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.