HATFIELD, PENNSYLVANIA
Specializing in ‘lusciously thick stouts to mind melting fruited sours,’ IMPRINT BEER CO. is certainly leaving its unique mark on North Penn Valley’s tiny borough of Hatfield since opening, January 2018. Famous for their neverending line of thickly pulped Schmoojees, basically fluffily creamed marshmallow fruited ambrosia salad knockoffs, these ambitious zymurgists craft some of the most diverse brews north of Philly.
Located at a brick Industrial mall, Imprint’s cement-floored pub sits adjacent to the Quality Tank Solutions brewhouse. Several four-stooled metal tables, wooden benches, front-walled barrels and a kitchen kiosk fill out the rustic overhead-doored tasting room where large silver tanks take up the backspace.
Founding brewer, Ryan Diehl, realized he had to immediately expand his space after operating a small one-barrel nano. Now a mid-sized microbrewery, Imprint’s equipment includes its original 7-barrel fermenters (bought for its first expansion) and a newer 15-barrel system plus an experimental stainless steel brite tank.
My wife and I try a mild pilsner and lager before grabbing a few impressive stouts, then get a bunch of canned goodies for the road (reviewed in Beer index).
Zesty dry-hopped lupulin oiling gave Czech-styled pilsner, Citra-Galaxy Wallpaper, its mildly bitter IPA-like lemony orange-peeled grapefruit splurge, delicate peachy pineapple tang and clean Seltzer briskness receiving muskily floral-spiced herbage above milled grain malting.
Another cleanly dry citric-bent moderation, Game Face Helles Lager, retained spritzy grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering for pale lagered mineral graining.
As for the two richly creamed stouts, lactose-bound Vanilla Rye Imperial Stout boasted chewy Madagascar and Mexican vanilla luxuriance for its nutty rye-spiced black chocolate density.
Richly rewarding confectionery milk stout, Dunkable Nilly, let Nilla wafer sweetness entice resilient vanilla ice-creamed brown chocolate milking as tertiary bruised black cherry, toasted almond and praline illusions reached its fudgy vanilla mocha finish.
During early February ’25 noontime trek, Imprint added a retro arcade, Gnarcadium, and a kiosk pizza kitchen near the aluminum-chaired tables on the hardwood vergala floor. I quaffed five previously untried delights.
Honey-roasted almond and chestnut saddled light bodied Ambrrr Lager, leaving tingly fig spicing.
Sweet cereal grained pilsner malting received a lemon-wedged for crackery golden lager, Lagrrr.
Juicy dry-hopped My Morning Haze let sunny lemon zest sprinkle tangy pineapple, sweet navel orange, salted mango, sour guava and tart passionfruit atop vanilla-creamed oats base.
Bold waxy-fruited triple IPA, Filthy Animal draped pine sap across spicy citrus resilience above honeyed pale malts.
Rich confectionery Imperial Stout, Origins Maple Vanilla Marshmallow, seeped bourbon-barreled vanilla sweetness into maple syrup and marshmallow sugared Columbian coffee stead, bringing along toasted coconut, candied almond and cinnamon niceties.