On tap at Ambulance, spritzy lemon limed soda fizz drifts into frozen Limeaid Margarita brining and lemon limed elderberry lemonade tartness, gaining mild minty herbage over dainty oated pilsner malts. Betters most radlers.
Dry maize and wild oats receive astringent lemony hop tingle and cheap whiskey nip for easygoing, if indistinct, pale aluminum low-carb light lager. Lighter than popcorn and less salty.
ORLEANS, MASSACHUSETTS
Coming to life one year after nearby Devil’s Purse, Orleans-based HOG ISLAND BEER COMPANY (with a second newer white-housed Wellfleet location) has created winningly familiar stylistic fare since 2016. Once the local lockup, the historic haunt became Old Jailhouse Tavern before turning into a microbrewery.
Inside a gray shingled cement-floored domicile with sidled silver silo, Hog Island’s large interior includes a two-toned pine top bar, decorative back-walled Winnebago RV with windows and tires, small stage area, several wood tables and chairs, stooled metal tables and white tile ceiling. Brew tanks are to the left. A large umbrella-strewn deck provides outdoor seating.
The right side tap handles below the centralized TV serve proprietary beers ranging from mostly easygoing, slightly mainstream fodder to a seaweed-induced dark ale. Mixed drinks, flatbread pizzas, sandwiches and desserts were also available as my wife and I visited on a bustling Saturday afternoon, September ’24.
Brisk floral-perfumed citrus grazed maize-dried grain rusticity and sweet corn sugaring for Four Reels Pilsner, leaving dank hop astringency on the backend.
Spritzy lemon zest sparked Summer Ale, a moderately hop-embittered light body with mild herbal spicing.
Sourdough breading sashayed thru White Shark Wheat Ale, receiving a light raw-honeyed musk as well as latent corn sugaring.
Flagship Outermost IPA let sunny lemony grapefruit bittering pick up mild spicing to contrast the dry wood finish of this perfectly centrist piney citric West Coast variety.
Sweet dewy peat and mild tobacco crisping engaged Ack Irish Red Ale, gaining lemon-rotted desiccated orange musk.
Dry Chatham Kelp Stout utilized briny oyster-shelled kelp seaweed to contrast caramel-burnt dark chocolate and nutty coffee roast.
Locally owned and operated SEA DOG BREW PUB gets supplied by Maine’s Sea Dog Brewing, but there’s so much more to enjoy. On a crowded Saturday night in Cape Cod in late September ’24, my wife and I perused the classy South Yarmouth pub for dinner and beer. A wide variety of upscale food was served alongside a few nifty Sea Dog draughts, ciders and seltzers. The revolving beer menu includes several respected, well-known local brews.
Inside the pale yellow sided, white windowed beer parlor, the rounded 20-seat right side wood bar services the four-chaired tables up front. The tap handles are located below one of the multiple TV’s strewn about and watched by curious college football fans this warm weekend.
My wife settled into one of her faves, Sea Dog Blueberry Ale, while I stepped into newly discovered Sea Dog Sunfish Wheat, a delightful peach and grapefruit variant (both reviewed in Beer Index).
SOUTH DENNIS, MASSACHUSETTS
Beginning its journey in 2015, South Dennis-based DEVIL’S PURSE BREWING COMPANY crafts slightly offbeat stylistic and mostly easygoing soft-watered brews. Named after an indigenous Cape Cod shark egg, Devil’s Purse came to fruition when local homebrewer Mike Segerson decided to craft a few diversified Euro style brews.
Inside a garage-like brick warehouse, the standing room only interior of Devil’s Purse has the feel of a blue collar pub with its cement floor, aluminum overhead doors and general rustic appeal. A benched patio with green turf provides outside seating.
My wife and I visited late September ’24 before heading north to Truro for body surfing. After enjoying six rangy brews around lunchtime, we took home Stonehorse Citra IPA and Pollock Rip IPA (both reviewed in Beer Index).
Soft-toned Wellfleets Rice Lager brought sake-like rice wining to briny oyster minerality, gaining mild lemon limed yuzu tartness and spritzy champagne sparkle above maize-dried white breading.
Geman Hallertau hops allow lemony green grape tannins to intensify mildly effervescent Devil’s Purse flagship, Handline Kolsch, attaching spicy citrus zesting to fresh-cut grassiness over lightly buttered French breaded Weyermann malt dryness.
Minty shiso leaf minting lightly grazed pureed raspberry and blackberry tartness atop delicate rice and oats flaked pilsner malting for Shiso Berry Ale, picking up strawberry rhubarb pie, sparkling rose, guava and boysenberry illusions.
Waxy tropical fruiting guided Floating Neutral IPA, regaling zestful lemony grapefruit bittering, brisk orange peel sweetness and sour guava salting as light pine resin drifted into crystal pale malt sugaring.
Milk-sugared coffee and dark chocolate fronted Powder Hole Porter, relegating its creamy caramel center.
Briny oyster shelled musk infiltrated the light-roast coffee and bittersweet dark chocolate syruping of Intertidal Oyster Stout, leaving dried cocoa, espresso and walnut remnants.
BARNSTABLE, MASSACHUSETTS
Inside the village of Hyannis at the town of Barnstable, family-owned BARNSTABLE BREWING opened September ’17. Hidden away in a residential Cape Cod neighborhood, the cornflower blue shingled pub features a marble granite top bar with corrugated aluminum siding, two draught boards with twelve taps, rustic white walls and wood floors, low exposed pipes and two centralized TV’s.
A silver silo out back leads patrons to the Adirondack-chaired wood covered deck and a plank-wooded aquamarine enclosure with beautiful painted ocean design. Specializing in a wide range of approachable brews, my wife drank the blueberry ale while I sunk eleven five-ounce offerings on our September ’24 Cape Cod trip.
Dandy summertime light body, Blueberry Ale, let its sweetly sour blueberry spritz pick up phenol floral-spiced hop astringency over honeyed wheat.
Traditional helles light lager, Cape Crusher, prodded raw honeyed orange oiling and dank lemon musk with corn-dried biscuity malts.
Peaty Irish yeast provided mossy earthiness for lightly creamed Irish Blonde, a spiffy pilsner malted moderation with mild citrus spicing.
Interestingly offbeat saison, Spiced Resverie, placed tart lemon meringue piquancy, orange-peeled coriander spicing and buttery Chardonnay wining across black peppered sage and saffron, leaving its stylish barnyard rusticity way in the fruit soured back end.
Sharp brown-sugared cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice seasoning got sprinkled with vanilla-daubed waffle cone sugaring and wispy floral perfuming for busy autumnal Wobbly Jack Pumpkin Ale, regaling rich pumpkin pie essence.
Caramelized rye saturated Bock This Way, a spirited maibock with dry bourbon whiskey tones, oaken vanilla tartness and recessive cocoa powdering.
Flagship Imperial IPA, Jesuit Juice, evenly spread zesty lemon, grapefruit, navel orange and peach zing atop sugary pale malts as tertiary cantaloupe, guava and papaya whims waver.
Waxy fruited New England IPA, Two Jesuits Walk Into A Brewery, allowed mild yellow grapefruit-peeled orange bittering and sour guava-passionfruit-gooseberry tartness to reach buttery pale malts.
Dark-roast coffee and black chocolate bittering stayed upfront for rich mocha porter, Portah, hiding black grape, black cherry and fig subtleties near its burnt caramel bottom.
As for sweetened up variant, Coconut Portah, toasted coconut and honeyed Graham Cracker picked up distant chestnut-almond conflux above brown chocolate base.
Nitro version of Here’s The Keys Barleywine retained toasted caramel sweetness for rum raisin, stewed prune and dried plum.
A hidden gem on Main Street in downtown Hyannis, family owned and operated OAK BAY BREWERY opened its doors, Memorial Day 2024. A black awning with white Oak Bay lettering welcomes patrons to the harmonious bungalow-like nanobrewery. Nestled amongst thrift shops, boutiques and music stores, this alleyway pub features a cozy pergola-topped courtyard with plastic furnishings to go alongside its tiny oak-lacquered barroom (with four-seat table, stark wood floor and white ceiling).
Oak Bay’s silver stainless steel tanks feed directly into the draught lines and a small pub food menu suffices. My wife and I settled in on a warm September afternoon ’24 to sample four brisk golden hued offerings.
An interesting witbier variant, Marlo Whit, united salty mango, sweet peach, Chinese plum, kumquat and kiwi tropicalia with stylishly sweet orange-peeled coriander spicing above its honeyed pale wheat bottom.
Made with phenol fruited Omega yeast ale, Irish Blonde Ale, NormAle, draped barley-flaked pale malt buttering atop dewy peat, mild herbage and raw-honeyed orange oil.
Soft-toned New England IPA, El Zapparado, let raw-honeyed oated wheat creaming seep thru subtle mandarin orange, white grapefruit, white peach, guava and cherry seduction.
Spirited West Coast IPA, Rooks, laced its floral yellow grapefruit and orange peel tang with sour passionfruit, sweet apricot and red apple goodness in a lightly lacquered wood setting given spicy caramel malting.
On tap at Taphouse 15, dazzling Buffalo Trace bourbon-aged Kalashnikoffee variant segues perfectly from brown-sugared maple vanilla resonance to bittersweet dark cocoa richness. Draping bourbon-sweetened heavy maple syrup onto spunky Madagascar vanilla beaning thickens its oncoming mocha penetration, imparting lovely medium-roast Sumatra coffee tones (given mildly hop-charred black peppering).
On tap at Taphouse 15, luscious confectionery coffee stout plies chewy chocolate marshmallow sugaring to advertised “brownie-battered coconut rum” sweetness as well as espresso, pecan pie, toasted almond, dark cherry and rum-buttered cinnamon swirl illusions. Its thick vanilla coffee creaming wins out at the bold finish. A superfine As Above variant.
On tap at Taphouse 15, sumptuous pastry stout brewed with peach coffee cake, almond and cinnamon basks in Black Forest cake richness. Mild bourbon vanilla, black cherry soda, spiced toffee and cola illusions reach creamy dark chocolate base alongside peachy cinnamon-spiced almond nuttiness. Heavenly nightcap.
On tap at Taphouse 15, luxuriously detailed Sundae-creamed birthday caking soaked in Willett Barrels for seven years and conditioned on Rice Krispies and coffee drapes fudgy dark chocolate syruping all over its confectionery vanilla cake-battered affluence. In the recess, bruised black cherry, stewed prune and rum raisin deepen its rich dessert resolve.
On tap at Kitchen & Beer Bar, richly exquisite vanilla bean variant pelts toasted marshmallow fluff at chocolate nougat and whipped cream adjuncts. Fudgy dark chocolatey vanilla creaming gains black coffee, dry bourbon, sweet burgundy and whiskey tones at its chewy nougat center.
