Rustic German-styled pils forwards dryly herbal Saaz hop musk to mild lemon twist (as well as dark floral nuances and vegetal snips) above toasted biscuit base. Stylistically perfect.
All posts by John Fortunato
SUSQUEHANNA SHADY SPOT SHANDY
Spritzy soda-fizzed summertime shandy infused with sugary lemonade picks up hard-candied grapefruit, orange and tangerine tartness. Dry clear yellowed suds enjoyable for lightweights with less discernible palate.
BRIGHT PATH BREWING COMPANY
JIM THORPE, PENNSYLVANIA
Open February ’22 in the Pocono Mountain mining town of Jim Thorpe, BRIGHT PATH BREWING COMPANY secures a roomy 4,000 square-foot barn house. Selling its beer to-go initially, Bright Path began inviting the public onsite for draughts three months hence in May.
Co-owner Alex Franko began home brewing a decade ago and worked at Sly Fox, Other Half, Lone Eagle, Dogfish Head and Dock Street beforehand while biz partner, Dylan Smith’s been at it for five years with stops along the way at Lancaster, Lone Eagle and Cape Cod breweries. Both grew up in the surrounding Keystone State area.
Their humble mission is to create ‘refreshing flavorful lagers and low ABV session beers’ for everyone to enjoy. And there’s a peaceful easy feeling that consumes the high-ceilinged pub.
Bright Path’s gray cement-floored, green-walled interior features a 12-stooled wood top bar (with aluminum frontage), chalkboard beer list and a gold-lettered company insignia. Windowed rear brew tanks hold the suds. Pipe-fitted community tables, wall-railed standing ledges and exposed ceiling pipes add rustic appeal.
Easygoing flagship, Mc Gowan’s Cream Ale, does a fine job reinforcing Bright Path’s ‘humble’ roots (alongside a half-dozen pilsner/lagers available on my two-hour July ’22 trip). Its lemony Cascade-hopped spritz and salted maize dryness picked up subtle herbal perfuming in a light-bodied setting.
Cleanly dry Keller Pils winsomely guided lemony orange salting into placid floral herbage above freshly baked French breading.
Equally tranquil golden-cleared light lager, Pigsah Mountain Brew, let citric-dried lemongrass herbage and grassy hop astringency reach its simple pale malt base.
Straightforward Helles Lager retained a slightly brusque lemon musk, spicy tingle and herbal respite for its sweet cereal grain backbone.
Another soft-toned moderation, Vienna Lager, plied yellow and orange fruit spicing to sweet barley-steeped Easter breading.
Bright ‘n lively but less sweet than stylish competitors, Hefeweizen stationed lemony banana-clove expectancy across damp hop herbage and atop sourdough wheat flouring.
Dry-hopped IPA-designed American Standard Pale Ale stayed grapefruit-forward as grassy wood-soaked astringency contrasted wheat-floured breading.
Limey agave cologne saturated dryly tart summertime suds, Mexican Lager, leaving fleeting floral chrysanthemum and lavender snips upon a frail sea-salted pilsner malt bottom.
Soft ‘n billowy Switchback Session Hazy IPA gathered a floral-daubed bouquet of lemony grapefruit bittering, tangy peach, mango and tangerine sweetness and navel orange zesting to enlighten its mild piney hemp resin and withered grassy hop astringency.
On the dark side, fine German-styled black lager, Schwarzbier, escorted barley-roasted black chocolate and walnut coffee tones to weedy black tea soiling.
BOVINO’S PIZZERIA & BREWERY
EAST STROUDSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA
Open 2012, diminutive freestanding pizzeria-brewery, BOVINO’S, casually re-creates ’60s/’70s pop culture for thirstily hungry local patrons and Delaware Gap visitors. At the eastern edge of the Poconos in the borough of East Stroudsburg, the tan pub with galvanized steel roof siding decks the walls with pix of music and movie stars. Bovino’s left side kitchen turns out New York-style pizza, calzones, strombolis and sandwiches to go alongside spiffy homemade suds emanating from the small rear brew room.
Bovino’s cozy 12-seat wood-topped/ wood-floored bar area features two draught stations with twelve taps handles plus four front tables and a few high chaired tables opposing the left side tile-floored open kitchen.
Upon my July ’22 Poconos journey, I tried eight soothing light-hued beers at the makeshift wood-enclosed patio while thoroughly enjoying the hefty Meat Lovers pizza.
Dry orange-oiled pekoe tea spiciness reached peat-soiled nuttiness for Autumn Red Ale, a lightly barley roasted moderation not far removed from the dry brown tea-daubed chocolate-embittered earthen truffle mustiness of Brea’s Nuts, a delicate brown ale contrasting mild walnut snips with wispy glazed hazelnut sweetness.
Dryer and muskier than most blonde ales, Riding Dirty was stylishly nebulous as murky lemon-candied orange tartness faded alongside the leathery barnyard graining hiding its herbal fungi tinge.
Warhead-candied fruited kettle sour, Lip Tickler, stayed mildly acidic as medicinal cherry tartness and a lemony raspberry pucker grabbed attention.
Tarter fruit-candied Cherry Fixx retained powdered cherry spunk as mellow mango, tangerine and melon tanginess lingered below.
Grapefruit-forward Just N Haze IPA picked up delicate currant spicing and grassy hop astringency above a fluffy white breaded backbone.
Easygoing Mighty Mosaic (a dry Mosaic-hopped IPA) maintained tart orange spicing, gentle herbal musk and lemony floral pining.
Best bet: Vibrant Mango Summer Blonde Ale glimmered with salted mango juicing as mild piney hop bittering enhanced its ancillary berry, peach, pineapple, cantaloupe and guava influx.
BIRTHRIGHT BREWING CO.
NAZARETH, PENNSYLVANIA
Right in the heart of Nazareth on Main Street, BIRTHRIGHT BREWING CO. opened its doors February 1, 2018. Providing a rustic industrial environment perfectly suited for the working-class Blue Mountain Ridge mining area, Birthright’s metal-forged axe-handled signpost, wood-metal furnishings, red brick walls, reclaimed wood doors and slate top bar give the window-fronted pub its charming antiquity.
While the brew tanks are towards the rear, an open kitchen serves wood-fired pizza plus salads, sandwiches, wings and veggie paninis. My wife and I grab a few metal chairs out front on Main with dog, Roscoe, on a humid Sunday afternoon, July ’22, perusing each Birthright offering available, including several worthy double dry-hopped IPA’s.
Pleasingly light-bodied Birthlight Blond stayed soft-tongued as mellowly spiced yellow-orange fruiting picked up pale malt sugaring to contrast its phenol hop esters.
Easygoing pale ale, Gunga Galunga, left fig-honeyed citrus dryness upon waddle-seeded cocoa remnant and nutty rye breading.
Muskily raw-grained moderation, Cross Czech, a dry Euro-styled pilsner, plied herbal-hopped barnyard astringency to mild lemon-honeyed sweetness.
Dryer than most in its class, Whitefield Wit allowed ample chaffed wheat rusticity, delicate oats-flaked malting and white peppercorn remnants to encumber the stylishly sweet orange-peeled coriander spicing.
Affably soft-toned Irish Red Ale, Grudge Bearer, wedged dewy peat mossing thru gently spiced dried fruiting above roasted barley timidity.
Tropical fruited double dry-hopped IPA, Wolfs Run, retained a bright lemony grapefruit twist, tangy orange-tangerine misting and mild peach-pineapple perk over pale malt sugaring.
Sourly tart stone-fruited DDH IPA offshoot, Wolfs Run Mango, let lemon-seeded mango salting jut out above perfumed floral spicing and fennel herbage.
Another DDH IPA, deep golden bronzed moderation Humulone Centipede, settled into sunny yellow grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering as salty white peppering caressed sour white grape, guava and gooseberry illusions above mildly creamed crystal malting.
Meanwhile, hop-forward’ Azacca The Clones DDH IPA, engaged its semi-sharp citrus spree with floral-spiced herbage above dry raw-honeyed pale malts.
Sourly lemon-salted candied tangerine tartness sharpened fruited Berliner Weiss, Wu- Tangerine, a resilient mouth puckering lollipop-like sucker.
A more vibrant BW with a hard candied Sweet-Tart coating and pinkish magenta hue, Fruit Punch Ooh Yeah! regaled powdered cherry, salted orange and lemonade illusions, finishing like Hawaiian Punch.
Dulcet holiday-seasoned winter warmer, Gettin’ Close Imperial Spiced Brown Ale, issued brown sugared cinnamon spicing to wispy caramelized chocolate malting as well as distant nutmeg, allspice and cardamom snips.
APEX BREWERY
MONROE, NEW YORK
In a beige aluminum warehouse (with flat earthen stone-based storefront) at the Orange County township of Monroe, APEX BREWERY opened its doors October 2020. Operated by roller derby vets Rachel and David Holm, Apex quickly developed a dedicated local following.
A local homebrewer for well over a decade, David Holm concentrates on recurring small batch brews as well as sturdy one-offs and seltzers.
The glassed aquamarine-topped bar matches its reclaimed wide-plank wood frontage and bar backdrop while rear silver brew tanks hold the proprietary suds. Roller skate-wheeled tap handles at a splendid touch.
There are five black four-seat tables at the polyurethane cement-floored, gray-walled, high-ceilinged pub. An overhead door leads to the rustic benched back deck.
Four well designed brews were readied for my midday June ’22 initiation.
Stylistically bold pale ale, Star Pass, retained an off-dry orange, tangerine, clementine and grapefruit tang and recessive raspberry-passionfruit tartness given grassy hop astringency over delicate oats-flaked barley malts.
Limey bergamot orange hops contrasted light vanilla-creamed cereal graining for Brew Stachestrong, a pleasingly dry adjunct New England IPA.
Utilizing crystal clean Norwegian Kviek farmhouse yeast, hazy Mosaic-Citra-hopped IPA, Tropical Dad Joke, united mild yellow grapefruit bittering, zesty navel orange tanginess and candied pineapple tartness as light pine needling spread thru the tropical fruitedness.
Salted chocolate, toasted coconut, spiced toffee and mild hazelnut coffee reinforced fudgy Booty Block, a delectably bold dessert stout.
On July ’24 Sunday afternoon revisit, tried five more Apex suds.
Straightforward Screaming Rubber Chicken Cream Ale let corn-dried mineral grain musk, grassy hop astringency and subtle lemondrop souring merge comfortably.
Briny lemon-seeded bittering outdid the pumpkin spice adjunct of Jammin’ Jack Saison, relegating its rustic barnyard acridity.
Salty lemon-seeded bittering and mild pine tones graced Tropical Dad Joke IPA, retaining an easygoing groove.
Utilizing traditional Irish ale yeast, dewy Shamblock Irish Red regaled a light chocolate roast for maple molasses-sweetened nutty residue and cellared fungi moss.
Creamily soft-tongued Sisu Imperial Stout plied chocolate-roasted maple oats sugaring mens watches replica to candied toffee, black licorice and oaken cherry illusions.
Revisited trusty Apex galaxy again September ’24 to try four more select suds.
Soft-toned aluminum cleared lightweight, Apex Lager, sent barley roasted Vienna/pilsner malting and dried maize to lemony Crystal hop pep.
Easygoing hazy pale ale, Severance, placed lemon-candied tartness, white grapefruit bittering and red currant snips next to dank hop resin.
A richer stylish favor embossed Kommander Kolsch, contrasting its musky lemon-seeded hop bittering and earthen herbal respite with caramelized Weyermann/Vienna-malted cereal graining.
Coppery West Coast-styled IPA, Knee Tap, retained expectant piney citrus luster as grapefruit-seeded lemon musk and dry pine resin absorbed muted pale malt spicing.
Late August ’25, sank another four Apex brews while sitting at the bar with wife.
Lemony orange sugaring, grassy hop herbage and floral daubs introduced ‘slightly hoppy’ blonde ale, Summer Chuggin’, a sessionably mild quencher.
Belgian dark strong ale, Four Points Quad, sunk dry whiskey, bourbon and Scotch licks into softly caramelized dark fruit spicing, picking up dainty Chardonnay, tequila and rum snips.
On the dark side, applewood-smoked porter, I Regret Nothing, let cedar-chipped chocolate sweetness dry up in Band-aid wafted beechwood-like astringency as slight hazelnut, cola and macadamia illusions drift by.
Bold Imperial Stout, Derby Booty, draped dark chocolate syrup upon caramelized coffee and hazelnut-glazed maple oats contrasting dry dark roast hop char.
CZIG MEISTER / TWIN ELEPHANT WE UNDERSTOOD THE ASSIGNMENT BARREL AGED IMPERIAL STOUT
On tap at Taphouse 15, well integrated bourbon barrel aged stout lets abundantly creamed hazelnut coffee entry pick up piquant vanilla sweetness as well as “hazelnut brownie battered Italian espresso” intensity. Decadent milk-sugared hazelnut coffee dominance stays sturdy while tertiary black cherry pureed tartness and mild black licorice snips seep thru exuberant full bodied richness.
FOUNDERS KBS HAZELNUT IMPERIAL STOUT
Decadent bourbon-aged stout perfect for sweet-toothed crowd. Lovely hazelnut-glazed toasted coconut frontage picks up sweet bourbon vanilla licks, creamy brown chocolate seduction and caramelized coffee caress. Fudged mocha continuance gains subtle praline, macaroon and almond illusions. Recommended alongside all KBS series Founder stouts.
FOUNDERS BREAKFAST STOUT – NITRO
On tap at Plank Pizza, awesome nitro-infused oatmeal stout retains creamy Kona-Sumatra coffee conflux reinforced by dark-roast hop char and earthen grain sear. Lovely coffee bean intensity registers espresso, cappuccino, macchiato and caramel latte niceties above oats-flaked black chocolate base. Perfect morning java!
ALESMITH SPEEDWAY STOUT – DOUBLE FUDGE
Iconic signature stout given fudgy Dominican cocoa richness, Madagascar vanilla sweetness and milk-sugared coffee roast as well as tertiary hazelnut, toffee, burnt caramel, star anise and cafe latte illusions. Classic full-bodied noirish decadence.
BRIX CITY FANCY AFFAIR 7TH ANNIVERSARY STOUT
On tap at Plank Pizza, decadent 7th anniversary bourbon-aged churro knockoff regales cinnamon-spiced Mexican Chiapas coffee tones, Mexican vanilla sweetness and pastry-fried sourdough flouring. Delightful milk-sugared coffee midst permits mild Heaven Hill bourbon subtlety to enter the fray.
MAGNIFY IF YOU GIVE A MOOSE A BANANA NUT MUFFIN STOUT
On tap at Taphouse 15, intereasting dessert-styled milk stout with chocolate pudding-crusted banana nut breading enriched by vanilla creamed mocha surge. Custard-sugared Thai banana sweetness picks up pecan pie, anise and latte illusions beneath milk chocolate surface.
