On tap at Growler & Gill, wonderful frothy-headed golden-hazed double dry-hopped New England IPA utilizes Australian/ New Zealand lupulin powdering and lactic milky creaminess to affect polite yellow grapefruit, mandarin orange, pineapple, papaya and passionfruit tartness above celery-watered pilsner malting.
On tap at Seven Lakes Station, lactic-soured beige-yellowed hazy New England IPA offers Cashmere-hopped guava, kiwi, melon and peach tropicalia as well as floral-daubed cologne spicing to vanilla vodka-soured orange pith bittering.
On tap at Seven Lakes Station, lactic-soured lemon meringue tartness hovers above raw vanilla-perfumed pineapple, guava and gooseberry tropicalia as well as mild orange rind bittering of hazily beige-yellowed moderate-medium body.
On tap at Growler & Gill, easygoing stylistically dryer NEIPA crams mild vanilla creamed froth onto dank pine lacquer, juicy orange-peach-pineapple tang and tart grapefruit swerve above mellow oats-flaked pilsner malting. Ambitiously arranged flavor profile.
On tap at Ambulance, dry pilsner-malted kellerbier (an unpasteurized cellared helles) retain smooth light-bodied accessibility, holding lemon-died grassy hop astringency in check.
On tap at Seven Lakes Station, sour fruit-candied Gummy Bear knockoff retains modest citric acidity. Tart watermelon/ strawberry adjunct enlivened by limey lemon zest and tart pineapple-grapefruit tropicalia above delicate popcorn-buttered oats base.
On tap at Growler & Gill, dry Saaz-hopped bark wood astringency and bruised lemon spritz offer tidily moderate bittering to rustic barley-corn base, recalling a mild citric-pined IPA in spots.
On tap at Growler & Gill, dry beige-yellowed Belgian-styled lager relegates cellar-aged floor-malted barley, corn-flaked cereal graining and dry hay leathering for bright floral-perfumed lemon zesting. Rustic Belgian lager yeast and herbal Saaz hops promote mild earthen backdrop of light-bodied pils.
On tap at Growler & Gill, musky German-styled pilsner places mild citrus-rotted tartness across raw-honeyed grain malts and wavered vegetal snag. ‘Classic crisp pilsner’ reminiscent of better antediluvian American macrobrews.
KERHONKSON, NEW YORK
On a winding rural road in the hilly Catskills hamlet of Kerhonkson (ten miles west of New Paltz), ROUGH CUT BREWING COMPANY took over Oscar Restaurant and began brewing operations June 11, 2019. Inside a rustic weathered-shingled shack with stone hearth, antique furnishings, creaky wood floors, railroad-tied bar back and cupboard-bound brewtanks, this amiable roadside tavern also offers casual ‘comfort food.’
Co-founding brothers, Jesse and Bart Cummings, hired hop-head brewer, Kayne Konecny, to design a host of approachable IPA’s alongside a variant of rangy styles going from saison to ESB to oatmeal stout.
My wife and I congregate at a yellow picnic table on the left side grass patio for 90 minutes as I imbibe each tapped offering late afternoon, July ’20.
Raw-honeyed buckwheat and musky wet grains consume gently flowing pilsner, Station 33, leaving delicate floral sweetness upon polite lemony grapefruit-pitted bitterness.
Soft-toned rose petals bring floral subtlety to toasted amber grain sweetness, mild beet sugaring, teasing mandarin orange tanginess and wavered baked apple tartness for blanched light body, Roseability, a wispily arid Belgian pale ale.
Dark chocolate syruping draped cedar-smoked maple oats for sweet milk stout, Holstein, relegating its day-old coffee reminder.
The following beers were obtained in oil-canned 32-ounce crowlers for off-site consumption.
Smooth wheat ale, Sunny Day #3, utilized Barbe Rouge hops to nudge its lightly floral-spiced citric hop mosaic ahead of candied peach-pineapple-apricot-tangerine tartness – letting lemony grapefruit bittering gain mild wood tones to contrast sugary cereal malts.
Sessionable ‘summertime IPA,’ A Rough Summer, brought dry lemony orange perkiness to mild bark-dried astringency and rustic truffle earthiness atop brown-riced grain malting.
Limey guava souring imbibed Beach Weather #2 Pink Guava Saison, leaving floral-tinged barnyard leathering at the salty bottom.
Boldly fulsome IPA, Deserted Island, anchored its brisk citrus thrust with juniper-like hop bittering, musty earthen wood dankness and straw wheat acridity. Pushing forth a rangy flavor profile, perfumy orange-peeled grapefruit, peach and pineapple resilience gained pasty pale-malted mineral graining at the midst.
Zesty grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering regaled 44/55, a bustling Imperial IPA with rustic wet grain musk, bready pale malts and light herbal snips.
GARDINER, NEW YORK
A former bartending restauranter, James Walsh upgraded his brewing skills at UC-Davis and decided to craft Belgian-styled farmhouse ales exclusively when he opened YARD OWL BREWERY in 2015. A serious fan of Saison Dupont, Walsh’s roomy pub provides “small scale charm” with its varied saisons (some blended and barrel aged).
Located inside a tan aluminum cement-floored warehouse with high ceilings in the sleepy rural town of Gardiner, Yard Owl’s wide open expanse creates an unfinished feel furthered by the antique U-shaped wood bar and simple bench tables.
Front and rear overhead doors provide an open air atmosphere fully captured by the old backyard community tables scattered about the nearby field. Wall-mounted pendants, stringed lighting and Edison bulbs reinforce its casual elegance.
There were four fine farmhouse ales exploring varied flavors available on my late afternoon July ’20 trip.
Dry golden-cleared Old World blonde ale, Grisette, brought tartly salt-watered yellow fruiting to the fore, securing its zesty lemon misting with limey white-wined grape esters, delicate banana snips, wispy white peach hints and mild herbal spicing above straw-dried mineral graining.
Aged nine months in rosé barrels then blended with a Cabernet and sessionable saison, winey Belgian Blonde, Cuvee, maintained a salty lemon-pitted bittering for tannic white grape esters and bubbly champagne effervescence atop oats-dried pilsner malting.
Soft-toned Cabernet-aged saison, Tourbillion, merged lemon meringue tartness, yellow grapefruit bittering and distant plantain dryness with delicate floral-spiced citrus zest, gaining oaken vanilla residue.
Bold amber-bronzed 540 Hoppy Saison sunk sharp IPA-like citrus fruiting into earthen wood tones, floral herbage and pinot grigio acidity, promoting mandarin orange, tangerine and blood orange illusions.
GARDINER, NEW YORK
Inside a rustic maroon former dairy barn at Wrights Farmers Market in the hilly Catskill range of Gardiner, family-owned and operated GARDINER BREWING COMPANY came to fruition in 2018. Agrarian sibling owners Mackenzie Dietz, her sister, Samantha Bradshaw, and brewing brother, Colin Boylan, run this multi-acre fifth generation farmstead.
A cement patio with black metal furnishings and a separate wood deck surround the farmhouse pub and a rickety old shed offers live music. Providing a cool retreat in the outlying New Paltz area, Gardiner Brewing serves its local rural denizens and traveling brewhounds well.
Stepping up to the 12-seat lacquered wood bar, I grab all four midrange home brews on my steamy July ’20 stopover.
Besides serving its own rustic homebrews, the dozen taps also feature eight local beers-ciders.
Unrefined clear-yellowed farmhouse-styled pale ale Gartucky Light yielded acrid straw-dried rusticity for mild green tea-leafed orange pith bittering and loud basil-sage-rosemary herbage.
Sour lemon-juiced wild sumac grazed grain-husked barnyard acridity for Summer Sumac Farmhouse Ale, a dry saison with tart rhubarb-sniped mandarin orange and white peach illusions as well as light white grape esters.
Off-dry light-bodied pale ale, Vienna Smash, plied sweet Vienna-malted kilned barley to woody Chinook Hops, letting its spiced orange spritz crackle at the surface.
Dewy Irish-styled red ale, Ireland Corners, brought soily peat moss to rye-like amber graining, leafy hop astringency, nut-charred burnt toasting and raw tobacco nuances for a stylishly rich medium body.