“Celebratory” XMas stout with bold mentholyptus peppermint scurry enriched by bittersweet dark chocolate. Creme de menthe Thin Mint scheme given fudged brownie, vanilla and anise whims.
VAULT BANK HOLIDAY CHRISTMAS STOUT
Tag Archives: VAULT BREWING
VAULT BIRD IN HAND STOUT
Pretty Bird coffee tones anchor luxurious lactic pastry stout. Madagascar vanilla, Cassia cinnamon and cocoa nibs adjuncts combine for robust java-designed elixir. Ancillary bourbon chocolate sweetness, chocolate-covered jelly scrum, fruit-caked rum raisin smidge and sour cherry-pomegranate-cranberry twang swirl thru distant molasses-dipped ancho chili peppering.
VAULT ALL BOATS RISE DOUBLE IPA
“Aggressively hopped” Citra-Eldorado West Coast IPA places murky grapefruit-seeded lemon bittering near desiccated orange swerve and wispy pineapple-mango snips given lacquered pining and earthen graining plus offbeat bay-leafed perfume musk.
VAULT TIME VALUE MUNICH STYLE DUNKEL LAGER
Dewy fungi earthiness and funky cellar musk contrast sweetly breaded Vienna malting as decocted cocoa-dried fig souring emerges.
VAULT BREWING COMPANY – EASTON
EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA
Inside a former bank, VAULT BREWING COMPANY’S second location at downtown Easton opened its doors December ’24 (twelve years after their Yardley flagship brewery started). The spare white-stoned pubs’ chalky cement walls, cement floors, olden archways and dark glass frontage give Vault a provincial speakeasy feel.
A ten-seat, aluminum-topped bar served a rounded selection of head brewer Chris Sayko’s proprietary beers alongside upscale snacks, sandwiches, cocktails and wine. There are cozy wood tables in the barroom and private backspace dining.
My wife and I perused the Vault on a cold Sunday at noon, early February ’25. I’d already quaffed a few Vault brews at Yardley and at home and now bought Munich-style Dunkel Lager, All Boots Rise Double IPA and Bank Holiday Christmas Stout (all reviewed in Beer Index).
Dry Lithuanian farmhouse ale, Liquid Asset V2, let creamy banana esters enter the fray as honey-spiced dried apricot, lemon meringue and pear niceties picked up floral perfuming and herbal nuances atop delicate pilsner malts.
Piney grapefruit, lemon rind and orange pith bittering brightened Mosaic-Strata-hopped, Public Offering, a dry medium-bodied hazy IPA with Sultana-hopped guava, green grape and gooseberry tartness above lightly creamed oated pale malts.
Semi-sweet oatmeal stout, Bear Hug, gained milk-sugared coffee tones, maple oats sweetness and toasted nuttiness contrasting dry-roast hop char.
Rich Imperial Pastry Stout, Bird In Hand, ‘perfect with vanilla-glazed chocolate donut,’ combined Madagascar vanilla, cassia cinnamon, cocoa nibs and cafe latte adjuncts with fudgy bourbon chocolate given slight campfire-smoked ancho chili peppering to contrast dried cherry, plum and prune snips.
VAULT BLIND TRUST
On tap at Hoover’s Tavern, tropical double dry-hopped NEIPA blends grapefruit-peeled Strata-hopped cannabis dankness with lemony Idaho 7-hopped herbal musk, gaining dry pine needling before picking up mild dill-pickled mango, guava and papaya salting.
VAULT OPENING BELL BREAKFAST STOUT
Conditioned on coffee beans and draped with Vermont maple syrup, rich lactic breakfast stout gains bittersweet dark chocolate creaming. Upfront dark-roast coffee tones remit espresso, latte and cafe au lait illusions before reaching its sweet maple oats base.
VAULT OF HOPS AND CLOUDS
Vibrant New England-styled pale ale boasts big bouquet of sunshiny Mosaic-Citra-hopped tropical fruits sidling dry Simcoe-hopped pining. Lemon-peeled orange rind and yellow grapefruit bittering plus lightly salted mango, guava and pineapple tartness contrast peachy clementine and tangerine sweetness for briskly fruitful effervescence.
VAULT FIVE CEES IPA
On tap at Triton, sharp piney citrus hop spicing induced by Cascade, Centennial, Citra, Columbus, and Chinook varietal provides lightly embittered yellow grapefruit, orange rind and pineapple zesting plus ancillary peach-tangerine-mango tang above sugary pale malt surface. Slight herbal licks sneak thru mowed grass astringency beneath the surface.
VAULT WHEAT PALE ALE
Lemony orange pith spritz scurries thru brisk, but nondescript, wheat ale. Mild citrus spray picks up peachy nips and phenol hop astringency that interrupts fruity flavoring over crackery white wheat base.
VAULT BREWING COMPANY – YARDLEY
YARDLEY, PENNSYLVANIA
A few blocks away from the Delaware River in the bohemian Bucks County village of Yardley lies VAULT BREWING COMPANY. Opened October 11, 2012, its historic Cathedral-like brownstone frontage and stoic Goth-like visage stand out amongst the rural downtown surroundings.
Formerly a bank with a large vault (hence the name), its metal lattice and bronze-topped tables exude an archaic Romanesque feel further defined by stucco-textured tan walls, plum-hued barroom ceiling, incandescent street lamps, tin crown moulding, mirrored bar canope, mahogany-framed green marble columns and bronze beer tanks (utilized as pizza ovens in the open kitchen).
Besides making fine craft beer, the retired safety deposit boxes contain vintage stored wines. Four brass brew tanks behind the roomy six-seat bar contain today’s five available beers ranging from summer soft to heavily roasted.
Free jazz plays as my wife and I grab a table in the far left corner during lunchtime mid-January ’14. The menu features flatbread pizzas with beer-infused dough, sandwiches, panninis and salads. We settle for the excellent Wild Mushroom Pizza with bleu-cheesed honey, garlic truffle ricotta and caramelized onions.
As for the libations, sunnily upbeat Sorachi Ace Blonde brought herbal citric pleasantries to the fore as its lemon-peeled yellow grapefruit sugaring received mild lemongrass, vanilla and coconut vagaries.
Tropical-fruited Galaxy Pale Ale layered yellow grapefruit, white peach and lemon seed tartness above a pungent grain-toasted hop bittering reminiscent of robust Czech or German lagers.
Truly defining, the milder and less tart second batch of Cherry Dunkelweizen provided ample black cherry puree bluster to banana-clove-vanilla sweetness, dried plum-fig-grape illusions, wheat-honeyed apple ripeness and sharp hop spicing.
Piney grapefruit and pineapple embittered the dark chocolate roast and dried cocoa powdering of stylishly rewarding Cascadian Dark Ale.
For dessert, the smooth nitro version of The Vault’s Breakfast Stout maintained a luxurious La Colonbe coffee bean roast sweetened by Vermont maple syrup as well as bourbon-tinged dark chocolate, vanilla and cookie dough nuances.