On tap at Seven Lakes Station, rambunctious hazy yellowed dry-hopped pale ale bolder than moderate stylistic competition. Loudly bittersweet IPA-like citrus influence brings lemony grapefruit and orange tang to piney Simcoe hop resin and dark floral Columbus hop herbage. Juicy fruited Cascade-Citra hops resonate as subsidiary mango, pineapple, papaya and guava tropicalia add colour.
On tap at Ambulance, sunny Citra-Mosaic hopped grapefruit and lemon zesting brightens resinous pine tones and light herbal nip in refreshing mineral-watered setting.
On tap at Ambulance, ‘traditional easy drinking’ dark lager retains mild toffee sugaring for dewy fungi soiling and toasted grain crisping.
On tap at Ambulance, simple golden-hued Vienna lager amiably aligns mellow chocolate roast to mild earthen fungi Noble hop musk and mild citrus spicing. 
On tap at Hop Daddy’s, dewy mineral grained fungi must and musky lemon skunking infiltrate biscuity cracker base of ‘ordinary’ bitter. A fine “sparkling pub-styled” Extra Special Bitter with lightly frothed head, steady moderate body and delectable restraint.
On tap at Taphouse Grille – Wayne, smooth off-dry flagship moderation saddles amber-grained caramel malt toasting with lemony orange-spiced spritz and gentle earthen wood hop astringency. A straightforward pale ale for bolder amber lager heads.
On tap at Ambulance, soft-toned wet grain musk spreads across herbal-hopped lemon spritz and light pale malt spicing of polite German pilsner. Relaxing light-bodied fare.
On tap at Hop Daddy’s, easygoing pilsner-malted/ Saaz-Hallertau-hopped Bavarian-styled golden lager stays delicately dry. Yeasty sourdough breading gains skunky grain-hopped musk (and slight cabbage patch) and mild lemon-seeded grassy hop bittering above biscuity pale malt base.
Classic German lager retains robustness despite light body. Muskily cellared mineral graining, husked maize dryness and floral lemon twist glide over herbal hop astringency with dead-on precision.
Standard Russian pale lager brings corn-sugared pastry malts to honeyed dough spine and fizzy hop phenolics like a cheap pale lager. Its sticky glutenous sweetness skirts being cloy – barely. Still, for caramelized suds, it’s OK.
ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA
Right in the heart of downtown Allentown, ample beer-pizza watering hole HOP DADDY BREWING COMPANY came to life November ’19 (and changed its name to Bru Daddy soon after – see separate entry). Part of Lehigh Valley’s ambitious brewery Renaissance, Hop Daddy had only two of their own handcrafted brews on tap during my December ’19 stopover, but the homemade pizza was fine and so were the local guest brews.
Inside the red brick-fronted public house, a 20-seat slate top bar with two draught stations each serving twelve lines featured three walled TV’s, exposed ceiling pipes and silver tin ceiling tiles. A few Industrial wood-metal dining tables and bar stools crowded the storefront. A back kitchen served authentic wood-fired pizza and a beautiful beer keg mural hovered above the gas-powered oven.
A sterling right side patio (see above) works as a pleasant community-tabled beer garden with outdoor firepit. Furthermore, there was a reverse osmosis brewing filtration in the concrete-floored speakeasy back room and a plush carpeted mezzanine lounge space with couches, tables and foosball table.
As for the proprietary beer, tropical Hop Daddy Batch #1 Pale Ale brought zestful grapefruit tanginess and lemony orange juicing to herbal hop astringency, dry pale malting and crisp mineral graining.
Busy dry porter, Hop Daddy Midnight Rye Der, let raw Blackstrap molasses bittering sink into dark chocolate-buttered pumpernickel rye breading as charcoal hops seared dried black cherry snips.
I also quaffed Sly Fox Helles Lager and Vulpulin IPA plus Bonn Place Mooey ESB (full reviews in Beer Index) while watching college football this cold wintry afternoon.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
Tucked into the friendly confines of Boston’s Jamaica Plain section (one-half mile South of Sam Adams Brewery), TURTLE SWAMP BREWING came into existence during May 2017 (and closed 2023). Led by former Harpoon brewer, Nicholas Walther, this L-shaped fortress features a roomy red-bricked patio, overhead-doored tap room (with community tables), rustic left side lounge (with cozy loft) and enormous right side brew room.
Expressionist art lines the tap room walls where several draught lines serve a rounded selection of fine brews utilizing locally sourced ingredients.
I conversed with assistant brewer Tanner Cobb while downing five brews with my wife on an early Saturday afternoon, December ’19.
First up, easygoing All Ears Golen Ale let dry grassy-hopped astringency and tart lemondrop zesting gain corny sourdough malting to its white breaded bottom.
Next, dry herbal lemon spicing perked up 02130 Copper Kolsch, an amber grained moderation with mild dry-hopped bittering.
Cascade-hopped citrus juicing lent a quirky twist to Nik’s (English) Bitter, leaving dry lemony orange illusions upon its dewy earthen mossing and toasted bread spine.
Dry peanut-shelled walnut, sweet hazelnut and caffeination cola imbued black chocolate-fronted JP Porter, picking up tertiary cocoa, coffee and caramel latte tones at the nutty mocha finish.
Sweet brown-sugared molasses dripped over pumpkin pie-spiced butternut squash, acorn squash and sweet potato illusions for Skwashbuckle Imperial Porter, a zanily profuse Halloween treat with dark-fruited cinnamon, ginger and clove illusions as well as mild fern, cocoa and pecan snips.
