TIVOLI, NEW YORK

In the tiny Hudson Valley village of Tivoli, LASTING JOY BREWERY opened in June 2022. “Down on a winding farm road,” this nifty mod farm-to-table pub utilizes mostly locally grown ingredients at its cozy greenish shingled barnhouse. Glass-enclosed metal Industrial benched tables and a warm couch surround the bar and brewtanks are stored to the right.

Lasting Joy’s centralized slate topped octagon-shaped bar features a gorgeous tiled turnstile draught board serving beery fountain drinks. Outside, Adirondack chaired firepits add further seating.

Mocktails, cider, wine and snacks were available alongside Lasting Joy’s highly approachable suds. My wife and I grab seats at the bar noontime on a sunny Friday, November 2024 to enjoy all ten varied home brews.

Rustic Czech-styled pilsner, Two Rivers, combined dry mineral graining with grassy Saaz hop herbage, leaving saw-dusted barnyard hay, rye and alfalfa snips.

A dryer Vienna Lager, ILOVIT contrasted its leafy hop astringency and apple-skinned dried fruiting with mild chestnut-roasted caramelization.

Dewy raw-honeyed marzen lager, Leafs Peeper, sunk leafy hop oiling and earthen truffle fungi into red-orange fruiting.

Gingery cinnamon sticks and brown-sugared nutmeg, clove and thyme seasoning led pumpkin pied Hudson Harvest Pumpkin Ale, leaving a honeyed wheat crust.

Soft-toned oak-aged sour blonde ale, Sophomore Slump, let buttery Chardonnay wining and honey mead sweetness contrast sharply acidic white wine vinegaring as its tart peach adjunct hid apricot and tangerine snips.

Honey mead-inspired Belgian wheat ale, Beekeeper’s Bliss, picked up cotton-candied butterscotch sweetness and botanical orange blossom backup.

Citric pine-embittered hazy IPA, Clouds Over Clermont, utilized woody Saaz hops, melon-like Cashmere hops and earthily floral Mackinac hops to engage its sharp citrus thrust.

Murkily tan nickel-hued Brut IPA, Pick Your Own Grape, let Concord grape tannins pick up enzymic champagne-sparkled white wining and mild orange oiling for its green hop earthiness.

Nearly as good as a beechwood-seared German smoked helles, Smoke Follows Beauty brought stylish Band-aid astringency to salami-pastrami cured meatiness and sweet smoked barley malting.

Wintry dark ale, Pie Chai Porter, plied sweet chai tea to pine nut, gingerbread, nutmeg and peppermint incense illusions above dark chocolate base.