On tap at Growler & Gill, sour coral red-cleared ‘whale cake’ lets limey raspberry tartness grip mild grassy hop astringency over dry corn husking. Subsidiary cranberry, lingonberry and oaken cherry souring deepens puckered raspberry vinegaring.
All posts by John Fortunato
THREES CANAL BEER
On tap at Growler & Gill, light aluminum-cleared cream ale with maize-dried pilsner malting, straw-like barnyard leathering and grassy hop astringency receives delicate floral-licked lemon pith zip.
LOST SHOE LOOP SWOOP & PULL OAT CREAM IPA
Creamily lactic milk-sugared vanilla creaming buttresses yogurt-soured gooseberry/ guava salting, zesty lemon briskness and orange-peeled grapefruit tang over mild oated wheat base of enthusiastic hazy golden medium body.
LOST SHOE ANYONE HEAR A HELICOPTER
Sour pinkish-headed scarlet-cleared fruit ale allows salted raspberry-blackberry tartness to dominate wispy cinnamon-spiced Madagascar vanilla beaning. Tart berry goodness gains oaken cherry swagger as lemon-candied orange juicing stays reserved.
LOST SHOE GRANGER BLVD. MOCHA COCONUT CREAM ALE
Brewers’ Post Road Detour Cream Ale conditioned on chocolate, coconut, vanilla and cold-brewed coffee gains phenol citric-hopped pale malting. Milk-sugared coffee sweetness digs deep, leaving vanilla-coconut splurge in the dust.
LOST SHOE STAND PIPE
Fine German-styled bohemian pilsner. Musky hay-like wild oats leathering backs mineral grained malt crisping, picking up mild lemon pith bittering in clean light-bodied setting.
MONTCLAIR BREWERY
MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY
Embracing their Afro-Caribbean heritage in a whimsically uplifting tan-bricked neighborhood joint, MONTCLAIR BREWERY resembles a beachy shanty town shack with its oceanic aquamarine aluminum topped exterior, reclaimed wood interior furnishings, onsite sugar candy machine, interestingly offbeat tropical elixirs and lemonade-flavored shandys.
Spiritedly celebrating their cultures, husband and wife entrepreneurs, Leo and Denise Sawadogo, opened Montclair Brewery October ’18. A beautiful right side mural portrait features the beer-lovin’ couple. A snazzy milk stout, root beery brown ale and the pair of candied shandys honor Denise’s Jamaican origin while a baobab fruited golden ale and several herbaceous concoctions salute Leo’s ancestry.
Mash tun wafts from the brewtanks in the back as my wife and I grab chairs on a sunshiny Wednesday afternoon, August ’21. The elongated, aluminum-sided, wood top, L-shape bar featured 20-plus tap lines and several community tables dotted the surrounding area. Exposed pipes and a TV hang from the barren ceiling and two electronic boards list today’s offerings.
Perfumed herbage seeped into limey lemon peel bittering for light-bodied Claremont Pilsner, a style-defying Czech pils hybrid with rosemary seasoning (and basil-sage wisps) guarding its earthen grain spine.
Another unconventional stylish departure, Bellevue Blueberry let wildflower-honeyed blueberry jam pick up lime-soured floral herbage in a unique lacquered manner.
A clover-honeyed Creamsickle knockoff, Frog Hollow Orange Wheat brought candied orange, tangerine and clementine to its lacquered wood retreat, leaving bittersweet orange peel zest upon its citric vanilla finish. In the can, rustic raw-grained hop musk wandered alongside navel orange tartness.
Tame baobob-fruited Baobiere Golden Ale, a tropical vitaminized antioxidant, relegated its Africanized citrus zesting for creamy vanilla buttering and serene floral daubs. In the can, mild lemon-pitted mandarin orange and passionfruit tartness gained light peppery snip and fungi yeast funk to propel spiced-up baobob briskness.
Bold for its style, passionfruit pureed Golden Buddha Golden Ale left subtle lemon meringue tartness, zippy orange zest, salted pineapple whims and tidy white peach snips on its latent chamomile herbage.
Sweet orange peel seduction and distant grapefruit misting tingled the mild rosemary springs placating City Green Farmhouse Ale, an off-dry saison with leathery barnyard acridity.
Laidback Raspberry Framboise retained subtle lemony raspberry souring over mildly creamed wheat malts but seemed tame next to the more ambitious fare.
Approachable raspberry pureed Belgian Red Devil Lambic gained cherry soda pop sweetness for its ancillary bubblegum sugaring contrasting tart lemon candied raspberry souring over a Graham Cracker honeyed wheat base.
Herbal-spiced dried fruiting received candi-sugared sweetness for Peoples Republic Of Montclair, a busy Belgian dubbel.
Mellow guava puree souring mollified loosely West Coat-styled Hava Guava IPA, prodding lemony orange powdered candy tartness above sweet wheated oats.
Lemony pineapple, grapefruit and orange amplified spiced-up Waga Dipa, a zestful Imperial IPA with mild piney hop bittering contrasting a heady pale malt sugaring.
Tangy navel orange spritz led Poor Richard’s India Pale Ale, an herb-daubed piney hopped moderation with celery watered pale malt crisping.
Way beyond stylish definition, Tropical Brown Ale let sour-creamed soy milking curdle sarsaparilla sass, cherry baby aspirin tartness and candied orange whims.
Nearly as idiosyncratic, brown-sugared Jamaican Me Crazy Milk Stout allowed black licorice, black cherry and molasses to sway its soothing milk chocolate resonance.
During Halloween ’21, enjoyed sunny Sunday at noon with wife and dog, talking to brewer Leo Sawadogo while downing eight previously untried brews.
Nearing sour IPA territory, tart peculiarity Baobiscus Milkshake promoted yogurt-milked Mandarina hops above Citra-Simcoe variants as hibiscus-flowered passionfruit, apricot and guava tropicalia plus limey Margarita salting gained musty strawberry, watermelon and gooseberry snips.
Oaken cherry enlivened kettle-soured Cherry Fresh, leaving tannic green grape esters upon the salty acidulated malt spine.
Smoked peat drifted past brown-sugared barley malting of Fume, a beechwood-aged rauchbier with subtle pastrami-licked cured meating.
Candi-sugared banana sweetness contrasted orange-dried phenols for Tuxedo Strong Belgian Golden.
Homemade raspberry syrup profoundly sugared-up Raspberry Holiday Jam, bringing candied cherry tartness to its treacly sweet-toothed raspberry gulch.
Lime-soured Jamaican rum drove Weh Deh Yah Stout, routing its Bakers chocolate bittering, oaken cherry tannins, Pinot Noir dryness, desiccated fig-orange tartness and light charcoal singe.
Dry Irish Stout, Connor Hill, draped Blackstrap molasses upon anise-spiced fig, pecan and sassafras peculiarities.
Enhanced by date syrup, molasses and honey, lactose oatmeal cream stout, Blind Date, let its black licorice entry saturate treacly caramelized chocolate sweetness.
Nearly two months hence, December ’21, traveled to Montclair again, trying five varied stouts alongside a juicy IPA, roasted porter and pumpkin ale.
Powdered sugar coated vanilla-creamed pumpkin spicing for Hallow’s Eve Pumpkin Ale II, leaving nutmeg, cinnamon, clove and coriander seasoning upon hop-prickled phenols.
Vibrant orange-peeled grapefruit rind, pineapple and peach juicing and sharp piney hops lifted sunny IPA, Brewer’s Beer, a smooth Citra-Mosaic-hopped moderation.
Robust Kingston Porter let dark roast chocolate engage smoky Jamaican coffee bittering and mild hop-charred nuttiness.
Creamily milk-sugared coffee overtones guided MB Espresso Stout, gaining espresso-dried chocolate syruping by the finish.
Succinct coffee-dried black chocolate picked up earthen peat and charred nuttiness for lactose-aided Highmont Stout, a bittersweet full body.
Garish vanilla creaming and syrupy dark chocolate soaked into Vanilla Aged Highmont Stout, a marshmallow-sweetened dessert treat with delicate bourbon whims.
Toasted coconut jolted the caramelized chocolate sweetness of molasses-sapped Barton’s Bush Coconut Stout, leaving tertiary bourbon vanilla, peppermint and anise illusions upon the mocha-creamed coconut pureed finish.
Peanut buttered dark cocoa spread across Nutty Dread Peanut Butter Stout, contrasting tertiary black licorice sweetness with finishing dark-roast hop bitterness.
During mid-September ’22 Saturday afternoon jaunt, discovered seven more Montclair goodies.
Husked grain musk placated the lemon-soured orange rot of MB Lager, an unevenly Vienna malted Munich dunkel.
An abstruse Hawaiian Punch soft drink, Bellaire Summer Ale brought lacquered blueberry-sugared passionfruit adjunct to mild lemony woodruff syruping and unanticipated pomegranate-jammed rhubarb tartness.
Candi-sugared banana and white-peppered lemon brining secured Jazz Fest Belgian Blonde, dropping herbal fungi into the lightly sweet pilsner malt base.
Mildly bittersweet strawberry adjunct edged out by lemon-candied orange desiccation for The Last Straw Lambic, picking up wispy dried fig and sour apricot snips.
Fruited rauchbier variant, Frais Fume, let smoky beechwood outdo its bittersweet strawberry adjunct and mild raspberry-boysenberry swipe.
Tarry dark chocolate roast and dry nuttiness contrasted brown-sugared caramelization for Blue Mountain Dragon Stout, retaining a bitter hop char.
Velvety smooth updated Blind Date Imperial Stout (a.k.a. I Didn’t See That Coming) utilized molasses-honeyed pureed date to sweeten its spicy toffee midst and black licorice-daubed chocolate malt finish.
During March ’23 noon time journey, discovered another rangy variety of brewer Leo Sawadogo’s Afro-Carib-inspired concoctions. Effectively combining disparate ingredients in an original manner, he’s unafraid to stretch stylish boundaries.
Take, for example, MX Black & Tan, a mild traditional Irish ale-stout blend with expectant dry walnut-charred coffee/espresso tones given unanticipated evergreen-daubed anise spicing, desiccated orange spoilage and weedy earthen soiling.
Attempting to make a worthy gluten free brew from sorghum ain’t easy, but Motherland Sorghum betters most as its rice cake flouring and raw-honeyed wheat grist picks up delicately spiced lemon-dropped orange oiling.
Olive green-hazed St. Patrick’s Day leftover, St. Patty’s Green Munich Dunkle Lager, despite its sea-like hue, was a simple, basic pilsner-malted amber lager with spritzy lemon zesting and light herbal respite.
Another amber-grained lager, Blue Stripe Oktoberfest, plied raw-honeyed dried maize to lightly toasted white breading.
A unique floral summer ale dedicated to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Fragile Like A Bomb, contrasted lavender-honeyed wheat breading with lemony yuzu baobab fruiting and lightly embittered juniper tips.
Dryer, less hazy and more yeasty than typecast New England IPA, National Emergency draped streamlined yellow grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering, sedate guava salting and mild plantain starching over gentle oated wheat bed.
Mild coffee beaning seduced Tantrum Sour Ale, leaving tart lemon rind bittering upon the dry mocha finish.
PIONEER VALLEY BREWERY
TURNERS FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS
Occupying a bright red former gas station-garage in the old Industrial village of Turners Falls, PIONEER VALLEY BREWERY came into existence, December 2019. Entrepreneurial spirits Chris Fontaine and Steve Valenski guide this rustic epoxy-floored pub, sometimes skirting conventionality for slightly less stylishly conservative fare leaning heavily on IPA’s.
Along the Connecticut River at waterfront recreational center, Unity Park, Pioneer Valley’s splendid bucolic surroundings promote leisurely activities that build thirsts for locally sourced craft beers.
The sparsely decorated interior includes a ten-seat bar serving eight surrounding tables and a few countertop stools. Plastic outside furnishings provide further seating.
On a sunny Saturday, July ’21, convivial bartender Sydney offers my wife and I all eleven currently available PVB draughts.
Musky pilsner-like cereal graining, dewy earthen mossing and herbal hops coalesced for light-bodied Trolley Lager, a satisfyingly crisp sedation.
Mild vanilla-creamed yellow fruit spicing serenaded Golden Valley, a semi-sweet blonde ale with floral-herbed nuances.
Dry yellow fruit spicing and light celery-watered herbage saddled Heroes Pale Ale, riding above biscuity malts.
Dry Western Mass IPA brought mild grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering to mild wood tones.
Similar in style, “classic IPA,” West Coast, linked sunny Citra-hopped lemony grapefruit tang to wood-toned Amarillo-Simcoe-hopped dryness.
Sweetly soured passionfruit and grapefruit zesting caressed Fruited IPA, a tropical moderate body with herbal lemongrass tease.
A few hazy IPA’s then entered the fray. Lemony grapefruit-splashed orange peel tanginess boosted Bridge Closed, a moderate-bodied NEIPA with light vanilla-creamed pale malting. A bit richer, Double Feature burst forth with grapefruit rind bittering, naval orange sweetness and salted pineapple sass above sturdier sugar-spiced malt turbidity.
Mellow pink champagne-cleared kettle sour, Got No Money, placed slightly soured passionfruit and guava adjuncts and soft pink grapefruit, strawberry and gooseberry illusions in a briny lactobacillus yeast setting.
Sour-creamed black chocolate malts and musty nuttiness gathered for Powertown Brown, a plodding dark ale.
Milk-sugared coffee enlightened Fogbuster Coffee Stout, a sweetly soothing chocolate-backed after dinner treat.
FLOODWATER BREWING COMPANY
SHELBURNE FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS
Alongside the banks of the Deerfield River and walking distance from the bucolic Bridge of Flowers, the village of Shelburne Falls’ FLOODWATER BREWING COMPANY opened on a weekly basis November 23, 2018. Beforehand, the rustic nano was a small tasting room.
Operated by long-time mad scientist, Zack Livingston, a veteran Control Engineer for green energy waste water treatment, Floodwater’s inspirational all-purpose entrepreneur enjoyed the brewing environment California’s highly regarded Bear Republic, Lagunitas and Firestone Walker provided while working out west.
Floodwater’s diminutive gray-walled barroom consists of an eight-seat L-shaped aluminum-topped bar containing six tap handles. There’s also a couch area (with small table) plus plastic and wood beach chairs strewn about. Stainless steel brew tanks are behind the bar and at the basement (where fermenting tanks and a canning line exist).
I visited Livingston’s retreat on a bright sunny day, July ’21, downing a terrific nitro stout and locally-sourced grain-billed NEIPA before taking home the sassy saison and mellow maibock also reviewed below.
Rustically tranquil, One Fuggley, an earthen Fuggle-hopped blonde ale, placed sharply prickled lemon lime spritz inside caraway-seeded rye breading, hay-like buckwheat grassing and dry wood tones, leaving wispily spiced dank floral aspect on the back end.
Efficiently rounded farmhouse ale, Euro Step Saison, let white-peppered herbal spicing accept zesty lemon splurge, leaving barnyard-dried horse-blanket leathering to scour rosemary-sage-thyme seasoning and fern-like evergreen minting.
Easygoing summertime maibock, David Hasselhoff (utilizing 100% Massachusetts grain bill), brought forth a lemon-daubed fruit bouquet to top its grassy-hopped herbage and maple honeyed Scotch malting, rendering ripe berry-cherry juicing.
Soft-toned Cyborg Joan, a dryer sessionable NEIPA, allowed lemony orange peeled oiling to soaked up tannic grape tartness, mild earthen herbal musk and bark-dried pine tones to its creamy crystal malt core.
As for dry Irish Extra Stout, No Hard Border, its creamy nitro froth brought espresso tones to nutty dark-roast coffee bittering and cocoa-powdered black chocolate chalking as floral-daubed Magnum hop black peppering seeped way beneath.
HITCHCOCK BREWING COMPANY
BERNARDSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
Overlooking Sugarloaf Mountain inside a former Harley Davidson shop at the tiny northern Massachusetts town of Bernardston, HITCHCOCK BREWING COMPANY enjoyed its grand reopening October ’19 after converting a barn to a nanobrewery at a different nearby location (then closed August ’24).
Now housed in a green aluminum-sided, tan brick-bottomed factory, Hitchcock runs a ten barrel farmhouse brew system. Many of their brews flirt with unconventionality while maintaining straightforward stylistic tendencies, especially the endless line of India Pale Ales.
A red umbrella-lined outdoor deck with gray pavers welcomes brewhounds to the midsize pub. A lacquer wood topped bar spreads across the middle of the pipe-exposed, black-ceilinged, epoxy-floored interior.
Rear brew tanks are stored across a small stage area and an overhead door gets utilized for deliveries and climate control.
An IPA-centric menu included four such ales alongside a brut sour, helles lager, witbier, kolsch and nitro stout.
My wife and I sank a flight of ten Hitchcock brews, July ’21.
Crisp breaded graining toasted Little Wizzer Helles Lager, an herbal Hallertau-hopped moderation with slightly green-peppered lemon spicing.
Herbal fungi musk saddled yellow-orange fruiting of Cascade-hopped Crossover Golden, a dry pale-malted light body.
French breaded spelt graining centered Isolation Kolsch, leaving herbal lemon flesh upon its maize-dried grist bottom.
Tangy orange-peeled banana and clove sweetness prodded Better Days Belgian White, a mildly soap-stoned moderation with wispy wheat spine.
Dry brut-champagned kettle sour slid pureed banana and salted strawberry tartness across lime-soured plantain smidge for Strawberry Banana Kettle Brut, caressing its delicate white wheat base.
Sour green grape tartness nipped mild lemon-peeled yellow grapefruit bittering for Single Bottom, a sunny Citra-hopped East Coast IPA.
Orange-dried lemon rot and dry honeyed black tea bittering anchored the floral-perfumed herbage of Double Bottom, a New England IPA with salty yogurt-milked guava and pineapple remnants.
Tropical fruited beige-marbled NEIPA, Wicked Yummy, brought orange peel zesting to limey yogurt-soured guava, green grape and gooseberry illusions and mild yellow grapefruit tang.
Yet another NEIPA, Galaxy Hopper 42, plied dry spiced lemony tangerine tang to pale malt sugaring in a conservative manner.
Nutty dark chocolate chalking and roasted coffee bittering anchored Nitro Stout, a traditional Irish stout.
ELEMENT BREWING & DISTILLING
MILLERS FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS
Before perusing the serene northern Massachusetts waterfalls embracing the village of Miller Falls, my wife and I sojourned to ELEMENT BREWING & DISTILLING, July ’21. Occupying a wood-floored gray aluminum neighborhood pub since 2010, the Western styled saloon crafts artfully designed brews – mostly soft-tongued stylish spinoffs – and distills vodka, whiskey, gin, rum and tequila.
A palate-barriered community tabled front deck leads to the central entryway. An eight-seat red-walled bar services two barreled tables and a small couch area in the front. Behind the bar space thru a right side door is a game room with billiards, foosball, seating, a TV and wall-lined beer bottle collection. Up a few stairs to the right of the bar is a studio-like dining area.
Element’s sessionable suds go down easy with typical pub fare that includes flatbread pizza and chicken wings.
Hybridized Summer Pilsner Fusion let citric-perfumed Hallertau hop herbage, mild grapefruit-peeled orange zesting and sour guava tartness ride above oats-flaked pilsner malting.
Amber grained caramel toasting picked up dewy tobacco roast and dry fruit spicing for Red Giant, a buoyant red ale.
Natural gluten-free sake gave Plasma IPA its rice-wined browning, millet grained buckwheat groating and honeyed Scotch tease.
Dry orange blossom honeyed citrus engaged Star Gazer IPA, a mildly herbal grassy-hopped easygoer.
Dark floral-perfumed grapefruit peel bittering, lemony orange zesting and ancillary pineapple-peach-mango tanginess stabilized dry wood-toned Quantum IPA, leaving herbal snips on the tail end.
Aged on vanilla bean, Dark Vanilla (a loosely defined Cascadian Dark Ale), gained oaken vanilla, sweet bourbon and almond subtleties.
Buttery soft-toned Extra Special Oak wedged oaken vanilla tannins onto chestnut, almond and praline illusions.
HANGMAN BREWING COMPANY
CLAYMONT, DELAWARE
Just outside of Wilmington in the sleepy village of Claymont, HANGMAN BREWING COMPANY sprung into action March ’20 after a years worth of delays. Inside a tan-bricked mall (with blue awning) at the Town & Country Shopping Center at a former lawnmower repair shop, Hangman’s founding manager Brad Wagner and head brewer Matthew Presley then had to shutdown due to Covid19 before reopening the tavern-like brewpub many months hence (closing permanently 2024).
A cavernous pipe-exposed ceiling provides airy spaciousness to Hangman’s otherwise compact one-room main space. An octagon-shaped, railroad tie-fronted lacquered wood bar (with 16 tap handles and 20 seats) spreads across one side of the cement-floored interior while high chair-bound seating and a cornered music stage fill out the rest. A mezzanine area and small outdoor caged deck provide further seating.
Local wines and spirits are available alongside a steady stream of fine small-batch ales emanating from the brew tanks hidden behind the bar.
My wife and I converse with bartender Mo Russ and proprietor Wagner while downing four rangy (generically named) IPA’s, a snazzy tripel, a fruited sour and flagship cream ale.
Basic maize-dried barleycorn crisping suited grassy-hopped Hangman Light, a dry cream ale with mild herbal snips.
Salted passionfruit tartness surfaced alongside sour lime for slightly acidic Passionfruit Sour, a mouth-puckering sucker given guava, gooseberry and white grape wisps.
A fulsome standout, Belgian Tripel loaded lemon-wedged orange peel zesting and banana bubblegum sweetness with spicy white-peppered Chardonnay buttering above honeyed wheat base.
Dewy compost earthiness sunk into the orange-tangerine oiling of Citra-hopped American IPA, an oats-based moderation.
A fruity bouquet propels East Coast IPA, leaving red berry, red cherry, navel orange and tangerine tanginess as well as perfumed grapefruit zesting to outdo its piney remnant.
Tingly sugar-spiced orange, pineapple and grapefruit juiciness sparked wood-dried West Coast IPA.
Floral-perfumed lemony orange spicing paced dry Hazy IPA, a vaguely New England-styled medium body.
On New Years Eve, 2021, revisited Hangman to imbibe another four diverse brews.
Lemony raspberry spritz gained vinous green grape tartness as well as sour raw honeyed respite for Honey Raspberry Lemonade Sour, tendering a puckered sweet-tart finish.
Dryly soft-toned NEIPA, Frosty The Hangman, brought candi-sugared Belgian yeast to delicate mandarin orange, tangerine and tangelo tanginess for a lovely Belgo-American treat.
Dry English Brown Ale, Dark, let dewy brown leaf astringency pick up oily nuttiness above its burnt toast base.
Mild ancho-adobo peppering and lightly seared nutty dark chocolate swayed Hot Kat Porter, leaving wintry spices on the back end.