Search Results for: JOHN

SMILING CHAMELEON DRAFT HOUSE

BEER PUB
LEWISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA
Nestled one hour north of State Capitol, Harrisburg, in a commercial farming center just off the West Branch of the Susquehanna River lies the pristinely detailed 19th century-styled town of Lewisburg. Home to Bucknell University and the famous Campus Theatre (a treasured Art Deco movie palace), this middle Pennsylvania suburb also houses Market Street’s rewarding SMILING CHAMELEON DRAFT HOUSE, opened for business September 2010.
 
Serving decent pub food and great drafts while mantaining a comfortable downtown atmosphere, the

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TROEGS BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs

HERSHEY, PENNSYLVANIA

One of America’s largest and most successful microbreweries, TROEGS BREWING COMPANY began in ‘97 at Pennsylvania’s state capitol, Harrisburg. But increased demand for their malt-heavy beers became so overwhelming the brotherly operation run by Chris and John Trogner had to get bigger digs. As of 2012, their well-respected suds could be found in Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio and Virginia.

Now residing in a large freestanding warehouse (fourteen miles east of its initial location) just down the …

TWISTED ELM TAVERN – ELMWOOD PARK

BEER PUB

The Twisted Elm gastropub in Elmwood Park NJ closes

TWISTED ELM VALIDATES MR. ROGERS NEW NEIGHBORHOOD

As America’s craft beer revolution continues to move onward and upward at an increasingly fast pace, many fine neighborhood gastropubs have been popping up all over the Garden State. Being one of the latest beer-centric restaurants operating in northern Jersey, Elmwood Park’s TWISTED ELM TAVERN couldn’t possibly have a better regional location. Right next door to popular hot dog and hamburger joint, River View East, at the bustling side-winding corner of River Road …

DEFIANT’S NEILL ACER SPEAKS BEER

Interviews, ,

DEFIANT’S NEILL ACER SPEAKS BEER

This pertinent conversation took place February 12th, 2012 at Pearl River’s DEFIANT BREWERY.Acer, a veteran of the beer circuit, took an hour to explain his past, present and future. Let’s join in…

I got hooked on Belgian beers early on. Chimay Blue was probably the main reason to get into craft brewing. I recognized the beer I had made earlier from a medieval recipe was related – only Chimay was done very well. I love …

WILLIMANTIC BREWING 2012

United States Brewpubs

 

WILLIMANTIC BREWING MAINTAINS WORLD CLASS STATUS

 Connecticut may not get the same respect its New England neighbors receive, but there’s a few wonderful Constitution State breweries competing favorably against the best public houses dotting Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. Besides five decent Southport Brewing franchises, Granby’s upscale sportsbar, Cambridge House, New Haven’s fabulous pizza-brewpub, BruRm @ Bar and Hartford’s terrific City Steam deserve plaudits.

On my January ’12 trip, I reinvestigated one of the best Northeast brewpubs and another one …

TULLYCROSS TAVERN

United States Brewpubs

 

 

MANCHESTER, CONNECTICUT

Located inside a tan barn stable with green and brown trim in a freestanding mall-bound building, Manchester’s TULLYCROSS TAVERN took over the space previously occupied by John Harvard Brewpub and had its grand opening October 1st, 2011 (but closed down November ’13).

A hybrid sportsbar, mahogany furnishings bedecked the hunter green walled interior and a rectangular oak bar served the main area and outer perimeter dining space. A new patio to be constructed in spring …

FARMERS’ CABINET

United States Brewpubs

 

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Streets were filled with Mummers regaled in stage getup who’d finished their Broad Street parade route when I got to the FARMERS’ CABINET, a new Walnut Street saloon (opened St. Patrick’s Day, 2011) named in honor of an ancient agriculture handbook. A uniquely gothic gastropub, it serves “the most diverse collection of European craft beer in Philly” alongside a few indigenously “primitive field” beers emulating from an urban farmhouse nanobrewery down in Arlington, Virginia.

The brainchild of …

MANHATTAN’S 404 HOSTS TRIUMPHANT ‘BEER BAR FEST NYC’

Event

Hundreds of beer geeks joined ranks Saturday, December 10th, for the first BEER BAR FEST NYC. Hosted by prospering New York City Homebrewers Guild bellwethers Chris Cuzme and Mary Izett at a hot new venue, this merry two-session gathering culled eight new-sprung Big Apple beer bars serving ‘the choicest small plates’ of artisanal food alongside unrivaled craft beer ‘under one roof.’

And that’s no small boast. While the Guild continually educates people on the interesting array of progressive-thinking …

BARCADE – JERSEY CITY

BEER PUB

BARCADE EXPANDS TO JERSEY CITY AND BEYOND…

-John Fortunato

Barcade introduced one of the best original concepts for a craft beer bar during 2004. Its five owners, led by hands-on entrepreneur Paul Kermizian, wanted to re-invigorate the homey recreational experience of drinking beers with close pals while playing vintage arcade games. The novel whim would prove to be the coolest idea for an urban pub common city folk would like to hang out at, much like Kermizian’s Brooklyn apartment had …

ZEPPELIN HALL

BEER PUB

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JERSEY CITY’S ZEPPELIN HALL STANDS TALL

Fabulousness is nothing new to Zeppelin Hall proprietor, John Argento. The former owner of New York City’s premier ‘80s nightclub, Danceteria, now runs the Garden State’s largest German biergarten. Including its three-room interior, the 26,000 square foot public house truly does dwarf any competition in both expanse and draught selection.

“Danceteria was more interested in being fabulous than rich,” Argento says as we sit in his loft office. “We were always working on a …

CRICKET HILL BREWERY – RICK REED

United States Brewpubs, ,

CRICKET HILL BOASTS ‘BEST BEER ON EARTH’

It’s truly fitting that Grateful Dead’s “Built To Last” would be playing on the radio as I make my initial visitation to Cricket Hill Brewing Company. Just a few weeks earlier, the Fairfield-based microbrewery had been temporarily shutdown due to the nasty flooding Hurricane Irene brought to the area. Happily, the decade-old warehouse housing Cricket Hill was spared from water damage.

“God must love beer,” owner Rick Reed proclaims over the phone just …

FREAKTOBERFEST 2011 KICKS SERIOUS ASS

Event,

 FREAKTOBERFEST 2011 KICKS SERIOUS ASS

-By John Fortunato

An eclectic array of hardened beer enthusiasts converged at popular Park Slope music club, Southpaw, to try some of the best offerings ever available under one roof.

From the righteously stylized to the diligently experimental, FREAKTOBERFEST 2011 had something for everyone this breezy Friday evening in Brooklyn. Trendy Black IPA’s and sour ales generally took a backseat to prodigious dark ales, autumnal pumpkin-spiced concoctions, and some frolicking fruited fare.

As expected, the …