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.
