KEENE, NEW HAMPSHIRE
In an old-fashioned community at red-bricked Industrial mall, Colony Mill Marketplace, ELM CITY BREWERY had an easy appeal matched by its fruity brews during January ’06 visit. Marked by a small green awning, its cedar booth area leads to midsize bar, where corner TV’s and awning-hanging club mugs reside (fronting extra dining space).
Glass encased leftward brew tanks served deliciously juicy peach-cored, rye wheat-backed Peachy Keene, lusciously ripe berry-tongued soft-grained Raspberry Wheat, lactic, candi-sugared, orange peel-embittered, berry-tart Belgian Tripel, and vegetal fig-dried currant-hopped wood-tinged Hoppy New Beer.
After meeting brewer Bill Dunn, went on to discover toffee-malted alcohol-burnt wood-grained Nor’easter Scottish Wee Heavy, dry nutty Old Castle Brown Ale, and sinewy black chocolate-y hazelnut-coffee-saddled Perfect 10 (a dry-bodied Russian Imperial Stout). Wintry seasonals included soft red-fruited hop-embittered Rudolph Red and Roggenbock-like prune-stewed orange-bruised nutmeg-tinged Christmas Cru.