Tag Archives: PERKASIE PA

MYSTIC WAYS BREWING COMPANY

PERKASIE, PENNSYLVANIA

In the heart of Perkasie since opening in August 2022, MYSTIC WAYS BEWING COMPANY has a cool mystical psychedelic vibe uniquely tantalizing all who’ve experienced the small kaleidoscopic pub. Its black art deco ceilings with glowing celestial starlights perfectly suits the back-walled enchanted forest themed mural, bright magic mushroom surrealism and elliptical wood-lacquered aquamarine figurines at the 20-seat left side bar.

Right side wood tables plus two TV’s fill out the phantasmagorical hideout. There are ten taps including a side pull handle at the bar. Stored brew tanks exist downstairs.

Complexities abound for former homebrewer Joe Winiarski’s winningly diverse elixirs ranging from creamy black kolsch to sour fruited porter to wood-chipped Basil Hayden bourbon stout – many utilizing locally sourced ingredients. Winiarski gained experience at Quakertown’s Red Lion Brewing and boasts “cutting edge” technique brewing his own unique fare.

My wife and I enjoyed our festive two-hour junket on a cold Saturday afternoon, January ’25. We spent time kibitzing with Mystic Ways partner, Alice Krier, Winiaski’s mother.

Muskily herbal Saaz hops greeted barnyard graining for Mystic Premium, a dry Czech pils with mildly creamed sourdough breading.

Offbeat juniper berry-integrated, gin-barreled Scandanavian sahti, Juni, benefited from sparkly-watered Kviek yeast, ‘herbal rye breading’ and minty fern licks, picking up desiccated fig, plum and prune tartness atop creamy Vienna malts.

Resilient lemon zesting and yellow grapefruit tanginess combined with salted guava misting for dry-hopped Celestialdelic, a hazy IPA with heavily wheated oats creaming and slight compost waft.

Creamily smooth black kolsch, Midnight Mystolsch, let ‘dark chocolate-covered biscuit’ entry gain toasted wheat breading to counter its champagne-sparkled kolsch yeast for slightly eccentric fun.

Light-roast coffee picked up cocoa-dried carob riffs and light-roast hop bittering for Ymave Mystic, a dark version of Mystic Premium that stays smooth.

Conditioned on raspberry puree, Elixir Of Krampus, a sour porter, let its dark-roast chocolate malts gain Philly sour yeast musk as well as prune-dried green raisin and black grape tartness plus pipe tobacco sweetness.

Aged in Basil Hayden Bourbon barrels, mighty 11.6% ABV nightcap, Mammothus Imperial Stout, regaled vanilla-creamed bourbon chocolate sweetness for syrupy maple sapped French Toast finish.

VAN LIEUS BREWING COMPANY

PERKASIE, PENNSYLVANIA

Starting out as a family farmhouse basement nano in nearby Ringoes, New Jersey, VAN LIEUS BREWING COMPANY opened its Perkasie location October 29, 2023. Two blocks from Mystic Way Brewing in a residential neighborhood, the converted white stucco Texaco gas station (with dark blue Penn State trim, double overhead doors and front benches) houses side-doored brew tanks holding head brewer Galen Barr’s snazzy suds.

Alongside his father, Jim Barr, Galen’s small brewing operation turns out a familiar stylish array of beers with just the right edge. The one-room, cement-floored, white-walled pub features plastic-seated wood furnishings and a couple TV’s. On a cold Saturday night, January ’25, I sojourned to Van Lieus.

For light-bodied thirsts, tidy Lieus Light Lager simply sidled gluey pale malt spicing alongside dry herbal hops in crisply clean fashion.

Green grape must dusted the banana-clove expectancy and sprinkled powdered sugaring of Clouds Over Bavaria, a cereal-grained, pilsner-malted hefeweizen.

Lively Citra-Galaxy-Nelson-hopped NEIPA, Bound By Symmetry, bounced lemony grapefruit rind bittering across sweet orange peel zesting, peachy pineapple tanginess and floral perfumed spicing atop creamy vanilla oats, leaving mild pine tones on the tropical fruited sunshine.

Van Lieus co-owner Jim Barr then came to sit with wife and I, bringing over German Christmastime-spiced Pfefferusse chocolate cookies to eat alongside his persistently percolatin’ porter.

Dark-roast coffee nuttiness darted thru the dark-roast hop char of relaxing coffee porter, Back To The Grind, utilizing sweet Maris Otter and pale chocolate malts to counter its bitter tobacco chaw swerve.

FREE WILL BREWING CO.

Image result for FREE WILL BREWING PERKASIE

PERKASIE, PENNSYLVANIA

Perched between Philly to the south and Allentown to the north, Bucks County’s rural industrial village of Perkasie blends old farmhouses with small mills outside its red-bricked downtown perimeter. Inside a basement warehouse, FREE WILL BREWING CO. opened for business during January 2012.

Originating at a tiny 800 square foot garage before moving into its current spacious 8,600 square foot Walnut Street walkdown, Free Will now sells a heap of growlers, kegs and bottles to the surrounding community.

Established by brewmaster John Stemler and managing partner Dominic Capece, the capacious microbrewery serves free samples to walk-in customers at its raw, cement-floored, 14-draught tasting room. The windowed left side brew tanks occupy only half the remaining space but expansion seems imminent.

Stopping by mid-January ’14 in the late afternoon, I got to enjoy healthy 6-ounce samplers as the place filled up quickly with enthusiastic local minions and travelling beer geeks like myself.

Tasting room manager, Michael Standish, offered friendly tidbits and helpful flavor illusions concerning each beer. He claimed, “I’m a Scotch and bourbon man by heart, but now I also enjoy the art of drinking craft beers.”

His favorite Free Will offering, 7 Course Red, an easygoing Irish-styled medium body, brought roasted coffee and sweet chocolate to wispy caramel-spiced red fruiting.

A few more soft-toned brews captured my attention thereafter.

Destiny’s Wit, a reliable Belgian white ale, scattered mild white-peppered orange and lemon peel bittering across coriander-spiced candi-sugared Belgian yeast and banana-chipped lemon meringue pie.

Another well-rounded moderation, Saison De Rose, gathered lemony pink grapefruit, black-peppered pink peppercorn and ginger-leafed hibiscus for its herbaceous floral-fruited climax.

Despite loading 200-plus IBU’s and 10% alcohol volume into its soft-toned veneer, Sputnik 17 Chasing The Dragon managed to stay deceivingly laid-back for a full-on India Pale Ale. Tropical yellow-pink grapefruit, pineapple and lemon pick up grassy-hopped peach-pear-apple undertones.

Based on the second grain runnings of Black Friday Belgian Quad (an apple brandy-barreled elixir), Sputnik 20 worked well as a hybridized English bitter with crisply clean mineral watering countering earthen dewy musk and murky mocha mustiness. 

After these libations, I bought a 6-pack of fabulous Free Will C.O.B. (Coffee Oatmeal Brown), a nutty coffee-ground roasted dark ale with dry pale-malted hop bitterness contrasting dark chocolate, vanilla, hazelnut and molasses tones (reviewed fully in Beer Index).

www.freewillbrewing.com