NAZARETH, PENNSYLVANIA
Right in the heart of Nazareth on Main Street, BIRTHRIGHT BREWING CO. opened its doors February 1, 2018. Providing a rustic industrial environment perfectly suited for the working-class Blue Mountain Ridge mining area, Birthright’s metal-forged axe-handled signpost, wood-metal furnishings, red brick walls, reclaimed wood doors and slate top bar give the window-fronted pub its charming antiquity.
While the brew tanks are towards the rear, an open kitchen serves wood-fired pizza plus salads, sandwiches, wings and veggie paninis. My wife and I grab a few metal chairs out front on Main with dog, Roscoe, on a humid Sunday afternoon, July ’22, perusing each Birthright offering available, including several worthy double dry-hopped IPA’s.
Pleasingly light-bodied Birthlight Blond stayed soft-tongued as mellowly spiced yellow-orange fruiting picked up pale malt sugaring to contrast its phenol hop esters.
Easygoing pale ale, Gunga Galunga, left fig-honeyed citrus dryness upon waddle-seeded cocoa remnant and nutty rye breading.
Muskily raw-grained moderation, Cross Czech, a dry Euro-styled pilsner, plied herbal-hopped barnyard astringency to mild lemon-honeyed sweetness.
Dryer than most in its class, Whitefield Wit allowed ample chaffed wheat rusticity, delicate oats-flaked malting and white peppercorn remnants to encumber the stylishly sweet orange-peeled coriander spicing.
Affably soft-toned Irish Red Ale, Grudge Bearer, brought dewy peat mossing to gently spiced dried fruiting above roasted barley timidity.
Tropical fruited double dry-hopped IPA, Wolfs Run, retained a bright lemony grapefruit twist, tangy orange-tangerine misting and mild peach-pineapple perk over pale malt sugaring.
Sourly tart stone-fruited DDH IPA offshoot, Wolfs Run Mango, let lemon-seeded mango salting jut out above perfumed floral spicing and fennel herbage.
Another DDH IPA, deep golden bronzed moderation Humulone Centipede, settled into sunny yellow grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering as salty white peppering caressed sour white grape, guava and gooseberry illusions above mildly creamed crystal malting.
Meanwhile, hop-forward’ Azacca The Clones DDH IPA, engaged its semi-sharp citrus spree with floral-spiced herbage above dry raw-honeyed pale malts.
Sourly lemon-salted candied tangerine tartness sharpened fruited Berliner Weiss, Wu- Tangerine, a resilient mouth puckering lollipop-like sucker.
A more vibrant BW with a hard candied Sweet-Tart coating and pinkish magenta hue, Fruit Punch Ooh Yeah! regaled powdered cherry, salted orange and lemonade illusions, finishing like Hawaiian Punch.
Dulcet holiday-seasoned winter warmer, Gettin’ Close Imperial Spiced Brown Ale, issued brown sugared cinnamon spicing to wispy caramelized chocolate malting as well as distant nutmeg, allspice and cardamom snips.