HAMMONTON, NEW JERSEY
Inspired by the spirit of rock 'n roll, VINYL BREWING COMPANY opened for business autumn '17. One of three newly established breweries gracing the blueberry capital of Hammonton, halfway between Philly and Atlantic City, Vinyl is headed by entrepreneurial punk rockin' head brewer, Jim Sacco, a former homebrewer who started crafting elixirs at nearby Three 3's Brewing.
Inside a centrally located tan-bricked garage house with two glass overhead doors, the cement-floored open space features a 20-stooled serving station, a few surrounding tables, two blue brick-walled TV's, various exposed pipes, the famous NYC-shirted John Lennon poster, walled album covers and a hard-to-find bottle and can beer collection at the middle metal beam.
Sacco's suds are a fine array of limited edition one-offs and a few seasonal to year-round staples pulled from a small-batch three-barrel system. I settled in one rainy Friday evening in April '19 to sample ten fine samples.
Delectable flagship, creamily soft-tongued MRE Belgian Blonde, kicked things off with spritzy candi-sugared lemon zest and clove-spiced orange peel sweetness embellishing its dewy Vienna-malted oats base.
Next, dryly passionfruit-imbued saison, What Happened To The Passion, let limey lemon-juiced passionfruit, guava and gooseberry tartness infiltrate its leathery barnyard acridity.
Sweet lemon-dropped tartness picked up herbal residue forFully Actualized Saison.
Sea-salted coriander spicing received puckering lime souring and lactic lemon yogurt caking to engage dry gose,Dag.
Lemon-juiced grapefruit bittering and light wood dryness scoured Citra-Amarillo-hopped cream ale, He Wears T-Shirts Sometimes.
Sunnily soft-toned DDH Advances Citra Pale Ale placed lemony grapefruit, mandarin orange and blood orange zest above bready malts.
Just as briskly easygoing, Souvenir IPA let lingered grapefruit bittering and wispy melon snips gain minor pine resin above sugared oats malting.
Stylishly straightforward Razor Burn IPA brought mild grapefruit-orange-tangerine tanginess to the fore above lightly spiced oats-wheat malting in a clean-watered setting.
Dry rye-malted Element 115 Honey Rye Porter soaked chalky cocoa-chocolate bittering in sinewy dark honey.
Milk-sugared brown chocolate contrasted dry cocoa powdering for VP The Punk Milk Stout, a lovely dark ale with fudged brownie undertones.
The ever-popular double dry-hopped Advances In Modern Technology went undiscovered.
www.vinylbrewingnj.com
CLARKSBORO, NEW JERSEY
New Jersey's first coffee-beer brewhouse opened at the Villages of Whisky Mill in Clarksboro during August 2017. Playing tribute to the first hunting club in America, homebrewers Chuck Garrity and Dan Natkin initially partnered up because they liked German and Brit styled beers, leading to the creation of humble café-styled pub, DEATH OF THE FOX BREWING COMPANY.
An L-shaped 18 stool bar services three front-windowed tables, three mid-room tables, one community table and plush left side living room furnishings. Caged Edison lights hang from the high pipe-exposed aluminum ceiling and an emblematic Death of The Fox crest highlights the bright red right wall above six historic hunting portraits.
While the backroom brewery creates rangy regularly rotated fare and engaging one-off limited edition beers for the sixteen draught lines, a full menu of flavored coffees are also brewed here.
During my two-hour Friday afternoon visit, April '19, I consumed ten original elixirs with my wife before heading to Renault Winery & Golf Club for further relaxation.
Lemon-peeled coriander spiced up modest flagship witbier, Sunshine Patriot, a casual off-dry summertime refresher with wheat-cracked sugared wafer spine.
Another fine flagship offering, New England-styled IPA, Hazy Crazy Diamond, grazed lactic milk-souring barley flouring against lemon-dropped grapefruit, peach and mango tanginess over groaty rolled oats.
Straight-up citrus moderation, Overflow Double IPA, stayed stylishly conforming as its grapefruit-peeled orange tang and zesty lemon spritz picked up herbal piney hop resin.
Goose-berried Huell Melon hops provided mild guava, passionfruit and pomegranate tartness for Dual Hop -Sterling Melon IPA, leaving unexpected pastry-caked donut residual upon deceptive cinnamon sugaring in a happily offbeat manner.
Easygoing dry-bodied Hessian Session Kolschbrought sour lemon-rotted grape esters to crisp spelt-grained pale malting.
Brown-sugared dried fruiting remained low key for caramel-spiced Reynard's Last Chance Doppelbock, a sedately plum-date-induced moderation with mossy earthen dewiness.
Roasted caramel malting picked up dry earthen nuttiness for middling Hulda's Black Forest Schwarzbier.
Hazelnut-glazed brown chocolate sweetness absorbed delectable English brown ale, Hazelnut Hound, leaving cocoa-powdered dried fruiting on its nutty mocha resonation.
Smoky milk chocolate creaminess defined the nitrogenated version of Stout Heard Round The World.
My fave was wonderful winter warmer,Spruce Wintersteen, where spruce-tipped fern minting sidled milk chocolate richness and juniper berry bittering in a most refreshingly unconventional way.
www.deathofthefoxbrewing.com
HAMMONTON, NEW JERSEY
A half-mile from Vinyl Brewing at an old red brick warehouse down the block from residential housing in a bleak industrial setting, Hammonton's TOMFOOLERY BREWING COMPANY came to fruition, December 2015 (and closed 2024).
The former bottling home of defunct Eastern Brewing Company, this rustic cement-floored high-ceilinged warehouse pub features a front-walled purple Tomfoolery banner, large backroom 7-barrel brew system and a separate right side room still being developed. The 12-stool U-shaped silver top bar holds sixteen-plus draught taps and six metal-leather tables furnish the spacious interior. A fridge carries canned product.
Traditionalist brewers Shawn Grigus (a former Egg Harbor brewing supplier) and his electrical engineering 'alewife,' Gayle D'Abate, have won many accolades for their well-defined standard fare.
I spent an hour-and-a-half happily perusing Tomfoolery's cheekily self-defined 'serious beers' in late April '19.
Dry pilsner-malted oats lied beside herbal Saaz hops, spritzy citric licks and mild barnyard acridity for light-bodied Not So Old Bohemian Pilsner.
Sour-candied lemon drops indulged dryly pale-malted moderation, A.C Lager, a politely straightforward, highly sessionable flagship.
Seltzer-like lemon briskness and tangy orange spurts remained subtle above pleasant perfume-spiced herbal whims for cagey Kanoe Kolsch.
Mustily lemon-soured banana and clove tartness overrode the cracked wheat dryness ofOrbit The Sun Hefeweizen, gaining sweet vanilla undertones.
A gentle pilsner malt base softened expressive Crack Concrete Belgian Tripel, leaving tingly lemon-sugared banana bubblegum sweetness and pithy grapefruit zest to contrast herbal fungi mustiness.
Out of the three IPA's tried, each had its own simple distinctions. Easygoing New England IPA, Eastie Boys, placed tangy lemon-licked mandarin orange and navel orange juicing above light dry wood tones.
Brisk Citra-Mosaic-hopped Sun Grown IPA brought blood orange, grapefruit rind and lemon zest passion to astringent hop resin.
Sorta blending the two, Take Flight Double IPA left floral citrus spicing upon mellow piney hop bittering.
Dewy dried fruiting subsumed Bob's Bottle House Bock, keeping its sweet caramel malting subtle.
Nutty espresso dryness countered milk-sugared chocolate malting for smoothly creamed Feck Off! Irish Stout.
Peat-smoked brown chocolate fronted S.M. Alder Imperial Smoked Porter, a cocoa-milked dark ale with sedate coffee roast.
Though it's only limited edition, Tomfoolery's second version of Wee Bit O' Milis (2019) utilized honey-glazed Irish potato candies to sweeten doughy sugar cookie, vanilla bean, cinnamon and coconut subtleties in a most mellow way.tomfoolerybrewing.com
GLASSBORO, NEW JERSEY
In a large brown aluminum fortress near Glassboro's Rowan University, BONESAW BREWING CO. offers bucolic splendor for the former glass manufacturing borough. Opened June 2018, this family friendly brewing lodge spreads across 20,000 square feet and its patio-benched front porch leads directly to its overhead-doored interior.
Bonesaw's capacious A-framed high ceiling features exposed pipes and fancy overhead lighting while the windowed rear brew tanks provide sudsy fare for the 33 draught taps at the 20-stooled left bar (with two TV's and a blackboard beer menu). Metal furnishings and lacquered wood tables fill out the right side.
As my wife and I grab seats at the patio this sunny Good Friday afternoon, April '19, I sample twelve fine offerings.
For starters, wet-grained light body, Pummel German Pilsner, retained a musky herb-snipped lemon spritz and dry fennel snip.
Sweet Vienna malts, frisky dried fruiting and light biscuit-y breading defined Crimson Skull Vienna Lager.
Musky corn-dried moderation, Silver Queen Cream Ale, also suited blue collar thirsts with its quaint yellow fruiting and lightly sugared pale malting proving inoffensively easygoing.
A fine hybrid, Irish coffee-inspired Irish Queen Cream Ale saddled its cold-brewed coffee entry with whiskeyed vanilla sugaring to contrast the lactic milk souring and whimsical black peppering.
Better still, smoothly creamed éclair-headed Double Vanilla Cream - Nitroretained sweet orange-peeled vanilla caking and sugared pale malting for a dainty Creamsickle dessert.
Delightful Belgian witbier, Demon Blanc, laced wheat-honeyed banana sweetness thru lemony mandarin orange tartness, mild coriander-clove spicing and wispy herbal snips.
Stylishly dryer with light barnyard-leathered fungi herbage, Le Petit Demon Belgian Blonde let white-peppered lemon zest pep up its sweet banana continuance, tart mandarin orange spritz, sour guava tease and mild floral spicing.
Off-dry Amputator Doppelbocklet brown-sugared dried fruiting seep into its dewy malt setting.
A juicy grapefruit-forward IPA, Swoosh maintained brisk lemon-zested orange rind bittering and slight herbal peppering to contrast tangy mango-peach-cantaloupe sweetness.
Dry cocoa nuttiness enamoredLone Squirrel Brown Ale, leaving black chocolate syruping upon its hop-charred walnut bittering.
Sweet milk chocolate gave Mr. Hanks Extra Stout a candied Milk Duds likeness embellished by coconut, bourbon and burnt caramel illusions to buttress its mildly embittered Blackstrap molasses-dipped coffee roast.
Serene espresso-milked coffee roast anchored creamy éclair-headed St. Bridget's Dry Irish Stout, a St. Patrick's Day favorite with a nutty reserve.
bonesawbrewing.com
CRANFORD, NEW JERSEY
Buried inside a diminutive shop in the heart of Central Jersey, Cranford-based YALE TERRACE BREWERY opened for business December 6, 2017. A mile and a half from legendary local , Climax Brewing, this funky green-walled nanobrewery's mellow neighborhood café feel has the locals feelin' fine.
An oaken L-shaped serving station with fourteen barstools gets sidled by four small right side tables and two rear pews close to the brew tanks. A small community table at the front window adds to the friendly coffeehouse atmosphere.
Crafting approximately 70 different elixirs in only 19 months, these hard-workin' denizens obviously ain't afraid to experiment a tad.
On my rainy Friday night sojourn, April '19, I got to sample eight rangy brews.
Delightful citrus-spiced Ox And Goat Pale Ale gained minor wood tones at its dry finish.
Basic #161 Main IPA maintained a quaintly bittersweet dry-hopped herbal citrus theme tinged by floral notions in a moderate-medium-bodied setting.
Zesty grapefruit juicing marked Yale Imperial IPA, bringing spunky herbal bittering and lacquered wood dryness to the fore alongside bitter orange rind snips.
Dark chocolate bittering consumedSalted Caramel Porter, leaving its burnt caramel salting in the backdrop alongside ashen hop char.
Dark-roast coffee, dark chocolate and espresso tones saddled burly molasses oats-sugared Oatmeal Stout.
Then came the sour ales. A gentle ghost-peppered habanero burn picked up vinous green grape esters for Chocolate Habanero Sour Stout, letting its dry dark chocolate influence simmer.
Red wine must serenadedWine-Infused IPA, a dry variant with lemony green grape pucker and pencil shavings illusions.
Leathery Flanders Red-likeRed Sourstayed vibrant as piquant red wine sweetness contrasted dry white wine esters and the finishing alcohol burn.
www.ytbrewery.com
CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY
Inside a blue aluminum storehouse at Cape May Airport, expansive CAPE MAY BREWING COMPANY operates not only this high-ceilinged back-decked brewpub, but also another brewing facility just a few hundred feet away.
The main space at the pub includes a capacious large-barreled brew room with massive silver tanks centering cement-countered red stools. This leads into a hangar-like main serving station with more red-stooled furnishings, 20 draught handles, front-walled large screen TV and gargantuan man-eating shark mural.
But the most prominent spot may be the stamp concrete-sealed back deck. A closed-in outdoor space with red umbrellas and plenty of seating, its backyard beer garden charm was undeniable this sunny afternoon.
Opened in 2011 by two Villanova grads, Cape May Brewing continues to expand its brewing boundaries both functionally and creatively. A licensed pilot, Ryan Krill, founded Cape May along with fellow Wildcat, Chris Henke, becoming one of New Jersey's largest craft breweries post-haste.
In its present 2019 configuration, sour ales are crafted at the central brew room while the separate cement-floored warehouse down the road houses a massive 30 BBL silver tank system, a canning line and storage center (with a backroom microbiologist keeping the yeast strain pure).
On my initial noon time voyage in early April '19, I grabbed a seat at the barroom's granite-topped L-shaped bar to consume ten rangy samples. Since then, I've consumed at least two dozen more Cape May beverages on tap at popular beer pubs.
Worthy Cascade-hopped flagship offering, Cape May IPA, provided floral sugar-spiced grapefruit and orange peel tanginess for lightly pungent herbal grassed hop musk, leaving tertiary peach, pineapple and mango juicing on its sunny citrus parade.
Not as stylishly rich or resilient, yet totally accessible, R.A.D. 008 Hazy IPA brought easygoing grapefruit sunshine and zesty mandarin orange mist to mild grassy hop astringency above sugary pale malts.
Another IPA, Catch The Drift, lacked the expected haze of a New England version, but its floral citrus alacrity, lemony banana tartness and herbal spiced niceties spread goodness all around.
Creamily viscous beige yellow-hazed New England-styled IPA, Krusty's Partially Gelatinized Gum-Based Beverage, gathered lactic yogurt milk souring for lemon-dropped orange juicing and grapefruit sugaring, combining zesty citric-pined Azacca, Idaho 7 and Cashmere hop varieties.
Upping the citric hop quotient for its molasses-sapped dried fruiting, Sawyer Swap Barleywine left black grape, dark cherry and green raisin illusions upon tobacco-roasted dewy peat.
Stylishly subtle Devils Reach Belgian Strong Ale merged lemon-soured pineapple tartness and delicate orange-bruised sweetness with mild fennel-spiced white peppering and herbal barnyard leathering.
Sour red wine-barreled brown ale, Lady In Red 10, used its musky black currant-spiced dry plum adjunct to advance mildly acidic purple grape esters, oaken vanilla tartness and vinous Flanders Red-like cherry respite.
Dark-roast coffee, black chocolate and charred walnut blackened Cape May Nitro Stout, a soft-tongued smoothie that compares favorably toHoney Porter Nitro, where raw-honeyed dark cocoa picked up blackstrap molasses bittering and herbal Hallertau hop snips.
Coffee-stained Last Hurrah Imperial Stout left dark chocolate malting upon recessive hazelnut, walnut and Brazil nut earthiness in solid fashion.
In a small mall on the way to the beach off NJ Parkway, Point Pleasant's FRYE BREWING COMPANY opened June '17. The familial entrepreneurial product of Colleen and Mike Frye, this inconspicuously small microbrewery serves its community well.
At the glass entrance, the Frye logo and a Point Pleasant emblem welcome customers to the epoxy-floored one-room space. Streetlights adorn the right side serving station (spotlighting a poured concrete bar top and rusty corrugated steel siding) and brew tanks stake the rear. Frye's three white picnic tables, six high boy stools and low-ceilinged exposed pipes provide spare detail.
Before heading out after my one-hour April '19 visit, I sampled a half-dozen Frye faves, including four dark ales, one IPA and an Irish Red.
Enigmatic Irish Red Ale, IrishBlood Sweat & Tears, let sea-salted blood orange tartness drift off into dewy Scotch-licked beechwood smoke, picking up roasted tobacco crisping and light éclair creaming in a weirdly compelling way.
Named for Elon Musk's rocket launch, vibrant India Pale Ale, Falcon Heavy, loaded creamy pale malt sugaring upon juicy grapefruit, orange and tangerine tanginess and earthen rhubarb-celery snips.
Black-malted Irish Stout, The Dark, reinforced its dark chocolate and dried cocoa bittering with musty hop-charred nuttiness, sweetening at the dark mocha molasses finish.
A few nifty Dark offshoots also took hold. Coffee bean-engaged full body, Coffee In The Dark, placed its dark-roast mocha muck above oilier hop charred nuttiness than the original version.
Perhaps the best Dark ale, coconut toasting sweetened milk-sugared dessert treat, Coconut In The Dark, leaving brown chocolate and toffee sugaring on the back of the tongue.
Complexities abounded for creamily fudged barrel-aged surefire, Bonfire Imperial Brown Ale. Aged on rum-soaked cherrywood, its dried-fruited black cherry, burgundy and bourbon tones surged towards the oats-sugared fudged mocha surface, picking up latent anise spicing.
During May '24 shore stint, revisited Frye to discover ten new tapped brews.
A few peaty moderations led the charge as dry peaty Scotch malts and toasted amber graining smoothly soothed lightly red-orange-fruitedColleen's Irish Red Ale. Earthen peat mossing guarded Smoked Spring Lager, leaving a mild cigarette roast upon its caramelized biscuit bottom. Mossy peat also centered cocoa-dried pale-malted ESB.
Sessionable Cascade-hopped dry body, Summ'Time Blonde, allowed fizzy lemon spritz to prickle grassy hop astringency and modest crystal malting.
Briny pickle-juiced cucumber earthiness dabbedFryd Pickle, a mellow dill pickled ale with dry pale malt flouring (not far removed from a Mexican lager).
An unexpected beechwood-like smokiness caressed bittersweet blueberry-pureed moderation, Blueberry Wheat, leaving light hop astringency on its pale wheat bed.
Cinnamon-spiced Granny Smith apple pie altbier knockoff, Amber Apple Pie, let its brown sugar sweetness reach pie-crusted sourdough backing.
Coffee-infused altbier,Breakfast & Dessert, integrated cinnamon apple pie spicing into milk-sugared brown chocolate sweetness, letting leftover coffee ground bittering contrast mild cappuccino creaminess.
Dark-roast black coffee, espresso and dark chocolate bitterness perked up Hold The Sugar Coffee Milk Stout, outlasting its cream sugared cafe latte sweetness.
For dessert, assertive Sundoggie Imperial Brown Ale coalesced black chocolate nuttiness with sour mash whiskey tones, hazelnut praline pasting and rich chocolate caking.
WILDWOOD, NEW JERSEY
Going all out to be the most vibrant spot on Jersey Shore's highly active party capitol, Wildwood, MUD HEN BREWING COMPANY takes up an expansive taupe-hued Mediterranean-styled lot about a mile away from the beach.
Open during 2017, its enormous illuminated Mud Hen signs invite beachcombers of every stripe to join in on the fun. A multifarious space including a gray slate-floored main space, garage-doored café-styled barroom and large partially covered side patio, its rounded entrance overhang is reminiscent of a grandiose movie theatre.
The obsidian Cathedral-ceilinged main area includes a 30-seat slate-topped bar along the rustic brick wall dividing its massive windowed silver brew tank display. A ten-tabled loft area overlooks a barrage of industrial tables and chairs.
My wife and I (and dog Roscoe) get seated in the sun-lit patio for early dinner this sunny Saturday afternoon, April '19. The pub fare's solid and the specials included my fab veal dish.
Lemony herbal ginger enlivened tart banana bubblegum expectancy of Holly Beach Wheat, leaving mild orange-peeled coriander spicing upon its supple white wheat spine.
Soothingly dried-fruited moderation, Wise Hen Bocklet raisin, fig and prune illusions soak into its brown-sugared banana breading and toasted caramel malts.
Dewy peat-smoked Scotch ale, Wee Heavy Wilson, brought seared beechwood influence to caramelized pale malts in fine fashion.
Dark-roast black chocolate consumed nutty coffee-smeared full body, Capt. Doug's Porter.
Creamily frothed Primary Cut - Bakers Double IPA put its citric-pined medium body on nitro, letting its lingered grapefruit peel bittering and tangy orange follow-thru gain a sweet vanilla-dipped caramelized pale malt tranquility to contrast its phenol hop resin.
Did miss out on flagship 1883 IPA, though.
On Leap Year Day '20, revisited Mud Hen to try an easygoing German pilsner and one bright 'n fruity local collaboration.
Musky light-bodied Mud Hen Pilsgrazed lemon-rotted Noble hop herbage and mild maize astringency against corn-flaked rice caking.
Mud Hen and Gusto combined to draft zestful Crossover Episode NEIPA, a juicy-fruited affair boasting lemony grapefruit sunshine and sweet orange peel tang countered by sour guava-pineapple-passionfruit subtleties as well as grassy hop astringency.
www.mudhenbrew.com
CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY
Proud to be New Jersey's first non-profit microbrewery, humble barn-housed COLD SPRING BREWERY brings an Old Wild West feel to Cape May. Part of the historic Cold Spring Village (museum, restaurant, creamery), this wood framed ranch featured antique horse harnesses, ancient pistols and large exposed pipes along its columned A-frame interior, providing quaint rusticity for the family-styled village.
Leather-cushioned wood stools and seats get serviced by the tree-barked L-shaped serving station. Six draught lines offer predictably easygoing fare from the rear nano system. Near the side door, there's a bench-saddled hearth area with overhead TV and several cozy wall booths.
My wife and I grab a few seats at the large fenced-in outdoor area, springtime '19, where we consume five commonplace brews that'll definitely please softer blue collar palates.
For openers, grassy pine hops dabbled with lightly embittered grapefruit-peeled orange rind subtleties for dry-bodied moderation, Ishmael Pale Ale.
Tea-like Finley Forge IPAstayed dry as apple-skinned citrus tartness gained dewy pale malt sweetness to contrast its phenol hop tannins, recalling a more moderate Brit-styled IPA.
Mild Poor Sailors Sour Alebrought subtle lactic acidity to tart cider piquancy and vinegary green grape esters with efficient results.
Tart citric-quince-spiced Cold Spring Red Ale retained a crisp barley roast but little else.
Delicately creamedDennisville Inn Porterunderscored its delightful cocoa-chocolate influence and hazelnut-glazed pecan sweetness with ashen walnut bittering.
coldspringbrewery.org
A cozy café-styled firehouse in the heart of Cape May's Court House district on Main Street, BUCKET BRIGADE BREWERY opened autumn, 2017 (and closed January 2025). Brotherly firemen Karl and Kurt Hughes teamed up with long-time friend and brewmaster, Mark McPherson, to 'extinguish your thirst' with a bucket list of traditional styled beers.
The little engine red joint features a small L-shaped bar made from reclaimed wood with 12-plus fire-handled draught taps and TV's on opposing sides. Metal chairs with flaming red cushions dot the walls and three small tables fill out the diminutive interior.
I grab a seat at one of the overhead garage door's cement counters to sample five of the ten available brews this warm Saturday afternoon, April '19.
As the first beer rushes down my gullet, a cavalcade of Harley bikers pass the Bucket Brigade in style.
Mild lemony grapefruit tang embellished the banana-clove-bubblegum expectancy of Halligan Hefeweizen, sitting softly on the tongue while developing slight vanilla sweetness.
Honey-licked apple and pear spicing contrasted rye-dried black tea pungency for crisply clean moderation, Axe Head Amber Ale.
Rustic English-styled(?) Chiefs IPA brought straw-dried buckwheat, alfalfa and raw wheat minerality to grassy-hopped lemon wedging in a moderate setting.
Dried fruited cocoa powdering and mild chocolate malting provoke Pump Primer Porter.
Peanut-buttered chocolate roast and dry cocoa tones gain oily hop resin at the finish of semi-rich Steam Engine Oatmeal Stout.
The centerpiece of downtown Schenectady's refurbished and redesigned Mill Artisan District, FROG ALLEY BREWING COMPANY is a behemoth multifaceted pub and eatery established in 2018 and still under construction during my early Saturday afternoon jaunt, March '19.
Though we quaff suds in a quaint white-walled backspace taproom, by the end of summer Frog Alley will be operating at full capacity. Expected to distribute 14,000 barrels of beer per year, its massive square footage will allow for a 40-draught U-shaped central bar with an overhead door extending its perimeter to a large outside deck when weather's warm. There will be a viewable brew pit below the gargantuan bar-restaurant area where a beautiful warehoused keg room, canning line, pilot batch room and state-of-the-art quality lab exist.
Reclaimed wood furnishings and several large community tables will decorate the urethane-floored main bar. Plus, five plastic kiosks and a back classroom promote brewing and distilling for interested Schenectady Community College students.
Two veteran brewmasters were tapped to head Frog Alley's zymurgy chores. Rich Michaels, a historic figure originally Founders Brewing's first employee, worked at a Disney World brewery and Saranac before hooking up with Drew Schmidt (formerly of NYC's defunct Zip City, Baltimore's Oxford Brewing, and most recently, Van Dyck Lounge's Mad Jack).
After Mr. Michaels takes me on a tour of the soon-completed facility, I get to sample eight prized jewels as the place fills up with local brethren.
For openers, stylishly robust Kikkey German Pilsner let lemondrop hops and oaty pilsner malts pick up mild herbal restraint at its lemon-candied finish.
Another Bavarian brew, tidy pre-Prohibition-styled1903 Vienna Lager took raw-honeyed fig and apricot desiccation to leafy hop astringency, dewy fungi musk and sweet Vienna malting.
Honeyed caramel spicing and roasted chocolate malts lingered for Mc Carthy's Red Tag Ale, leaving tingly orange-red fruit spicing on the tongue.
Engagingly sweet-tart cherry lusciousness gained grenadine syruping, floral niceties and sour lemon piquancy for cheerily fruitful Cherry Hweat, a sugary springtime sensation.
Straightforward Refresh IPAlet lemony grapefruit-orange tanginess glide above piney hop earthiness, fennel herbage and juniper bittering.
Cedar-like Chinook hop dryness crowded FINA West Coast IPA alongside orange-peeled tangerine tang and earthen compost soiling, resulting in a bitter citrus-pined finish.
Juicy grapefruit tang brightened Mohop #5 - Mosaic New England IPA, leaving dry wood tones upon sweet peach-mango-orange subsidy.
Named after the ancient local Frog Alley baseball team captain, Captain Ellis Porter aligned black-malted dark chocolate bittering with Blackstrap molasses and day-old coffee tones.
Upon December '19 noon time revisit, sat at wide L-shaped front bar (with three TV's, beer menu and gas-piped tap system) to consume four new brews.
Sessionable IPA, Calico Frog, a collaboration with local Margareteville's Faith American Brewing, lavished mild grapefruit-peeled lemon musk with dry-wooded hops and black peppered herbs.
DewyF in A West Coast IPAretained the woody citric appeal and crystal malt sugaring of a Northwest US version to contrast the mild herbal hop musk and dry earthen graining of an English-styled IPA.
Sparkling champagne fizz dottedBrut Frog IPA, a bold dry body with a slight rye twist, hard cider kick and candied lemon licks.
Fudgy dark chocolate faded over light hop charred bittering and sour nuttiness for Charley Brown, a maple molasses-dripped brown ale.
MIDDLEBURGH, NEW YORK
In the heart of rural Middleburgh thru a welcoming side entrance lies one of Upstate New York's friendliest l'il pubs, GREEN WOLF BREWING COMPANY. A one-room red brick side lot with laminated wood furnishings, timba-framed tiki bar and Edison lights, Green Wolf opened down the block in 2014, but during January '19 expanded to its current centralized site (while leaving the brewing operations at the former space for now).
"A taste of Brooklyn in upstate New York," explains brewmaster Justin Behan, whose soft-toned elixirs stay gentle on my mind. Indeed, Green Wolf's airy studio groove, stark lighting atmosphere and front-walled comfy chairs are reminiscent of the artsy NYC borough.
The 12-seat U-shaped bar centers the dining room furnishings. An overhead door leads to a slate-floored covered patio with several benches. Neon-lit microbrew signs (Rolling Rock, Bud Dry, Fosters, Genesee and Miller) adorn the walls and a large blackboard lists today's available brews.
On our Sunday afternoon March '19 excursion, my wife and I sank seven brews and one fine ginger ale.
First up, best selling flagship beer,Schoharie Pale Ale, proved completely accessible for easygoing minions. Its French bread crusting combined with melanoidin-kilned barley malting and picked up a sedate floral lemon twist as well as a desolate apple-peach-tangerine cluster.
Next, soft-toned Disenchanterale Belgian Pale Ale brought candi-sugared dried fruiting to herbal fungi earthiness and wispy green grape esters.
Meanwhile, dark-honeyedEnchanterale BPA left mushroom-like umami earthiness upon spicy fig-raisin-date conflux and phenol hop vapors.
Buckwheat-honeyed oaken vanilla lent a dry side to Abbey Gargoyle Dubbel, picking up dark cherry, orange and peach illusions latently.
Dank hop-charred wood tones thickened against earthy black grape, fig and date illusions and black licorice plasticity forRavens Black IPA.
Cocoa-dried dark chocolate malting punctuated the dewy earthiness of Farm To Stout, leaving rye-spiced fig snips on the back end.
Best bet: luscious Buffalo Trace bourbon-barreled Dire Wolf Whiskey Porter. Its exquisite bourbon vanilla pleasantries spread across coffee-burnt dark chocolate while dry burgundy, peated whiskey and rye tones gained strength.
For kicks, clover-honeyed Jamaican-styled Ginger Ale (non-alcoholic) retained a freshly-squeezed lemon sugaring to saddle its earthen ginger root appeal.
HAMMONTON, NEW JERSEY
Inspired by the spirit of rock 'n roll, VINYL BREWING COMPANY opened for business autumn '17. One of three newly established breweries gracing the blueberry capital of Hammonton, halfway between Philly and Atlantic City, Vinyl is headed by entrepreneurial punk rockin' head brewer, Jim Sacco, a former homebrewer who started crafting elixirs at nearby Three 3's Brewing.
Inside a centrally located tan-bricked garage house with two glass overhead doors, the cement-floored open space features a 20-stooled serving station, a few surrounding tables, two blue brick-walled TV's, various exposed pipes, the famous NYC-shirted John Lennon poster, walled album covers and a hard-to-find bottle and can beer collection at the middle metal beam.
Sacco's suds are a fine array of limited edition one-offs and a few seasonal to year-round staples pulled from a small-batch three-barrel system. I settled in one rainy Friday evening in April '19 to sample ten fine samples.
Delectable flagship, creamily soft-tongued MRE Belgian Blonde, kicked things off with spritzy candi-sugared lemon zest and clove-spiced orange peel sweetness embellishing its dewy Vienna-malted oats base.
Next, dryly passionfruit-imbued saison, What Happened To The Passion, let limey lemon-juiced passionfruit, guava and gooseberry tartness infiltrate its leathery barnyard acridity.
Sweet lemon-dropped tartness picked up herbal residue for Fully Actualized Saison.
Sea-salted coriander spicing received puckering lime souring and lactic lemon yogurt caking to engage dry gose, Dag.
Lemon-juiced grapefruit bittering and light wood dryness scoured Citra-Amarillo-hopped cream ale, He Wears T-Shirts Sometimes.
Sunnily soft-toned DDH Advances Citra Pale Ale placed lemony grapefruit, mandarin orange and blood orange zest above bready malts.
Just as briskly easygoing, Souvenir IPA let lingered grapefruit bittering and wispy melon snips gain minor pine resin above sugared oats malting.
Stylishly straightforward Razor Burn IPA brought mild grapefruit-orange-tangerine tanginess to the fore above lightly spiced oats-wheat malting in a clean-watered setting.
Dry rye-malted Element 115 Honey Rye Porter soaked chalky cocoa-chocolate bittering in sinewy dark honey.
Milk-sugared brown chocolate contrasted dry cocoa powdering for VP The Punk Milk Stout, a lovely dark ale with fudged brownie undertones.
The ever-popular double dry-hopped Advances In Modern Technology went undiscovered.
www.vinylbrewingnj.com 
CLARKSBORO, NEW JERSEY
New Jersey's first coffee-beer brewhouse opened at the Villages of Whisky Mill in Clarksboro during August 2017. Playing tribute to the first hunting club in America, homebrewers Chuck Garrity and Dan Natkin initially partnered up because they liked German and Brit styled beers, leading to the creation of humble café-styled pub, DEATH OF THE FOX BREWING COMPANY.
An L-shaped 18 stool bar services three front-windowed tables, three mid-room tables, one community table and plush left side living room furnishings. Caged Edison lights hang from the high pipe-exposed aluminum ceiling and an emblematic Death of The Fox crest highlights the bright red right wall above six historic hunting portraits.
While the backroom brewery creates rangy regularly rotated fare and engaging one-off limited edition beers for the sixteen draught lines, a full menu of flavored coffees are also brewed here.
HAMMONTON, NEW JERSEY
A half-mile from Vinyl Brewing at an old red brick warehouse down the block from residential housing in a bleak industrial setting, Hammonton's TOMFOOLERY BREWING COMPANY came to fruition, December 2015 (and closed 2024).
The former bottling home of defunct Eastern Brewing Company, this rustic cement-floored high-ceilinged warehouse pub features a front-walled purple Tomfoolery banner, large backroom 7-barrel brew system and a separate right side room still being developed. The 12-stool U-shaped silver top bar holds sixteen-plus draught taps and six metal-leather tables furnish the spacious interior. A fridge carries canned product.
Traditionalist brewers Shawn Grigus (a former Egg Harbor brewing supplier) and his electrical engineering 'alewife,' Gayle D'Abate, have won many accolades for their well-defined standard fare.
I spent an hour-and-a-half happily perusing Tomfoolery's cheekily self-defined 'serious beers' in late April '19.
Dry pilsner-malted oats lied beside herbal Saaz hops, spritzy citric licks and mild barnyard acridity for light-bodied Not So Old Bohemian Pilsner.
Sour-candied lemon drops indulged dryly pale-malted moderation, A.C Lager, a politely straightforward, highly sessionable flagship.
Seltzer-like lemon briskness and tangy orange spurts remained subtle above pleasant perfume-spiced herbal whims for cagey Kanoe Kolsch.
Mustily lemon-soured banana and clove tartness overrode the cracked wheat dryness of Orbit The Sun Hefeweizen, gaining sweet vanilla undertones.
A gentle pilsner malt base softened expressive Crack Concrete Belgian Tripel, leaving tingly lemon-sugared banana bubblegum sweetness and pithy grapefruit zest to contrast herbal fungi mustiness.
Out of the three IPA's tried, each had its own simple distinctions. Easygoing New England IPA, Eastie Boys, placed tangy lemon-licked mandarin orange and navel orange juicing above light dry wood tones.
Brisk Citra-Mosaic-hopped Sun Grown IPA brought blood orange, grapefruit rind and lemon zest passion to astringent hop resin.
Sorta blending the two, Take Flight Double IPA left floral citrus spicing upon mellow piney hop bittering.
Dewy dried fruiting subsumed Bob's Bottle House Bock, keeping its sweet caramel malting subtle.
Nutty espresso dryness countered milk-sugared chocolate malting for smoothly creamed Feck Off! Irish Stout.
Peat-smoked brown chocolate fronted S.M. Alder Imperial Smoked Porter, a cocoa-milked dark ale with sedate coffee roast.
Though it's only limited edition, Tomfoolery's second version of Wee Bit O' Milis (2019) utilized honey-glazed Irish potato candies to sweeten doughy sugar cookie, vanilla bean, cinnamon and coconut subtleties in a most mellow way.
CRANFORD, NEW JERSEY
Buried inside a diminutive shop in the heart of Central Jersey, Cranford-based YALE TERRACE BREWERY opened for business December 6, 2017. A mile and a half from legendary local , Climax Brewing, this funky green-walled nanobrewery's mellow neighborhood café feel has the locals feelin' fine.
An oaken L-shaped serving station with fourteen barstools gets sidled by four small right side tables and two rear pews close to the brew tanks. A small community table at the front window adds to the friendly coffeehouse atmosphere.
Crafting approximately 70 different elixirs in only 19 months, these hard-workin' denizens obviously ain't afraid to experiment a tad.
On my rainy Friday night sojourn, April '19, I got to sample eight rangy brews.
Delightful citrus-spiced Ox And Goat Pale Ale gained minor wood tones at its dry finish.
Basic #161 Main IPA maintained a quaintly bittersweet dry-hopped herbal citrus theme tinged by floral notions in a moderate-medium-bodied setting.
Zesty grapefruit juicing marked Yale Imperial IPA, bringing spunky herbal bittering and lacquered wood dryness to the fore alongside bitter orange rind snips.
Dark chocolate bittering consumed Salted Caramel Porter, leaving its burnt caramel salting in the backdrop alongside ashen hop char.
Dark-roast coffee, dark chocolate and espresso tones saddled burly molasses oats-sugared Oatmeal Stout.
Then came the sour ales. A gentle ghost-peppered habanero burn picked up vinous green grape esters for Chocolate Habanero Sour Stout, letting its dry dark chocolate influence simmer.
Red wine must serenaded Wine-Infused IPA, a dry variant with lemony green grape pucker and pencil shavings illusions.
Leathery Flanders Red-like Red Sour stayed vibrant as piquant red wine sweetness contrasted dry white wine esters and the finishing alcohol burn.
www.ytbrewery.com 
WILDWOOD, NEW JERSEY
Going all out to be the most vibrant spot on Jersey Shore's highly active party capitol, Wildwood, MUD HEN BREWING COMPANY takes up an expansive taupe-hued Mediterranean-styled lot about a mile away from the beach.
Open during 2017, its enormous illuminated Mud Hen signs invite beachcombers of every stripe to join in on the fun. A multifarious space including a gray slate-floored main space, garage-doored café-styled barroom and large partially covered side patio, its rounded entrance overhang is reminiscent of a grandiose movie theatre.
The obsidian Cathedral-ceilinged main area includes a 30-seat slate-topped bar along the rustic brick wall dividing its massive windowed silver brew tank display. A ten-tabled loft area overlooks a barrage of industrial tables and chairs.
My wife and I (and dog Roscoe) get seated in the sun-lit patio for early dinner this sunny Saturday afternoon, April '19. The pub fare's solid and the specials included my fab veal dish.
CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY
Proud to be New Jersey's first non-profit microbrewery, humble barn-housed COLD SPRING BREWERY brings an Old Wild West feel to Cape May. Part of the historic Cold Spring Village (museum, restaurant, creamery), this wood framed ranch featured antique horse harnesses, ancient pistols and large exposed pipes along its columned A-frame interior, providing quaint rusticity for the family-styled village.
Leather-cushioned wood stools and seats get serviced by the tree-barked L-shaped serving station. Six draught lines offer predictably easygoing fare from the rear nano system. Near the side door, there's a bench-saddled hearth area with overhead TV and several cozy wall booths.
My wife and I grab a few seats at the large fenced-in outdoor area, springtime '19, where we consume five commonplace brews that'll definitely please softer blue collar palates.
