Capturing all the casual "urban ambiance" of former mill town, Phoenixville,
ROOT DOWN BREWING COMPANY occupies the old 13,000 square-foot red-bricked Superior Beverage warehouse on North Main and Bridge. A block from the Schuylkill River water walk, its friendly neighborhood feel suits the younger crowd moving into the revitalized borough.
An elongated slate-topped 25-seat bar services plastic chaired wood tables and the graffiti-walled, community-tabled, game-roomed backspace. Caged brew tanks behind the 26-plus barroom draught lines provide the vast vats of sundry suds.
The restored wood floor, exposed pipes and cavernous ceiling suit the hoary pub.
Down the road half a mile away at Uncle B's Bar BQ, Root Down Biergarten is right behind the barbecue diner serving both Root Down creations and local guest brews to wood picnic tables from a portable kiosk.
I tried all 23 available brews at Root Down's barreled street table on my mid-August '20 Phoenixville trip (quaffin' Real Deal Lager afterwards at the biergarten with wife and dog in tow). It truly seemed each soft-toned beer (many lagers or pilsners) weighed gentle on my mind.
Easygoing orange-dried lemon souring rose above dry pale malts for
Real Deal Lager, a reliable 'Southern-styled' moderation nearly as light as crisply clean lemon-pitted
Pils, a clear-straw German-styled pilsner with herbal spelt-alfalfa graining.
Perfumed corn grits, wet-grained acridity and floral-spiced citrus adorned
Keller Pils.
Mild grain musk suited dry Saaz-hopped 'contemporary lager,'
Crispy Boy, leaving wispy herbal residue.
Maize-dried corn grits and wort-like sourdough malts defined grassroots American lager,
Grit, picking up oily hop-bined lemon musk.
Raw wheat pungency lightly underscored wattle-seeded rye breading of specialty grain lager,
Summarye, relinquishing latent yellow-orange fruited wisps.
Dry
PA Lager safeguarded light dewy cereal graining with mellow lemon spicing and grassy hop astringency.
Dry grain rusticity seeped into candied lemondrop tartness for dry kolsch,
De La Soul, a popular choice among friendly locals this sunny afternoon.
Not as sweetly effervescent as most hefeweizens,
OG Haze relied less on banana-clove sustenance and more on dry lemon musk above its raw-honeyed wheat base.
Straightforward pale ale,
Keeper's Cut, let dry citrus-spiced pale malts surface abruptly.
Mildly pungent beige yellow-hazed pale ale,
Hoppy Digital, merged peppery lemon musk with orange rind bittering and grassy hop astringency over spelt-like oats.
Sedate IPA,
Flux, gathered mild yellow grapefruit bittering, dulcet mandarin orange tartness and dark floral herbage.
Groaty IPA,
Bine, brought bruised lemon bittering to lemongrass-fennel herbage and musky pale malts in a peculiar stylistic manner.
Lingered citrus hop bittering infused raspy New England IPA,
The Mock, as lemon-pitted juniper resin girded salted pineapple-papaya-guava tropicalia atop ultra-dry pale malts.
Mild lactic souring grazed hazy IPA,
Green Magic, bringing pithy juniper hop musk to lemony grapefruit zesting.
Another lactose-laden IPA,
Electric Soup, contrasted its grassy-hopped lemon rot and musky orange oiling against earthen grain-husked leathering.
Super-hazed beige-marbled IPA,
New Money, allowed lactic vanilla yogurt souring to influence light grapefruit-orange rind bitterness and herbal respite.
Soft-tongued triple dry-hopped Imperial IPA,
Three The Hard Way, sweetened its tangy orange-tangerine juiciness with floral-spiced crystal malting.
Blush pink oak-barreled sour ale,
Living Reflection, picked up minor green grape acidity to complement its peachy rosé wining and citric-salted Chablis remnant.
Peppery coriander salting spiced up zesty lemon sunshine for vibrant gose,
Salty By Nature.
Exquisite fruited sour ale,
Raspberry Fool, took incisive raspberry tartness to delicately vinous green grape esters, oaken cherry dryness, sparkling rosé effervescence, hard cider sharpness and salted mango splurge.
Upfront roasted chocolate malting gained coffee-stained charred hop bittering and wispy tobacco chaw juicing for generically-named, but well-defined
Baltic Porter.
Mild sea-salted brown chocolate sweetness embellished
Cosmic Bae, a delightfully smooth Milk Stout with dark toffee spicing countering its underlying bitter nutty hop char.
Soft-toned Imperial Stout,
Black Is Beautiful (a collaboration with Texas-based Weathered Souls), contrasted coffee-burnt dark chocolate bittering and cacao nibs nuttiness with sweet molasses oats.
WEST SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
Described as a 'punk rock space' with a serious 'resignation theme,' TWO WEEKS NOTICE BREWING COMPANY began operations about a year before opening its pub in West Springfield May '19. Urging its minions to 'quit what doesn't make you happy or fulfilled,' this unique bohemian outpost occupies a nondescript industrial storage container-fronted warehouse just a mile-and-a-half from the State Capital.
A black awning with white Two Weeks Notice insignia leads to the foyer entrance. In the low ceiling cement-floored main space, a beautiful blackened gray marble lacquered L-shape bar (with ten draught lines, Edison lights and prominent beer listing) consumes the right wall while a benched dining area and tented side deck provide seating.
A seven-barrel brewing system run by lankily musicianly head brewer, Mark Avery, is in the rear.
I stopped by on a rainy Wednesday afternoon late August '20 to try two interesting one-off brews while picking up a few more for off-site consumption.
Easygoing New Zealand-hopped pale ale, Stealing Happy Hour, brought lactic yogurt-like souring to puckered guava-gooseberry tartness, tannic green grape esters and zesty yellow grapefruit bittering over delicate oats-flaked white wheat in a crystalline watercress setting.
A zesty lemon thrust blazed thru kettle-soured Severance Package #6, resembling a hard-candied watermelon Jolly rancher given orange-tangerine lollipop licks and mild vanilla-extracted bittering.
I quaffed the following super suds in can at home a few days hence.
Though TWN is currently out of flagship, Resignation, its other year-round India Pale Ale, West Side Rig Slide IPA, proved worthy. One of Two Weeks Notice's best and boldest 'hop-forward ales,' utilizing Vic Secret, Citra and Motueka hops, its profound yellow grapefruit luster, oncoming passionfruit blast, juicy pineapple splatter and ripe orange tang gained sticky pine lacquered grain alcohol musk over super-sugary pale malt spicing.
Crisply clean light-bodied PTO Pilsner brought mildly tart lemon spicing and sweet corn-sugared crystal malting to a spritzy head in straightforward fashion.
Soft-toned citric farmhouse ale Punch Card Grisette retained a flattish dry mouthfeel for its tart raspberry adjunct, recalling a salty lemon-fizzed sour raspberry spritzer with mild barnyard acridity and latent cherry-cranberry riffs.
Unbalanced lawnmower beer, Perfect Review Batch #15 Kolsch, slapped vinous white-wined cider souring and wavered herb-spiced citrus tones above sourdough-breaded pilsner malts.
Crisply vigorous West Coast-styled Sticky Note Pale Ale allowed piney hop resin to usurp its dry juniper-nipped grapefruit and orange bittering.
Feathery Perfect Review Batch #17 IPA, a golden-hazed New England-styled charmer with lemony grapefruit-seeded bittering softly caressing tangy orange-spiced sugaring, let distant grassy-hopped cannabis oiling seep into the salty bottom of its fizzy placidity.
Pale aluminum-yellowed Fake Saturday Session IPA stayed crisply clean as brisk yellow grapefruit fizzing gained tingly mandarin orange snip and light white peppering over bready pilsner malting with affable light-bodied simplicity.
Ambitious dessert treat, Pink Slip Milkshake IPA, brewed with lactose and conditioned on mango-pureed strawberry, brought milk-sugared vanilla creaming to heavenly strawberry shortcake sweetness. its tart mango and strawberry adjuncts gained zesty tangerine, spritzy orange and tangy lemon cake splendor. 
WESTFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
Bringing 'good vibes' to the Bay State's Pioneer Valley, SKYLINE BEER COMPANY began slingin' suds in Westfield during December 2019. A cafeteria-styled tan paneled refuge perfect for families and friends as well as voyaging beer aficionados, Skyline's rangy brewpub offerings go well with casual pub fare.
Previously, Skyline operated in downtown Westfield, converting a 32-seat coffeeshop into a craft beer bar carrying the best local beers and selling beer supplies. At this friendly epoxy-floored farmhouse outpost, the quaint pine-barked polyurethane bar (with top shelf liquor competing with 12-plus taps) services three windowed corner pews, two large community tables, a right side dining area and spacious outdoor deck. Spiffy orange-red-floored brew tanks regale the rear and stakes were placed where the inevitable backyard expansion will begin.
Head brewer Dana Bishop concentrates on more traditional styles such as pilsners and stouts while assistant Lisa Pac pushes for 'outta the box' sour ales - kinda going outside Bishop's comfort zone. Meanwhile, experienced chef, Dan Osella, delivered delicious wings and a marvelous Caprese sandwich to my wife and I during our late August '20 dinnertime sojourn.
Happily, we discovered twelve irresistible brews, well-balanced and creatively detailed, before heading out.
Brusquely musky moderation, Noble View Pilsner, retained earthen grain must for its mild herbal-tinged lemon pith bittering expiditiously.
Maize-dried lemon rot scoured lagered yeast moderation, Landscape Kolsch, leaving a barnyard-leathered Noble hop kale trail.
Clean-watered pineapple puree briskness embellished citric Mosaic hop sunshine and piney Eldorado hop resin for Summa Slammah Pale Ale, brightening its sweet 'n sour pineapple tartness with tangy lemon-peeled grapefruit zesting.
Tart lemon-swirled raspberry pureed fruit ale, Raspberry Jam, gathered green grape, cranberry and oaken cherry souring to elevate its candied raspberry theme over delicate white wheat malts.
An even fruitier experience, Strawberry Fields, spread tart strawberry jam atop cinnamon apple sweetness, cranberry bittering, boysenberry buttering and Graham Cracker sugaring.
Soothingly tropical-fruited Imperial IPA, Cobble Mountain Critter, allowed dry-hopped grapefruit-peeled orange zest to enrapture spiced peach-mango sweetness as dank hemp resin spread across its grassy basin.
Brilliant NEIPA, Fire, amplified zesty lemon luster and grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering above mild pale malt sugaring, relegating its sour strawberry rhubarb tinge.
Fabulous Pina Colada knockoff, Escape IPA - Milkshake, brought mild lactic souring to salted lemony pineapple and coconut puree tartness as well as pink guava snips, rummy Margarita licks and resinous pine tones in a creamy vanilla setting.
Subtle blood orange tartness picked up spritzy lemon-limed salting for Margarita-soured Berliner Weiss, Blaze Orange, a gently woodruff-syruped cocktail.
Lemon-limed white wining absorbed raspberry vinaigrette acidity and dry limestone salting for beet red-marbled Triple BerryTrail Mix, a fruited sour ale with tertiary blueberry tartness and hard cider bite.
Dry Irish "Goodbye" Stout let coffee-stained dark chocolate, cocoa and carob pick up lightly walnut-seared hop bittering and raw-honeyed oats toasting.
Bitter coffee-induced dark chocolate black malting gained brown-sugared maple oats sweetness for Bumby's Black Oat Imperial Stout, grafting hop-charred nuttiness onto its mocha-spiced finish. 
EASTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS
In the same dusky warehouse facility as Abandoned Building Brewery and INSA marijuana dispensary, NEW CITY BREWERY began brewing Jamaican-style hard ginger beers in 2013 and opened this mill-based locale during 2015 before expanding its recipes to include non-ginger offerings. An inconspicuous black awning with white New City lettering fronts the red brick edifice housing this large microbrewery.
New City's Cathedral ceiling, expansive dining space, aluminum-stooled L-shaped bar, oaken wood splendor and exposed pipes provide chilling rusticity. The community-tabled patio with red-stamped concrete floor offers plentiful outdoor seating. And the pavilion walkway and park behind the lot offers casual charm. I perused New City during August '20.
Cane-sugared ginger sweetness received salted lemon-limed juicing for New City Hard Ginger Beer, attaching its initial bay-leafed gingered citrus rush to pineapple-splashed white pepper heat and recessive maple sapping for a nifty Jamaican ginger beer.
Ginger-spiced Moscow mule knockoff, New City Mule, retained a clean vodka nip in fairly authentic manner. Light white pepper heat lined the salty cocktail confection best served over ice.
Dry light-bodied wheat ale, Summer, let lemony mandarin orange subtlety coalesce with piney citrus-splashed effervescence, leafy hop foliage and tart apple-skinned quince blintz.
A fruitier version, Blood Orange Summer, embellished its adjunctive tart blood orange splash with perfumed tangerine musk, mild grassy hop astringency and dry pale malting.
Easygoing Berliner Weiss, Bramble Weiss, the 'brewers fruitiest sour ale,' leveled off spritzy raspberry and black cherry tartness for lemon-limed brambleberry sourness atop lightly salted white wheat malting. A positively laidback summertime soft drink.
Tart green grape esters gain sour lemondrop influence and grapefruit-pineapple-tangerine notions for Local Harvest Farmhouse Ale. But rustic herbal spicing and whiskey-soured cider slipstream falter at the wet-grained barnyard basin.
Sessionable Fenway Froth Session IPA gave its spicy grapefruit-peeled orange rind presence a bright floral bouquet, leaving piney Ekuanot hop resin to contrast the delicate crystal malt creaminess.
Equally approachable Citra-Mosaic-Simcoe-hopped Valley Flyer Hazy IPA brought tangy orange-peeled grapefruit zesting and advertised 'clementine, apricot and papaya' smidge to dry wood density and herbal respite in mildly bitter manner.
Tarry black-malted dark chocolate bittering paced Pioneer Valley Porter, leaving hop-charred blackstrap molasses, cinnamon bark and burnt walnut illusions to contrast less profound almond-hazelnut pasting. 
SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
In the heart of Pioneer Village's capital city, WHITE LION BREWING COMPANY became Springfield's first modern brewery in late 2020. Right off Route 90 in the rear of the UMass Center, this capacious sportsbar-like brewery is owned by local entrepreneurial publican, Raymond Berry, a well-respected urban revivalist.
Upon entering, White Lion's extremely long left side bar services glass-windowed Main Street tables, a VIP lounge and a few chaired tables. Its silver-barreled platform brew tanks are set behind glass. Manned by skillfully rounded brewmeister, Mike Yates (formerly of Amherst and Berkshire breweries), this mass appeal upscale gastropub's black art deco ceiling, exposed pipes and roomy elegance give the mall-bound joint a mod Industrial feel.
I bought a few White Lion offerings for the road during August '20 - while the place was still getting finished for late autumn opening.
Flagship Citra-Mosaic-hopped 2.0 Pale Ale retained laidback grapefruit-orange tanginess and delicate quince-grape-melon hints for wood-dried grassy hop astringency above white breaded pale malting.
Sunny yellow grapefruit-embittered orange peel tang consumed juicy Galaxy-hopped medium-full body, Galaxy IPA. Briskly sharp citrus zesting gained dry pine-toned juniper bite to contrast spicy pale malt sugaring.
A wonderful collaboration with Trillium (brewed at White Lion), fudgy caramel-burnt cocoa nuttiness led the way for Black Is Beautiful Imperial Stout, a toffee candied chocolate dessert with rummy bourbon vanilla specs and cinnamon-allspice-anise seasoning contrasting dark chocolate-y black coffee bittering.
Its flavor profile was amplified for adjunct-laden Black Is Beautiful Imperial Stout (with Papua New Guinea Vanilla Beans) as dark chocolate-fudged vanilla bean creaming squared off against milk-sugared coffee surge as bitter tar-like hop char contrasted ancillary toffee spicing and peanut-oiled almond, hazelnut and coconut snips. (The Trillium brewed version is listed separately in Beer Index). 
ROYERSFORD, PENNSYLVANIA
Inside a raw open-spaced yellow brick warehouse down the alley from Dollar General at a highway-bound Royersford shopping center, STICKMAN BREWS (with a second location at nearby Chester Springs) started up its small-batch operation during December 2015 (and closed October 2023). Occupying Sly Fox's former production facility, Stickman crafts "American ales with a Belgian twist" as well as British and German-influenced potions.
Its slate-topped, eight-seat, twelve draught central serving station (with overhead round metal Stickman insignia) gets its looming rustic appeal from the old exposed pipes, high aluminum ceiling, black pendant lighting and cement-floored antiquity.
Head brewer Brendan Breslin (hired by owner/ brewmaster Ethan Buckman) enjoyed Dogfish Head's concept of utilizing different adjuncts for off-centered, style-bending, hand-crafted ales and many of his finest creative offerings benefit from that dynamic philosophy. Originally a home brewer, Breslin interned at Philly's Manayunk Brewing in 2015 before leading the troops at Pottstown United Brewing - joining Stickman thereafter.
Stickman's silver-tanked brew room spreads across the right side alongside bottling-canning operations. A musky mash tun aroma hits me quick as I enter thru the inconspicuous stair-cased back door.
Since Stickman was not open for on-site consumption this Wednesday afternoon in August '20, I bought several cans for the road. Reviews below.
Young People Fun Party Pilsner - Effervescent floral-perfumed lemon spicing engaged grassy herbal hops and dry hay-like pilsner malting in simply refined fashion.
Mauger's Lager - Dewy amber-grained lager pasting picked up orange-oiled tangerine tartness, rotted lemon smear and raw honeyed snip for brown-toasted Vienna lager.
General Merriment Marzen Lager - Multi-grained honeyed biscuit sweetness gained slim Scotch notch and mild orange spicing.
Swill Maibock Lager - Tart orange-red fruiting faded alongside desolate floral spicing above sourdough breading for a pedestrian springtime moderation.
Minor Digression Hefeweizen - Unstylistic white-wined cider sharpness and spritzy orange spicing defied banana-clove expectancy while corn-whiskeyed boozing and banana daquiri reminder wavered.
Plain Chicken Nuggets Pale Ale - Zestful sunshine-hazed pale ale with IPA-sharp grapefruit juicing, brisk orange tang and subtle sugared spicing galvanizing mild citric hop bittering over white bread base.
Binns Motor Inn Gose - Weirdly sequenced salted gose peculiarity with corn sugared honey malts buttressing sour lemon candied pucker and acrid barnyard leathering in mushy mix, gaining unexpected cinnamon spicing when warmed.
Captialism Belgian Blonde with Cherry - Calm crimson-glowed Kriek-like maibock spin-off relegated its sedate salt-pinched cherry tartness as green grape esters, candied pineapple souring and blood orange rasping emitted cotton-candied lollipop dollop to thin sweet-tart cherry blonde.
Arming The Rebels India Pale Ale - Dry grapefruit-peeled lemon spritz exerted sunny thrust and tart orange-candied respite for resinous pine needling contrasting back-ended sweet cereal graining of efficient hazy yellowed moderate-medium body.
Heavy C.R.E.A.M. (with Vanilla and Milk Sugar) - Milk-sugared vanilla creaminess guides lactic Double IPA as lemon-soured grapefruit and orange rind bittering soaks dry pine resin to contrast less prominent cotton-candied coconut and pineapple tropicalia as well as salted mango, guava and banana illusions.
Store Bought Is Fine Double India Pale Ale - Despite generic white label, fluffy white-headed yellow-hazed summertime fodder proved exhilarating as sunny lupulin-powdered lemon zesting, juicy yellow grapefruit insurgence and piquant candied citrus tartness gained lactic yogurt souring before reaching its lightly creamed oats-flaked crystal malt base.
Hotline Bling Double IPA with Blueberries/ Roasted Vanilla - Murkily prune-hued full body brings lactic milk-sugared souring to ultra-creamy alcohol-spiked vanilla pasting and lightly glazed blueberry tartness. Drifting blueberry vanilla syruping gains abrupt green grape, guava and gooseberry tartness as well as ascending tangerine juicing sharpened by sly hop-embittered pine lacquering. Endlessly expressive.
Naked Lunch Imperial Stout - Mild oaken bourbon influence spreads thru bitter molasses-licked dark chocolate syruping and oaken vanilla splurge reinforced by hop-charred wood sear of rich cream-fluffed mahogany body.
Proto Hipster Barleywine - Luxuriously creamed brown chocolate syruping richly drapes sturdy prune-stewed raisin resolve as hazelnut-glazed chestnut, pecan and cola auxiliary and mild cinnamon-toasted coffee milking knock on the chewy caramel malt base. 
WARETOWN, NEW JERSEY
Celebrating their second anniversary in May '20, rustic nanobrewery, OYSTER CREEK BREWING CO. is tucked away in the middle of a small mall in the unincorporated Jersey Shore hamlet of Waretown.
Its cozy, concrete-floored, crimson-walled 24-seat barroom offers a few signature beers (cream ale/ stout/ IPA) alongside many rangy one-off delights.
Entrepreneurial brewer, Kris Lewis, a former homebrewer, initially enjoyed Sam Adams Cherry Wheat, Guinness Stout, Yuengling Lager and Brooklyn Chocolate Stout during his developing years.
On my early August '20 journey, I consumed a diverse menu of sampled libations under the makeshift covered tent in the rear.
Oyster Creek's "gateway" beer, macro-lagered Yellow Cake Cream Ale, rendered maize-dried flaked corn graining, dried orange spicing and sour vegetal notions in a light-bodied setting.
Fizzy Seltzer-like Halflife Hefeweizen (Blueberry) let mild blueberry tartness sink slowly into its delicate honeyed wheat spine.
Bitter Clover honeyed malts seeped into black tea musk, mossy fungi-cellared earthen truffle pungency and Lemondrop-hopped oaken cherry snips for Skyshine Honey Beer.
Tangy blood orange goodness lavished Beta Particle Blood Orange Wheat Ale, picking up clementine, tangerine and tangelo illusions above its mild white wheat base.
A straightforward traditional Irish Red Ale, Heavy Water Irish Ale left amber-grained sugaring upon leafy cigarette-roasted dewy peat.
Citric-bound Huell Melon hops gave Nautilus New England IPA an ester-y green grape souring embraced by lemon meringue tartness above flaked wheat malts.
Hybridized Nauti But Nice Milkshake IPA plied tangy mango juicing to pastry-sugared vanilla eclair creaming with a light lemon-soured grapefruit twist. Its cotton-candied Orange Creamsickle finish retained a bubblegummy Tutti-Frutti resolve.
Lemony orange tanginess picked up lactose-soured vanilla milkiness and sweet floral accents above oats-flaked mineral graining for Critical Mass, a bountiful New England-styled IPA utilizing Citra and Mandarina Bavaria hops.
Moderate chili heat endowed Meltdown Habanero IPA, a habanero peppered hop-header with sweet green pepper reminder and lacquered varnish residue settling above its dry-hopped pale malting.
Dark candi-sugared Belgian pilsner malts sweetened Tihange Dubbel, a rich black coffee-stained Belgian ale with ample dried fruiting.
One of my faves, kettle-soured Berliner Weiss, Singularity Sour (Blackcurrant), spread citric lactobacillus acidity all over mango-salted blackcurrant perkiness and lemon-limed kiwi, guava and gooseberry tropicalia (as well as tart pomegranate-cranberry-boysenberry illusions).
Infused with vanilla, luxurious DarkMatter Vanilla Porter reached heavenly heights as molasses-sugared spiced rum sweetness girded coffee-milked dark chocolate bittering and toasted cinnamon niceties while vanilla white-caked frosting sealed the deal.
Light roast coffee led soft-toned Coldfusion Coffee Milk Stout, spreading its cold-steeped coffee extract over milk-sugared rolled oats groating.
During June '23 two-hour stop off, enjoyed six more previously untried suds, plus the updated Nauti But Nice Mango Milkshake IPA - a sharply zestier upgrade with juicy mango tanginess breaching brisk grapefruit peel bittering, lacquered pine tones and honeyed pale malts.
A nifty variant, Halflife (Cranberry) kept sugared cranberry sauciness atop Hallertau hop herbage and honeyed wheat malting - finishing like a cranberry vodka.
Gooey Swedish fish candy sendup, 3 Eyed Fish Lime Gose, combined salty lime juicing with sugary lemonade and dry cherry.
Black grape tartness spread into mild charred hop bittering for Plutonium 94 Black IPA, hiding its hefty 10% ABV behind blackened mocha malts.
Tarry black chocolate and dark-roast coffee fronted Atomsmasher Irish Stout, leaving black-peppered smidge on its barley-flaked Maris Otter malt bottom.
Lovely fruited mocha nightcap, Nuclear Attraction Chocolate Cherry Stout, knocked off a cherry chocolate cake with its bruised dark cherry tartness draped by dark chocolate syrup and given dry burgundy-bourbon binge and molasses oatmeal whims.
Soft-toned English barleywine, Ceresfavor, retained elegant whiskeyed cherry warmth as well as raspberry-pureed cherry pie tartness and wispy floral perfuming.
On a Friday evening in August '23, two delectable dessert treats, one West Coat-inspired IPA and a fruited wheat beer caught my attention.
Mannered Betaport Blood Orange Wheat Ale took its tangy blood orange adjunct to orange-powdered tangerine tartness atop honeyed white wheated crystal malting.
Re-creating a Pina Colada cocktail, coconut-toasted pineapple sweetness endured for offshoot Halflife (Pineapple-Coconut), a richly vanilla creamed wheat ale with cake-like buttercream frosting.
Tartly fruited Marie Currie Blueberry Cheesecake Cream Ale crammed blueberry pie goodness into marshmallow vanilla creaming as cinnamon-spiced strawberry pureeing ascended.
Soft-toned May the 4th India Pale Ale brought murkily perfumed citrus musk to Simcoe-hopped pine lacquer and juniper-embittered currant daubs. 
PHOENIXVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA
Perched between Root Down and Stable 12 on Phoenixville's fabulous beer-centric downtown strip, CROWDED CASTLE was formed by a few homebrewing friends doing small social events to show off their brewing prowess before beginning contract brewing. Adventurous beer designer, Mark Sofio, one of Crowded Castle's main craftsmen, continually concentrates on delighting local patrons and traveling beer seekers with a fine array of style-bending concoctions - refining recipes if need be to come up with better elixirs.
"I don't need to make the only beer you drink, I just wanna be in your repertoire," former stay-at-home dad Sofio claims.
Open during Memorial Day 2017 (and closed June '21) at a former Elks Club lounge, Crowded Castle's front-windowed Prohibition Era-styled pub features art deco-styled bronze ceiling tiles, three hanging pendant lights, exposed black pipes, earthtone brick walls and a glazed cement floor.
An L-shaped, wood-beamed, slate-top bar services the right side lounge area and surrounding high-chaired tables. The backroom's seven-and-a-half barrel brew tanks and six fermenters provide the liquid fun and an executive chef was recently hired to run the small kitchen.
While hanging out with Sofio on an early Wednesday afternoon in August '20, I quaffed all eleven available brews.
Soft-toned lemony grapefruit perfuming and sweet floral-spiced herbage picked up earthen Saaz hop mustiness for mildly crystal malt-creamed Koning Gambrinus Pilsner, a solid light-bodied opener.
An orange-rotted lemon twist and tannic green grape wining rode above corn-husked pale malt spicing for cider-licked Castle Lager, a durable musty-grained moderation.
Dewy peat moss and grassy hop rusticity grazed citric-dried grape esters for Gilded Kolsch, a resolute straw-yellowed pilsner-malted easygoer with delicate floral juniper snips.
Mellow rice-wined French yeast provided a champagne spritz for Meyer lemon-salted farmhouse ale, Ble Saison, leaving lemongrass herbage on the back end.
Candi-sugared Belgian yeast advanced pastry-like tripel, Peace Ale, letting spiced apricot sail alongside rum raisin sweetness.
An interesting combination of British golden ale malts fermented with Belgian yeast, Ovolo placed candied mandarin orange spicing alongside floral-perfumed amber graining.
Date-sugared plum spicing crystallized Mod Quad, a creamily molasses-dipped medium-full body with auxiliary rum raisin, banana bubblegum and bruised orange sweetness.
Murkily yellow-hazed Fog U IPA utilized tart Huell Melon hops, bringing salted gooseberry-guava souring and grapefruit rind bittering to mild lemon meringue vanilla creaming.
Lemon-juiced grapefruit zest, salted mango bittering and spiced orange tartness lingered for Juice My Imagination NEIPA, a lightly lactic yellow-glazed medium body perfect for expansive hop-heads.
Spritzy sour-candied raspberry tartness provided mouth-puckered goodness for Sour Notes (Raspberry), punctuated by musky yellow grape, cranberry, huckleberry, strawberry and cherry rhubarb piquancy.
Mild coffee-roasted dark chocolate malting anchored maple oats-sugared Midnight Stout, a nut-charred mocha-bound nightcap. 
Easygoing pinkish amber-hued Hot Wit Ends, a juicily fruited hybridized witbier, sprayed lemon zest onto its floral-cologned spicing, Lemondrop-hopped dragon fruit adjunct and auxiliary watermelon-passionfruit-guava illusions, gaining mild astringency from the hay-dried spine.
Dry-hopped pale ale, Scratch The Surface, employed fruity Citra-Mosaic hops to engage its dank wood surface and oats-flaked pilsner malt base.
Summery dry-hopped cucumber IPA, I'm Just Visiting, a celery-crisped beige yellowed moderation, draped cucumber-pureed citrus spicing all over limey watermelon souring and leathery wheated oats.
Tempered vanilla bean creaming gained lactic insistence for tangy mango-pureed tropical fruit, Cosmic Passage, a vibrant milkshake NEIPA with juicy orange-tangerine tanginess caressing its sweet 'n sour dessert-like spectrum.
Utilizing Norwegian Kviek yeast to brighten its tropical-fruited Galaxy/ Vic Secret hops, Norse Star IPA left lemon-limed pineapple, grapefruit and peach tang on the brisk piney trail to a wispy white wheat bottom.
Clean mineral-watered Kviek yeast also fortified the woody citrus hop foundation of The Four Norseman, a sunny IPA with candied tangerine and sour passionfruit riffs (as well as tertiary pineapple, peach and mandarin orange snips) parading thru its delicate oats-flaked malting.
"Red Hawaiian Punch"-like Windows of Hoppiness unleashed cedar-sweetened candied fruiting upon its zesty lemon sunshine and soft-toned pine bittering.
Milk-sugared vanilla and coffee beans paced luxurious lactic-aided hybrid, Calmer Than Cream Cafe Ole, a delightfully smooth pale-malted moderation with spritzy lemon zesting adding citric sunshine to the cinnamon-toasted pastry midst and coffee-caked brown sugar finish.
PHOENIXVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA
Located along Bridge Street's brewers alley in a white stucco barn house one-quarter mile from Crowded Castle, Phoenixville's STABLE 12 BREWING CO. came into existence during mid-2015 when three long-time beer lovin' friends pursued their dream of opening a brewpub.
Residing at a former horse stable, this friendly neighborhood cement-floored shack features an aluminum-sided main room with wooden chairs and tables sidling the 12-seat bar. In the rear, Stable 12's silver brew tanks line the side walls of an unfinished space.
Serving burgers, sandwiches and bar bites to a full crowd this Tuesday evening in August '20, my wife and I grab a picnic table under one of the maroon umbrellas at the side biergarten to try seven heavenly offerings.
Mild maize-dried corn grits received a lemony grapefruit spritz for The American Dream, a sturdy German-styled pilsner placing raw-grained straw wheat, alfalfa and hay astringency at the rustic finish.
Tart springtime witbier, Razzle Dazzle, let sour raspberry piquancy gain mildly vinous white wine acidity and mellow rosé wisps atop dry oats-flaked white wheat base.
Kettle-soured gose, Day In The Park - Blueberry / Pomegranate, retained vinous white-wined Zinfandel splendor to complement coriander-salted lacquered blueberry tartness and lightly embittered pomegranate splurge (as well as raspberry-gooseberry snips).
Conditioned on strawberry, cherry and blackberry, Fresh Picked: Lemonberry, a tartly fruited sour, brought salted lemon-peeled lime bittering to oaken cherry-soaked berry goodness.
Crisply clean citrus-juiced Imperial IPA, Firefly Skies, allowed lemony grapefruit zest to brighten the spritzy mandarin orange midst above mineral grained pale malts.
Perfectly sessionable NEIPA, Live To Fight Another, permeated its mild grapefruit bittering and lemon custard tartness with lactic vanilla creaming over mild pale malt sugaring.
"Velvety" coffee-induced chocolate malting greeted barley-roasted flaked oats for Rodeo Clown Imperial Stout, leaving maple molasses syruping upon the durable mocha finish. 