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.