Tag Archives: BLOOMSBURG PA

TURKEY HILL BREWING COMPANY

Photos of Turkey Hill Brewing Co Pub & Grille, Bloomsburg  Turkey Hill Brewing Company - Google+

BLOOMSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA

In a rustic rural outpost two miles from downtown Bloomsburg (home of Marley’s Brewery & Grille) just off Route 80′s Exit 236 lies TURKEY HILL BREWING COMPANY, a freestanding A-framed watering hole affiliated with The Inn at Turkey Hill and opened for business April 2011. Visited July 2012, this natural weathered wood stable “sitting atop the footprint of an English barn originally erected in 1839″ served a diverse range of brews and worthy food items to nearby Bloomsburg University students and a host of local dinnertime businessmen.

Entering through a brown-wooded side door entrance next to a small patio, Turkey Hill’s windowed brew tanks are set up across the hall from a ground level concrete-floored catacomb-like cafe where an acoustic singer entertained patrons seated at the rear bar or several stooled tables.

Upstairs, a small private lounge leads to an ample wood-furnished, tan-walled open space with horseshoe coat hangers and various farmhouse photos. The eight-seated bar is packed for the Fourth Of July as two TV’s show the Yankee game and pre-Olympics fodder. We sit at a nearby table and order food to go alongside brewer Donny Abraczinkas’ stylistically robust fare.

I ate the plentiful Shroomer Angus Burger (featuring mushrooms, roasted garlic, caramelized onions, provolone cheese on a Kaiser roll) while my wife chomped on the busy Mediterranean Pizza (gathering squash, feta cheese and mozzerella atop local grained dough).

Though popular Journeyman IPA was out, each of the six four-ounce samples on the wooden tray and both of the fruity summer seasonals served pint-size more than sufficed.

At the lighter end, tart lemony orange-fronted, dry hop-spiced Barn Dance Blonde and caramel-soured, orange-dessicated, fig-sugared, earthen-backed New Whirrled Vienna Lager retained mild hop bittering.

A brisk IPA-like woody fruited bittering punctuated Revelation Pale Ale, the clear favorite today. Its lacquered apple, grapefruit, pineapple, apricot, mango and kiwi fruiting regaled brusque juniper hop bitterness, maintaining tremendous body and character.

Belgian yeast-candied Oliver’s Twisted Belgian Pale Ale placed peppery dry-hop spicing against sticky anise, sugared fig and raw chocolate while English-styled Samuel Bloom Brown Ale tossed lightly-roasted hops beside walnut-charred bittering.

Dark ale hailers will appreciate Iron Street Porter, a coffee-roasted, chocolate-soured, black tea-deepened bitter with ashen hop char.

For dessert, soapy apricot-lacquered, peach-toned, wheat-crackered Urban Abbey Apricot Wheat took a backseat to easygoing lighter-bodied Raspberry Wheat (with its sweet and sour raspbery rasp climbing above the honeyed wheat spine as well as ancillary red apple, strawberry and cranberry dollops).

Sweet-toothed brethren should enjoy Brennan Porter-Stout Float (made with Brennan’s vanilla bean ice cream and chocolate sauce).

www.turkeyhillbrewing.com

MARLEY’S BREWERY & GRILLE

MARLEY'S BREWERY AND GRILLE, Bloomsburg - Menu, Prices & Restaurant Reviews  - Tripadvisor

(above picture is new location since 2018/ bottom picture is original)

BLOOMSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA

Situated east of Danville and west of Berwick along the Susquehanna River, Bloomsburg may be Columbia County’s most industrialized town. Tucked into a midsize red-bricked space on Main Street’s downtown stretch with maroon awning, green interior, Classical molding, and separate right side dining area stands MARLEY’S BREWERY & GRILLE, visited April ’11.  Sitting at the left side bar across from a beautiful mirrored mural with Marley’s insignia, I enjoyed fruity ales, a porter, and stout alongside humus and prime beef sandwich while watching Philadelphia Flyers playoff hockey with my wife.

Marley's Brewery And Grille | Bloomsburg, PA | Beers | BeerAdvocate

Silly dog-related names christened each well-balanced delight brewer Mark Brunwarth concocted in the basement tanks. Two fine white-peppered Belgian-styled ales led the way. Candi-sugared, plum-dried, prune-stewed, herbal-hopped Choke Collar Trippel bested sweeter fruit-spiced Dirty Dog Dubbel.

Another two Euro-fashioned offerings of German heritage fared well. Bitch In Heat Hefe layered banana-breaded clove-coriander spicing and lemony orange tartness above honeyed wheat. An abundant plum-soaked fig-spiced sharpness enveloped Dock Jumper Dunkel, subduing bruised banana sweetness and dried mocha malts. Dog Runner Ale, a mild Irish Red Ale, needed deeper crystal malting, riper black cherry fruiting, and better tea-like midst.

On the dark side, oats-toasted, chocolate-spiced, coffee-burnt, espresso-bent Guard Dog Porter gave chocolate-bound barley roaster Leg Humper Oatmeal Stout a run for the money.

Though soft-hopped, Droopy Ear Alt retained loud raisin-pureed cherry prompting and molasses-sapped overture to earthy bottom. Dry-bodied pine-fruited Tire Chaser IPA gained woody-hopped grapefruit-peeled black currant bittering to contrast zesty orange, pineapple, peach, and apple.

Crisp citric-fizzed Kong Kolsch was least memorable, placing nasty corn-oiled astringency aloft pungent vegetal graining. Overall, a nice showing on a rainy Friday eve from a cordial neighborhood pub opened February 2010.

www.marleysbrewery.com