FLEMINGTON, NEW JERSEY
Just down from Flemington’s bustling Liberty Village near the railroad station at a gray 5,000 square foot building out in rural western Jersey (fifteen minutes from Princeton), LONE EAGLE BREWING began operations July ’16. The brainchild of local homebrewers Todd Becker and Bob King, Lone Eagle gained instant attention by local denizens.
A quaint spot with a fenced-in family-styled patio, its white-walled high ceiling interior features right side silver brew tanks, a wood lacquered central bar and four yellow-wooded community tables. A loft above the serving station hosts private events when not seating patrons.
Along the left wall is a beautiful Brewing Process mural with a TV hanging above.
As my wife and I visit during a rainy Friday, October ’18, we sample nearly a dozen homebrews.
Impressive West Coast-styled flagship offering, Maiden Flight IPA, placed juicy yellow grapefruit, tangerine and pineapple tropicalia alongside lightly embittered orange rind as honeyed pale malt sweetness gained attention, leaving fusel 8% alcohol acidity upon its pine-toned black tea musk.
Equally fine yellow-hazed medium body, New England Chowdah India Pale Ale, stayed brightly refreshing as spritzy lemon zest, yellow grapefruit bittering, sour pineapple juicing and white peach tartness glazed citric hop dusting with minimal pale malt intrusion. In the recess, herbal snips, gin whims and phenol astringency reside.
Less complex Spelt Wrong IPA, a hazy New England-styled double dry-hopped brew, suited milder tastes as gentle spelt graining softened tart lemon, sour grapefruit and juicy orange subtleties above mild pine resin (and light alcohol esters).
Straightforward Local Pale Ale brought delicate orange-peach-tangerine tanginess to grassy hop astringency above frisky crystal malts.
Splendid beige-yellow hazed Return Of The Juice let lightly spiced lemondrop tartness dance on the tongue while grassy celery vegetalia provided an earthen backdrop.
Leafy autumnal foliage and sweetly soured fig led dry-spiced Marzen Oktoberfest Lager, retaining dewy Noble-hopped earthiness and navel orange rot above its baked bread bottom.
Subtle nuttiness imbued dewy Hunterdon Wet-Hop Brown Ale, a caramel-malted moderation with roasted tobacco hints and resinous hop bittering.
Sharp ashen hop-charred nuttiness and dark chocolate roast leavened Turkey Trot Porter, as its dry raw molasses bittering upended any sweet hazelnut propensity.
Stylishly thin rum barrel-aged Dowton Abbey Dubbel brought dark Belgian candi sugar to spiced rum, dry bourbon, sparkling champagne and Scotch spirits, drizzling oaken vanilla upon tertiary green grape esters and soured fig nuances.
Aged in rum-soaked oak chips, Belgian Dark Strong Ale relied on candi-sugared toffee sweetness and sweet fig-plum-prune-raisin dried fruiting to contrast its mossy earthiness.
Dryly complex English-styled Bourbon Barrel-aged Wheat Wine left whiskeyed bourbon-burgundy warmth upon gin-soaked raisin, prune and fig as well as caramelized toffee buttering and oaken vanilla sedation.
loneeaglebrewing.com
