WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA

Carved out atop a busy Industrial valley and tied to its local steel town heritage and Old Colonial village, huge chateau-styled JOHNSTOWN BREWING was established September, 2003, visited April ’06, but closed 2008. Located in the heart of Pennsylvania, its upper level offers fireplace waiting area, left side bar, large eating area, and ample back deck with great window view of the river-based canyon.

Lower level seats 120 patrons and contains brew kettles, secondary bar and deck, mug club station, and hanging growlers boasting Johnstown and competitors insignias.

Lighter drinkers will lean towards popcorn-buttered wheat-maize-backed Flood Light, summery yellow-fruited mildly-hopped South Fork Dam Kolsch, and dry red-fruited peppery-hopped cocoa-malted 1889 Amber Ale.

But friendly brewer Barrett Goddard’s finer elixirs included easy flowing subtly roasted caramel-chocolate-y hazelnut-macadamia-dashed Scottish-styled Stone Bridge Brown Ale, sharply bitter red-orange-fruited off-dry White Hat Pale Ale, buttery Scotch-licked red apple-sweet seasonal Lovette Brothers Irish Red Ale, and arid clover honeyed peach-apricot-soured cereal-backed perfume-wafted Honey Raspberry Wheat.

Perhaps the best Dortmunder knockoff I’ve imbibed, the malt-sticky Incline Plaine IPA plopped caramelized apple, pear, and apricot atop dry-fruited grapefruit-fig bitterness. For a closer, quaffed dry Irish-styled Steel Workers Stout, a mild workingman’s brew merging roasted coffee, black chocolate, and bitter nuttiness.