently rounded farmhouse ale, Euro Step Saison, let white-peppered herbal spicing accept zesty lemon splurge, leaving barnyard-dried horse-blanket leathering to scour rosemary-sage-thyme seasoning and fern-like evergreen minting. Easygoing summertime maibock, David Hasselhoff (utilizing 100% Massachusetts grain bill), brought forth a lemon-daubed fruit bouquet to top its grassy-hopped herbage and maple honeyed Scotch malting, rendering ripe berry-cherry juicing. Soft-toned Cyborg Joan, a dryer sessionable NEIPA, allowed lemony orange peeled oiling to soaked up tannic grape tartness, mild earthen herbal musk and bark-dried pine tones to its creamy crystal malt core. As for dry Irish Extra Stout, No Hard Border, its creamy nitro froth brought espresso tones to nutty dark-roast coffee bittering and cocoa-powdered black chocolate chalking as floral-daubed Magnum hop black peppering seeped way beneath.

HITCHCOCK BREWING COMPANY

Image result for HITCHCOCK BREW BERNARDSTON, MASSACHUSETTS Overlooking Sugarloaf Mountain inside a former Harley Davidson shop at the tiny northern Massachusetts town of Bernardston, HITCHCOCK BREWING COMPANY enjoyed its grand reopening October '19 after converting a barn to a nanobrewery at a different nearby location (then closed August '24). Now housed in a green aluminum-sided, tan brick-bottomed factory, Hitchcock runs a ten barrel farmhouse brew system. Many of their brews flirt with unconventionality while maintaining straightforward stylistic tendencies, especially the endless line of India Pale Ales. A red umbrella-lined outdoor deck with gray pavers welcomes brewhounds to the midsize pub. A lacquer wood topped bar spreads across the middle of the pipe-exposed, black-ceilinged, epoxy-floored interior. Rear brew tanks are stored across a small stage area and an overhead door gets utilized for deliveries and climate control. An IPA-centric menu included four such ales alongside a brut sour, helles lager, witbier, kolsch and nitro stout. My wife and I sank a flight of ten Hitchcock brews, July '21. Crisp breaded graining toasted Little Wizzer Helles Lager, an herbal Hallertau-hopped moderation with slightly green-peppered lemon spicing. Herbal fungi musk saddled yellow-orange fruiting of Cascade-hopped Crossover Golden, a dry pale-malted light body. French breaded spelt graining centered Isolation Kolsch, leaving herbal lemon flesh upon its maize-dried grist bottom. Tangy orange-peeled banana and clove sweetness prodded Better Days Belgian White, a mildly soap-stoned moderation with wispy wheat spine. Dry brut-champagned kettle sour slid pureed banana and salted strawberry tartness across lime-soured plantain smidge for Strawberry Banana Kettle Brut, caressing its delicate white wheat base. Sour green grape tartness nipped mild lemon-peeled yellow grapefruit bittering for Single Bottom, a sunny Citra-hopped East Coast IPA. Orange-dried lemon rot and dry honeyed black tea bittering anchored the floral-perfumed herbage of Double Bottom, a New England IPA with salty yogurt-milked guava and pineapple remnants. Tropical fruited beige-marbled NEIPA, Wicked Yummy, brought orange peel zesting to limey yogurt-soured guava, green grape and gooseberry illusions and mild yellow grapefruit tang. Yet another NEIPA, Galaxy Hopper 42, plied dry spiced lemony tangerine tang to pale malt sugaring in a conservative manner. Nutty dark chocolate chalking and roasted coffee bittering anchored Nitro Stout, a traditional Irish stout.

ELEMENT BREWING & DISTILLING

The Recorder - Element Brewery to start nano-distillery MILLERS FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS Before perusing the serene northern Massachusetts waterfalls embracing the village of Miller Falls, my wife and I sojourned to ELEMENT BREWING & DISTILLING, July '21. Occupying a wood-floored gray aluminum neighborhood pub since 2010, the Western styled saloon crafts artfully designed brews - mostly soft-tongued stylish spinoffs - and distills vodka, whiskey, gin, rum and tequila. A palate-barriered community tabled front deck leads to the central entryway. An eight-seat red-walled bar services two barreled tables and a small couch area in the front. Behind the bar space thru a right side door is a game room with billiards, foosball, seating, a TV and wall-lined beer bottle collection. Up a few stairs to the right of the bar is a studio-like dining area. Element's sessionable suds go down easy with typical pub fare that includes flatbread pizza and chicken wings. Element Brewing Company Hybridized Summer Pilsner Fusion let citric-perfumed Hallertau hop herbage, mild grapefruit-peeled orange zesting and sour guava tartness ride above oats-flaked pilsner malting. Amber grained caramel toasting picked up dewy tobacco roast and dry fruit spicing for Red Giant, a buoyant red ale. Natural gluten-free sake gave Plasma IPA its rice-wined browning, millet grained buckwheat groating and honeyed Scotch tease. Dry orange blossom honeyed citrus engaged Star Gazer IPA, a mildly herbal grassy-hopped easygoer. Dark floral-perfumed grapefruit peel bittering, lemony orange zesting and ancillary pineapple-peach-mango tanginess stabilized dry wood-toned Quantum IPA, leaving herbal snips on the tail end. Aged on vanilla bean, Dark Vanilla (a loosely defined Cascadian Dark Ale), gained oaken vanilla, sweet bourbon and almond subtleties. Buttery soft-toned Extra Special Oak wedged oaken vanilla tannins onto chestnut, almond and praline illusions.  

HANGMAN BREWING COMPANY

HANGMAN BREWING COMPANY - 19 Photos - Breweries - 2703 Philadelphia Pike,  Claymont, DE - Phone Number CLAYMONT, DELAWARE Just outside of Wilmington in the sleepy village of Claymont, HANGMAN BREWING COMPANY sprung into action March '20 after a years worth of delays. Inside a tan-bricked mall (with blue awning) at the Town & Country Shopping Center at a former lawnmower repair shop, Hangman's founding manager Brad Wagner and head brewer Matthew Presley then had to shutdown due to Covid19 before reopening the tavern-like brewpub many months hence (closing permanently 2024). A cavernous pipe-exposed ceiling provides airy spaciousness to Hangman's otherwise compact one-room main space. An octagon-shaped, railroad tie-fronted lacquered wood bar (with 16 tap handles and 20 seats) spreads across one side of the cement-floored interior while high chair-bound seating and a cornered music stage fill out the rest.  A mezzanine area and small outdoor caged deck provide further seating. Local wines and spirits are available alongside a steady stream of fine small-batch ales emanating from the brew tanks hidden behind the bar. My wife and I converse with bartender Mo Russ and proprietor Wagner while downing four rangy (generically named) IPA's, a snazzy tripel, a fruited sour and flagship cream ale. Basic maize-dried barleycorn crisping suited grassy-hopped Hangman Light, a dry cream ale with mild herbal snips. Salted passionfruit tartness surfaced alongside sour lime for slightly acidic Passionfruit Sour, a mouth-puckering sucker given guava, gooseberry and white grape wisps. A fulsome standout, Belgian Tripel loaded lemon-wedged orange peel zesting and banana bubblegum sweetness with spicy white-peppered Chardonnay buttering above honeyed wheat base. Dewy compost earthiness sunk into the orange-tangerine oiling of Citra-hopped American IPA, an oats-based moderation. A fruity bouquet propels East Coast IPA, leaving red berry, red cherry, navel orange and tangerine tanginess as well as perfumed grapefruit zesting to outdo its piney remnant. Tingly sugar-spiced orange, pineapple and grapefruit juiciness sparked wood-dried West Coast IPA. Floral-perfumed lemony orange spicing paced dry Hazy IPA, a vaguely New England-styled medium body. On New Years Eve, 2021, revisited Hangman to imbibe another four diverse brews. Lemony raspberry spritz gained vinous green grape tartness as well as sour raw honeyed respite for Honey Raspberry Lemonade Sour, tendering a puckered sweet-tart finish. Dryly soft-toned NEIPA, Frosty The Hangman, brought candi-sugared Belgian yeast to delicate mandarin orange, tangerine and tangelo tanginess for a lovely Belgo-American treat. Dry English Brown Ale, Dark, let dewy brown leaf astringency pick up oily nuttiness above its burnt toast base. Mild ancho-adobo peppering and lightly seared nutty dark chocolate swayed Hot Kat Porter, leaving wintry spices on the back end.

WILMINGTON BREW WORKS

Andy Bass on Twitter: "Site #87: Wilmington Brew Works, 3129 Miller Rd.,  Wilmington, DE. In December 2020, this craft brewery released a beer  celebrating Joe Biden—RAIL CAR ONE: WILMINGTON TO WASHINGTON. Its WILMINGTON, DELAWARE Proud to be the first Wilmington, Delaware production brewery in 50 years, WILMINGTON BREW WORKS opened its doors in 2018. Inside the tan stucco Miller Road Station mall, this rustic gray cement-floored pub connects to La Pizzeria Metro, whose light Italian fare and pizzas match the easygoing craft beers produced by head brewer, Craig Wensell, a former Blackhawk helicopter crew chief and local music teacher inspired by his homebrewing uncle. In 2014, Wensell founded a home brew supply company and then began refining his brewing approach at nearby nano, Bellefonte Brewery. Now guiding a "family friendly" taproom, he has brought Wilmington Brew Works to prominence. A stark wood-beamed high ceiling hovers above the arched windows (with hanging lights and fans), adding a light goth feel. The white-tiled wood top serving station (with 20-plus draught handles) gets surrounded by community tables and dining seats. There are also plenty of outside tables, some of which are covered by the trellis near the entrance. Stainless steel brew tanks are in the rear. My wife and I try all nine fine beer selections available on my initial July '21 noon swoon. For starters, crisply clean light-bodied German pilsner, Synonym, a slightly musky Saaz-hopped standard-bearer with lemon-dried herbage grazing its dewy mineral graining. Spry lemony orange-dried fizzing and mild Vienna malt sweetness contained moderate-bodied helles lager, Krauch's Creation, a sessionable delight dedicated to a significant Delaware brewing pioneer. Today's menu also offered three variegated New England pale ales for perusing. Zesty orange and tangy tangerine gained mild vanilla creaming for hazy golden moderation, Oranjealini, a lemon-licked pale ale with dry hay base. Mellow yellow grapefruit bittering and brisk lemon zesting serenaded double dry-hopped New England pale ale, Return To Sender, fortified by dried oats flaking. Another similarly named NE pale ale, Undeliverable Mail, let salty yogurt-soured grapefruit, pineapple, guava and tangerine tropicalia glom onto lemony orange peel tanginess and distant pine needled bittering. Salty grapefruit-soured pineapple, guava and gooseberry tartness targeted dry champagne-fizzed 'fruited cuvee IPA,' Polychromatic Dream, a slightly offbeat tropical hybrid. Palate-cleansing fruited sour ale, Synaptic Solution: Rainbow Sherbet, plied salted lemon tartness to red grapefruit, strawberry and orange tanginess over non-lactic acidulated malts. Ultra-tart purplish red milkshake sour, Duvette, placed vanilla-creamed blackberry liming inside candied strawberry, blueberry, pineapple, mango, pomegranate and red cherry piquancy above almond-milked oats for puree-fruited Smoothie. Dry nutty black chocolate and ashen dark-roast hop bittering pervaded 'velvety' Irish-styled Oatmeal Stout, Bricfeasta Indiscretion, leaving walnut, Brazil nut and coffee tones upon its earthen-backed mocha finish.

STITCH HOUSE BREWERY

 

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE

Two miles south of Wilmington Brew Works, downtown Wilmington's STITCH HOUSE BREWERY came to fruition in 2018 (and closed August '24). Using "tailored to drink" as its slogan, the brownstone-fronted, cement-floored, 7,000 square foot pub features a 15-seat zinc-topped elongated bar (with 20-plus draught taps), mod Industrial decor (such as centralized aluminum community tables), wood benched rear tables and glass-encased stainless steel brew tanks.

An open kitchen serves sandwiches, wraps and burgers while specialty cocktails and fine spirits are also available.

The outdoor front deck gets packed on Saturday night as my wife and I try eight versatile brews mid-July '21.

Renaissance Man: Dan Sheridan and Stitch House Brewery | Edible Delmarva

Spritzy lemony orange fizzing peps up mild chamomile-lemongrass herbage and delicate coriander spicing above pillowy white wheat bed of Friends Witte Benefits, a tidy witbier.

Salty passionfruit pureed Berliner Weisse, Pucker Up, gained tartly limed lactobacillus souring over yogurt-soured wheat flouring.

Orange-dried floral spicing and herbal nuances dotted My Neck, Maibock's toasted amber-grained pilsner malting.

Lemony orange-peeled banana fruiting topped Shipley Saison, leaving polite clove-cardamom spicing on the rye-dried pilsner malt base.

Sharp citrus pining greeted Snitchz Get Stitchz, a dry Imperial IPA with herbal-spiced grapefruit, orange and pineapple licks.

Smoked beechwood gathered barley roasted sweetness and dewy scorched earthiness for Rauch Haus Smoked Marzen, an easygoing German rauchbier.

Coconut-toasted chocolate sweetness contrasted light-roast coffee tones for Coconut Pete's Porter, allowing vanilla, praline and buttermilk illusions to shelter the dewy peat bottom.

Black-malted dark chocolate chalking, nutty espresso tones and charred hops lightly embittered Sho Nuff Stout, recalling a dry Irish stout.