HONESDALE, PENNSYLVANIA

Right in the heart of Honesdale, the valleyed ‘birth place of America’s railroad,’ HERE & NOW BREWING COMPANY occupies a historic downtown red brick building. Salvaging the rustic charm of yesteryear while making well-balanced beers and fabulous stone-oven pizza (plus casual appetizers and entrees), Here & Now opened July ’17.

A pre-prohibition feel is created by the dark grey windowed frontage, exposed brick and pipe interior, old wood floors, bronze tin ceiling and moody lighting, preserving the glorious antiquity of this bucolic Northeast Pennsylvania community.

The wood furnished bar, stools, tables and chairs match the elegant countryside warmth. The left side stripped plaster wall features colorful art and the open kitchen extends to the rear.

Minion brewer, Roy Holm, works the seven-barrel steam system and one barrel experimental tank.

Alongside the worthy brews, Here & Now’s proud of its farm-to-table food from scratch and liquor-infused drinks.

This was my second visit to Here & Now, January ’20.

Approachable flagship, Sunset Silhouettes Pale Ale, gathered IPA-like piney fruiting for its floral-herbed Columbus hop astringency. Mild orange, grapefruit, pineapple, peach and tangerine tanginess spread across light wood tones and sugary pale malting.

Serene wet-hopped saison, Solace, let tart pine-dried yellow fruit spicing prod earthen  barnyard acridity.

Crisp pilsner-malted moderation, Pitter Patter Patersbier, brought floral perfumed saison-like citrus zest to mild cider souring and leathery hay-like rusticity.

Spicily citric Imperial IPA, Unheeded Warning, caressed its lemony grapefruit and orange tanginess with floral, herbal and vegetal daubs.

Effervescent moderate-bodied New England-styled IPA, Pineapple Expressed, delivered mildly spiced pineapple juicing to sweet-tart mandarin orange, mango, papaya and tangerine undertones as well as lightly embittered yellow grapefruit zest.

Brown-breaded sour nuttiness and mossy compost soiling combined with mild herbal spiced Nugget hops for interestingly offbeat Bat Patterns Porter.

Modeled after Bat Patterns, earthen nutty Brown Ale, Paint The Town, gained a sour edge to engage its lightly charred hop roast.

hereandnowbrewing.com