On tap at Capitol Craft – East Hanover, crisply clean moderate-bodied Bohemian pils plies earthily herbal raw grain musk to bright floral fruited spritz and honeyed lemon twist. More fruity than typical German/Czech-styled pilsners.
All posts by John Fortunato
JERSEY CYCLONE REWAL PILSNER
On tap at Capitol Craft – East Hanover, eccentrically easygoing Polish-styled pilsner utilizes herbal bergamot orange-limed Lubelski hops to soak up green grape tannins and wafting floral aspect above honeyed pilsner malting. A sourer pils alternative.
OXBOW ZEIT PILS
On tap at Ambulance, musky Bavarian pils with brisk Noble hop herbage, hay-dried maize astringency, dewy raw graining and spicy lemon licks will please light pilsner fans.
CARTON FRUSTA ITALIAN PILSNER
On tap at Taphouse 15, dry golden cleared Italian-styled Bohemian pilsner brings herbal Magnum hops, lemony green grape-soured Hallertau Blanc hops and nifty floral bouquet to musky corn husk leavening delicate bread crusted Vienna-Carafoam malting.
BURNISH BEER CO.
SALISBURY, MARYLAND
Situated on the northern outskirts of East Salisbury at the eastern shore of Maryland, bright blue brewpub, BURNISH BEER CO., began operations October ’21 inside a converted 6,000 square-foot boat factory. Co-owning brewmaster Randy Mills gained experience at nearby Evolution Brewing and Cambridge’s RAR Brewing and his IPA-dominated elixirs tend to lean on the dry side.
A V-framed entrance advances patrons to the weathered Industrial pub sporting a dramatic rust metal bar back, black slate floor, left side seating kiosk, echoey high ceiling with Edison lights and exposed pipes plus multiple TV’s, tables aplenty and three overhead doors providing open air seating.
On a sunny August afternoon, my wife and I enjoy Sunday brunch with all thirteen available suds, chowing down fruitful maple sugared Liege Waffles, Napolean pizza and wings at one of the four canopied high chaired tables.
Rustic corn-dried milled graining grounded Kickin’ Brass, a moderate Noble-hopped Italian pilsner with basil-herbed floral wisps.
‘Crushable’Â Cornhub Premium Lager saturated its lemon-soured corn starching with musky herbal hop astringency and mild pilsner graining.
Spritzy lemon souring and maize-dried herbal musk ambled thru brusquely grained Roy Light Lager, a peppy golden light body.
Lemondrop-soured Petite Farmhouse Ale stayed dry as hay-like barnyard leathering contrasted less prominent floral-spiced beet sugaring.
Peachy daiquiri-like amber-hazed summertime wheat ale, Peach Socks, provided light vanilla creaming to the lacquered citrus onrush subsuming its chewy banana-doused peach pureeing.
Dry beige yellow-cleared wheat IPA, Finite Precision Chaos, plied wheat cracked flouring to wood-parched grapefruit peel and orange rind bittering, leaving tidy herbal spicing on the backend.
Soft-toned NEIPA, Edge Of Sanity, left lemony grapefruit, pineapple and orange zesting as well as peachy passionfruit and mango tanginess upon the earthen tamped down hops relegating raw-honeyed pale malts.
Placid lemony orange-tangerine tanginess reached light piney bittering for mellow Mosaic-Citra-Simcoe-hopped Imperial IPA, Paperclip Guitar, riding atop a buttery pale malt base.
Lightly lingered grapefruit rind bittering, orange peel sweetness, pineapple salting and red cherry whims gathered for Awkward High Fives, picking up floral perfumed spicing and dry herbal-doused wood tones.
Brisk Imperial IPA, Behind The Pallets, allowed dry-hopped grapefruit and orange tang to gain lightly spiced pale malt sugaring.
Sunny IPA, Shine, placed mild yellow grapefruit seed, pith and rind bittering alongside estery white wine whims and sedate earthen herbage for desiccated oats flaking.  Â
Smoothly dry English porter, Rusty Rivet, let dark cocoa bittering pick up raw molasses and earthen soiling to contain its dark toffee spicing.
Dark-roast coffee imbued lightly creamed milk stout, Storm Of The Bones, wrought by black chocolate syruping and charred walnut bittering.
SWELLS’A BREWING COMPANY
KILL DEVIL HILLS, NORTH CAROLINA
Just off Kill Devil Hills beach a block away from the Wright Brothers Museum lies SWELLS’A BREWING COMPANY, an interestingly setup cedar planked pub with dapper Mod styling. Burnt sienna-hued Spanish mission tiles and a cozy fireplace welcome patrons to the 10-seat bar where snacks and refrigerated cans to-go get sold alongside a dozen or so straightforward homemade draught beers listed on skateboards and emulating from the left side brew tanks.
There are wide stairs leading to the slanted-roofed sunset mezzanine and wood-benched rooftop deck – both with beautiful ocean views. A covered outdoor picnic area with three community tables, central firepit and twin bathroom kiosks are stationed at the right exterior. to the bohemian Outer Banx vibe. Open summertime 2021, Swells’a is a virtual surfer dude’s boss beach shack positively reinforcing the bohemian Outer Banx vibe.
The stylistically apropos and affably approachable suds ranged from light-bodied pilsner and moderate cream ale to lactic stout (and a rum barreled fruited sour – Kahuna Matata – bought in a bottle and listed in Beer Index) on my two sunny August 2022 perusals.
Sweet cereal graining contrasted the hay-dried barnyard parch of crisply clean Pea Island Pilsner, leaving a lemony orange spritz upon its lightly herbal hops.
Easygoing helles lager, Sand Pounder, placed orange-oiled lemondrop tartness atop sourdough breading.
Dry cream ale, Day For It, muddled lightly spiced orange tartness and soapy lager yeast with grassy hop astringency.
Just a tad less bitter than an IPA, Bay Dreams Pale Ale offered delicately perfume-spiced orange and grapefruit rind dryness and herbal snips to sugary pale malts.
Perhaps a bit offbeat for a saison, Sea Donkey let its stylishly dry farmhouse rusticity and candied citrus tartness get swayed by lacquered lavender and chrysanthemum florality and/or sage-like herbage.
Sweet-Tart candied strawberry salting fronted puckering fruited sour, Under The Strawberry Moon, picking up lemony watermelon wisps in a lactose setting.
Dry briny lemon souring and light woodruff syruping swayed reliable Berliner Weisse, Carpet Shark, reaching its lactic white wheated pilsner malt base.
Dry fruited wheat ale, You’re A Melon, pitched earthen melon rind mustiness and lemony orange rind snips to its saltine cracker base.
For a neat cocktail turnabout, Pina Ola Wheat, initially resembled a lightly salted Pina Colada with its rummy pineapple-juiced coconut creaming but succumbed to oaken lemon-limed tequila tenacity.
Milk-sugared coffee creaming contrasted dry cocoa powdering and soy-sauced mossy soiling of Choco Sea Dream Stout – today’s only dark ale available.
During hot afternoon journey to Swells’a, July ’25, tapped a lot more previously untried suds.
‘American’ light lager, Duck Dive, retained mild lemon zing to its dry corn base.
Dry maize and millet grain gained musky hop herbage for Pivo-styled Italian pilsner, Yacht Life, leaving light floral spicing.
Sugary oats-flaked pilsner malting sheltered banana bubblegum sweetness, slight clove spicing and drifting peppercorn herbage of classic hefeweizen, Island Pontooner.
Dry lime-salted blonde ale, Surf Trek, let floral herbed Hallertau hops graze honeyed white wheat base.
Sea-salted watermelon gose, You Gose Left I Gose Right, dropped melon rind souring upon delicate cologne-wafted lemon and yellow grapefruit bittering.
Utilizing earthen matcha rice, sweet amber-grained cream ale, Everything’s Fine In The Green Room remained crisply clean.
Off-dry saison, Tour-On, slid orange-peeled coriander, candied pineapple, banana bubblegum and starchy plantain inside oaty pilsner malts.
‘Velvety smooth’ hazy IPA, La Kookaracha, plied yellow grapefruit bittering, pineapple tanginess and lime zesting to resinous pine hops and white-peppered herbage.
Even better, fruitful Imperial IPA, Jimmy Buffett Ruined My Life, let zesty yellow grapefruit sunshine, tangy pineapple zing, lemon rind bittering and navel orange splash merge with spicy floral sweetness contrasting lacquered pine tones above sugared pale malts.
Offbeat Belgian strong blonde ale variant, Grapes Of Wright, tucked white-wined Albarino grape tannins inside lemon meringue tartness, white peppered herbs and teasing bubble-gummy sweetness.
Dry English brown ale, Burkhard, sunk dark chocolate spunk upon caramel coffee-caressed buttery nuttiness.
Nutty medium roast coffee topped robust stout, Called In Seasick, leaving espresso, cocoa and mochaccino snips.
CAPE CHARLES BREWING COMPANY
CAPE CHARLES, VIRGINIA
Recently celebrating their fourth anniversary on June 14, CAPE CHARLES BREWING COMPANY came into existence during 2018. Just up the block from the beachy romantic Eastern Virginia seashore, this unique blue collar family-owned pub features not only fine beers and worthy seafood, burgers and sandwiches, but also an array of outdoor activities at its grain siloed farmland.
Utilizing reclaimed wood for its cabin-fronted exterior and cement-floored interior, there are plank wood tables and metal chairs complemented by hanging metal rimmed lighting and white-walled side paneling at the L-shaped bar. A round orange and green-hued Cape Charles Brewing signpost hangs off the back wall leading to the brewroom (with canning line and large tanks). Three tap stations offer around a dozen well-designed homemade brews, many of which were simply stylistically straightforward.
Besides having a charming beach-chaired outdoor space with helmet-like firepit, there’s also a life-sized chess table and plastic furnishings near the trees.
We sat outside on the metal-furnished patio to absorb each draught available during a sunny Friday afternoon, August ’22.
Three flagship beers lead the charge, including Ol’Â Reliable, a crisply clean dry helles lager with polite grain breading (named for the Reliable Hardware store CCBC refurbished).
Next year-rounder, classic West Coast IPA, Cobb Island, retained a soft-toned grapefruit rind and orange pith bittering tempered by herbal wood-dried earthiness.
Better still, tropical New England IPA, Assateque Island, gathered pine-lacquered orange-peeled grapefruit bittering, zesty pineapple-mango-peach tanginess and perfumed floral spicing over sugary pale malts, resembling a juicy fruit bouquet.
For its lightest bodied offering, aluminum clear pilsner, Paramore Island, let spritzy lemon zest and cereal grain sugaring reach its white bread base.   Â
One of Cape Charles’ most successful brews, dry pilsner-malted Nor’easter Pale Ale buttressed its dank orange oiling with French bread buttering and remote vegetal herbage.
Basic moderate-bodied hefeweizen, Heff N Fairytale, nearly outdid its stylistic banana-clove-coriander sugaring and sweet orange peel tanginess with sassy lemon zest, picking up mild herbage above honeyed wheat wisps.
Tart blood orange salting consumed Berliner Weiss, Blood-Orange Phunk, leaving lemon-candied sourness atop the floury white wheat bed.
Mocha-bound English dark ale, Puddle Pirate Porter, maintained confectionery caramel-toffee sugaring, hazelnut coffee milking and toasted coconut snip contrasting black peppered earthiness and blackened hop char.
Briny oyster shelling grazed the black chocolate syruping, burnt coffee bittering and earthen truffle soiling of Smith Island Oyster Stout. For the lovely bourbon-barrel aged Smith Island version, dry bourbon whiskeyed sherry tones gained mild burgundy licks and dried cherry snips over sweet caramelized chocolate malts.
On April ’23 revisit, ate brioche-bunned Rockfish Sandwich with four previously untried beers.
Dry amber graining and mild citrus spicing gained phenol hop fizzing for Buoy 36 A, a modest Irish red ale.
Sedate candi-sugared dried fruiting and rummy daiquiri sublimity caressed Bayside Belgian Farmhouse Ale, a nifty saison with acrid barnyard must.
Dry bourbon-burgundy wining and Scotch whiskeyed chocolate malts sidled the dark rum sugaring of Coconut Rum Barrel Porter, letting its toasted coconut adjunct stay submerged alongside wispy almond-pecan snips.
Another barrel aged full body, Barrel Aged Bourbon Stout, let mellow oaken vanilla-laced Buffalo Trace bourbon whiskey saturate its dark chocolate syruping and pureed dark cherry.
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ABOMINATION ROCKY ROAD MIDNIGHT SNACK STOUT
On tap at Kitchen & Beer Bar, sweet confectionery dessert layers fudgy caramel-burnt brown chocolate caking with peanut buttered marshmallow fluff and bourbon vanilla warmth for thickly rich pastry stout decadence. Maple syrupy cocoa sugaring guards backend alongside mild Graham Cracker honeying.
FAT ORANGE CAT ROLL ME ONE OF THOSE COWBOY WITH PISTACHIO/ MARSHMALLOW
Intensely rich and creamily viscous stout places pistachio adjunct in chewy marshmallow-sugared dark chocolate syruping. Pine-sapped hop char lingers aggressively against chocolate pistachio fudging, ancillary hazelnut-glazed pecan, acorn and walnut illusions and mild bourbon vanilla subtleties.
MAGNIFY / KANE SWEETER THICKER DARKER STRONGER
On tap at Paragon, decadent Jersey collab places fudgy chocolate brownie batter next to rich Madagascar vanilla creaming and slight coconut palm sugaring for robust 13% ABV nightcap. Marvelous mocha stead picks up milk-sugared coffee tones, dried black cherry tartness, chocolate-covered raisin sweetness, thick hazelnut pasting, creme brulee caramelization and toffee spicing over Graham Cracker honeying.
ISLEY CHOOSY MOTHER PEANUT BUTTER PORTER
On tap at 3 Knots Taphouse – Onancock, creamily smooth peanut butter entry gains dark chocolate richness over sugary barley-roasted oatmeal base in winning manner.
STONE STOCHASTICITY PROJECT HIFI + LOFI MIXTAPE ALE
On tap at Kitchen & Beer Bar, blending an old strong ale with a lower gravity new beer in a red wine oak foudre, glassy vodka-fruited 8.8% ABV strong ale recalls an English barleywine for a sec with its toffee-spiced caramel alacrity. But then tannic oaken red wine esters, dry sherry leathering and barnyard acridity stumble into lemony grapefruit and orange briskness.
