In the heart of Manchester, coolly rustic neighborhood pub, URBAN LODGE BREWING COMPANY, opened its doors August, 2019 and quickly helped revitalize this former silk haven. Reworking a dilapidated building, head brewing co-owner Ryan Fagan enjoys crafting “crushable” beers easy to consume in the totally relaxing ‘lodge’ atmosphere.
Metal furnishings line the linoleum floor leading back to its earthen flat-bricked wood-topped serving station with eighteen draught handles and scenic Hartford landscape canvas at the rear.
There are three individual turf-grounded sofa lounge sections amongst the family-friendly interior and a large black metal-gated backyard deck with marbled pavers, a central fire pit and ample plant life recalls an English garden. Brewtanks are stationed in the wood-shingled kiosk.
The beautiful graffiti-styled mountain-ranged cityscape painting sprawled across the deck serves as a breathtaking landmark.
My wife and I downed five of the thirteen available brews on our pre-dinner August ’21 Sunday afternoon trip.
“Gateway” lawnmower fodder, light-bodied golden ale, Morning Mist, provided lemony orange-grapefruit sunshine to honey-spiced pale malting.
Dry floral-spiced tropical fruiting generated vibrant pineapple tartness, orange peel sweetness, yellow grapefruit bittering, lemon zesting and peach candying for bark-like resinous pining ofMaui, a juicily rewarding NEIPA with starchy amber grained base.
Sweet anise-dipped vanilla stickiness doused the smoked wood bittering of Fireside, a heavy vanilla porter with sugared coffee, milk chocolate, hazelnut cake and spiced toffee undertones.
Dry coffee-stained dark chocolate bittering consumed Pop’s Milk Stout, leaving hazelnut-glazed sweetness upon its cola nutty backend.
Exhibiting their motto of “exploring innovative methods,” bucolic hillside pub, COUNTER WEIGHT BREWING COMPANY (located two miles south of Quinnipiac University) allowed former New England Brewing Company owner, Matt Westfall, and head brewer, Sean Piel, to refine many popular ale styles, embrace German pilsners and delve into ‘passion projects.’
Opening its doors at a former retrofitted gym in 2017, the rustic white aluminum-topped beige-bricked Industrial taproom features a wood-floored, right side, twelve draught bar with beautiful mosaic wood side wall and tidy coffer wood ceiling.
Four community tables and barrel seating are available indoors. Upstairs, an extra tap room has more community seating. Outside, a butterscotch-hued fenced patio with blue umbrellas is where my wife and dog join me to try seven sturdy brews on a sunny Saturday afternoon, August ’21.
I’d already enjoyed conventional flagship IPA, Headway, a few years hence (reviewed in Beer Index).
On draught, traditional pilsner Workhorseis Counter Weight’s ‘core beer.’ Its cool lagered keller-styled crisping allowed dry raw-honeyed husked grain leathering, grassy Noble-hopped lemon musk and herbed alfalfa acridity to politely unite.
Herbaceous Coolship Kellerbierretained spritzy lemon-candied tartness and grassy hop astringency atop bready whole grain malts. Simply excellent!
Toasty oak-conditioned Czech pils,Drevo, let spritzy lemon zest, musky raw graining, mild Saaz hop bittering and dry spicing coalesce.
Sweet-breaded Vienna malting engaged Fest Bier, a Marzen-styled lager with lemony orange desiccation contrasting floral-daubed honey spicing beneath the soft grain surface.
Buttery banana-breaded CW Hefeweizengained bubblegum sugaring and subtle clove spicing above its herbal Tettnang-hopped pilsner malt base.
Lemony orange rind bittering anchored double dry-hopped IPA, Superfluous, picking up mango-peach-pineapple subtleties to contrast herb-tinged pine resin.
Zestful glowing yellow-hazed IPA, Creature Preacher, utilized fruitful Citra/Galaxy hops for its bright lemony grapefruit-tangerine effervescence and spicy mango-papaya-pineapple splash hovering above hearty caramelized pale malts.
Becoming West Hartford’s first craft beer operation on March 25, 2017, NEW PARK BREWING boasts a rotation of ‘originally designed’ recurrent, seasonal and one-off elixirs with popular hoppy IPA, Cloudscape, leading the way. Set in a 19th century-built Industrial zoned edifice with high ceiling, cement floors and decorative wood mosaics, the casual juke joint’s a popular attraction for the so-called streetcar suburb.
Managing the 2,500 square foot warehouse, New Park owner John Doyle hired home brewing biomedical scientist Alexander Dee to man the upgraded tanks installed during Covid 19 shutdown upon my August ’21 sojourn to the Nutmeg State. Twelve reclaimed wood-planked taps at the chestnut-topped serving station provided the varied suds emanating from the windowed right side stainless steel tanks or the nearby barrel aging room.
Ten community benches, a few wood tables, a host of Edison lights and back-walled surfboards garnish the white-walled pub. A wood-barriered community tabled patio and covered outside deck area provide ample extra seating. A private backroom is setup for parties and banquets.
Starting three weeks ago (July ’21), New Park installed a wood-fired pizza hearth at the new arched hole in the wall behind the bar. Organic wine is also available.
Dewy sweet-leafed mossing and gentle Tettnang hop herbage guided Helles Lager, leaving honeysuckle-perfumed pale malt spicing on the tail end.
Mild lemon lime-salted Don Limon Goseretained a sugary lemonade twist in a limestone-soured oceanic mist.
Sumptuous Market Saison let white-peppered herbage seep into the zesty lemon spritz and mandarin orange licks of its barnyard-dried leathering.
Three fruited Mosaic-hopped Berliner Weisses then caught my attention.
Blackcurrant-clad blackberry and blueberry puree resonated for Blender Black & Blue, a tart citrus-prickled moderation.
Veritable Smoothie-styled Berliner,Blender Tango, conditioned on mango, strawberry and tangerine, stayed ultra-tart as lemony yogurt souring crowded the thickly pureed fruiting.
Mild Blender Bramble, conditioned on strawberry, blueberry and blackberry and reminiscent of a fruited cobbler, placed tart rhubarb-pied boysenberry, cranberry and pomegranate illusions in the back.
Then it was on to a trio of New Park’s durable, rangy India Pale Ales. Though I missed out on flagships, Cloudscape and Headband, these others were equally compelling.
Soft heather-like flowering caressed the mild pine-needled lemon, grapefruit and orange bittering plus ancillary peach-pineapple tang of Heather IPA.
In the rustic red-bricked Parkville section of Hartford, HOG RIVER BREWING COMPANY occupies a warehouse backspace in multi-storied Parkville Market, a recently renovated and reenergized food and drink complex.
Owned by German beer-lovin’ husband-wife team, Ben & Joy Braddock, Hog River began operations springtime 2016 and quickly flourished in its historic neighborhood digs (formerly Hartford Rubber Works factory). The Seibel Institute grad previously honed his craft at nearby Thomas Hooker and Willimantic breweries.
The cavernously cement-floored, reclaimed wood-clad, catacomb-like Industrial pub features a ten-seat/sixteen-draught serving station, several community tables, butcher block tables, several gear-related metal machine relics and cozy wood-bound couch lounge (with opposing elongated cafeteria counter). Barrels, tanks and brewing equipment settle at the overhead door.
A spacious outdoor patio fills up during my sunny August ’21 sojourn.
My wife grabs some Parkville chow to down at Hog River as I consume seven wonderfully diverse libations.
Dry earthen grains and wheat-husked astringency provide raw grained rusticity to the citric-spiced hop zesting of Warehouse Pils, an appealing lightweight.
Sweet Scotch-licked Vienna malting, leafy hop dewiness and mild dried fruiting saddled Oktoberfest, a crisp autumnal moderation.
A slightly drier stylistic changeup, Peels & Blossoms Wit forwarded lemon-peeled chamomile tea to coriander-spiced orange tartness and musty white peppered whim.
Tangy pink guava and pineapple puree adjuncts outdone by salty lemon-limed green grape vinegaring and chalky limestone parch penetrating Thingaling Sour, a mildly acidic tropical dry body.
Then came the “Big Beers.” Creamy peanut-buttered dark chocolate malting dominatedPrincess Butter Cup Chocolate Stout, overriding sweet vanilla-spiced bourbon and port wining plus subtle red grape tartness.
“Luscious” vanilla ice cream-drenched hot fudge sauce sweetened tart maraschino cherry bruise for luxuriously rich Brain Freeze Ice Cream Sundae Stout, leaving bourbon-soaked anise spicing and maple-glazed cocoa nibs splendor upon Graham Cracker honeyed wheat spine.
Heavenly lustrous Caribbean elixir, Mango & Coconut Tripel, aged in Jamaican rum, let mango-pureed coconut toasting, mild vanilla-spiced creaming and ancillary pineapple-salted guava tartness get seeped in buttery Chardonnay wining before boozy phenol ethers hit the tail end.
Inhabiting a blue-gray paneled river-bound shack in the village of Turners Falls, BRICK & FEATHER BREWERY started operations October ’15 (and closed . Entrepreneurial husband-wife team, Lawrence George (experienced brewer formerly at Flying Fish and Berkshire Brewing) and Emily George specialize in “soft, rounded Belgian and American style ales” in a family friendly light Industrial environment.
Though Brick & Feather’s diminutive white-walled front pub contains only a few community tables and an L-shaped wood top bar in its aquamarine-walled setting, its cement-floored interior extends to an expansive stainless steel brew tank back space (with seven barrel system and canning line).
Right off the canal bike path at an olden bridge on the Connecticut River, B & F craft some of the best brews in the state. I bought five home brews on my July ’21 Pioneer Village journey.
Muskily dry yellow-cleared light body, Montague Gothic Kolsch brought champagne-licked green grape esters and wispily lingered herbal-tinged lemon rind bittering to cracker-like pilsner malts.
Musky straw-dried mineral graining and delicate floral herbage backed the brisk lemony hop fizz of Kitten With A Whip, a Bavarian-styled helles lager.
Lemony grapefruit salting spread to tart green grape, guava and red berry illusions as piney herbal-hopped floral whims gathered for Positively 11th Street, a dry-hopped pale ale.
Semi-sharp citrus spicing rode above dry pale malting forScotland But Further, another dry-hopped pale ale. Lemony yellow grapefruit spritz mellowed out alongside mild mandarin orange tartness as lollipop-soured strawberry, peach and apricot illusions surfaced.
Exquisite hazy golden glowed Letters From Zelda, a zestful IPA, let pineapple-juiced orange peel tanginess settle alongside mild lemony grapefruit rind bittering and rustic pine resin.
Assuming the beige marbled brewhouse previously run by Rinn Duin, TOMS RIVER BREWING took over this novel Jersey Shore chateau-like villa springtime 2019. New owner Jim Mulligan’s transformative grand reopening featured head brewer Bob Warzecha’s newly designed wide ranging ales, utilizing natural fruit extracts and flavoring.
A left side community-tabled Beer Garden (with green umbrellas) edges the narrow pub space. A ten-seat L-shaped bar with speckled gray granite top opposes the windowed brew tanks and a few high top tables line the walls of the high ceilinged room.
My wife and I visited TRB, August ’21, to suck down a dozen varied 5-ouncers in the breezy warmth of the Beer Garden.
A well respected holdover from Rinn Duin, St. John’s Irish Red took perfumed hop-spiced red and orange fruiting to caramelized barley-roasted chocolate and toffee whims.
Delightful light-bodied Koastal Kolschlet sweet-riced maize-flaked pilsner malting receive slightly sour lemon-dried Noble hop herbage and wispy floral-daubed botanicals.
Cali-styled Cascade hops provided perfumed lemon oiling to mash-billed corn flaked Kentucky graining for Cal-Tucky Common Ale, a simple carapils-malted moderation.
Diffident coriander-spiced orange zesting slacks off for soapy At Wits End, a grassy herbal hopped witbier with frail white wheat base.
Traditional Polish smoked wheat ale,Thadeusz Piwo (Ted’s Beer), a low alcohol ‘grodiskie,’ promoted beechwood-charred blackened rye graining over proper phenol hop astringency.
Summery watermelon-pureed Jolly Rancher bubblegum knockoff,The Gnar Watermelon Gose, a sea-salted Sour Patch-candied libation with earthen herbal frisk.
Tart Belgian-styled hybrid, Celtic Sunrise Blood Orange Pale Ale, rendered salty blood orange, tangerine and clementine spicing for its light herbal soothe.
Sessionable yogurt-soured New England IPA, Gimme Mo,’ brought Motueka-hopped guava, gooseberry and green grape tartness to herb-licked pale malt spicing.
Floral-perfumed citrus spicing guarded white IPA, Windy Seas, forwarding its brisk lemon spritz to the cracker-like spine.
Limey mango salting picked up earthen herbal compost reminder for lactic IPA, Takes Two To Mango, leaving grassy hop astringency on its mild fruited tropicalia.
Bold dry-hopped Imperial IPA (9% ABV), New Beginnings, placated its sweetly soured passionfruit-addled melon scurry and lemony grapefruit bittering with floral-bound pine tones above plentiful caramel malt sugaring.
Revisited Toms River Brewing mid-July ’24 to enjoy another nine rangy suds.
Mild Blueberry Blonde Summer Ale had a breezy blueberry spritz, polite hop astringency and subdued honeyed wheat base.
“Pillowy” lemony orange spicing introduced What’sa Bro Pale Ale, a lactic milk-sugared NEIPA-derived moderation with tropical Huell Melon hops adding pine-daubed gooseberry and guava tartness to lactose milk-sugared wheat-flaked pilsner malting.
Rustic barnyard graining secured the sharp lemon-soured herbage of Stick Toss Kolsch, thickened by eggy sourdough wheat.
Offbeat hefeweizen, Slice Of Hefen, let spritzy lemondrop soaping and smoke pineapple tartness overtake stylish banana-clove sweetness swiping its thick sourdough bottom.
Tropical lime-salted candied lemon briskness, floral honeysuckle perfuming and spiced redcurrant reached fresh-cut hay barnyard acridity for Barbe Rouge-hopped French red ale, Brewlon Rouge, picking up light fungi musk for its distant rye breading.
Ultra-dry lactic IPA, Boots On The Ground, placed sharp lemony grapefruit rind bittering and lightly hop-charred pine lacquering across peachy mango-passionfruit fodder and wispy floral spicing atop heavily oated wheat creaming.
Interestingly woven Belgian Brown Ale,I Blame A.I., spread mild coconut-toasted cocoa nibs sweetness into subtle molasses-sugared hazelnut, chestnut and almond riffs as well as pureed raspberry snips.
Dry whiskey bent (10.5% ABV) barleywine, No Whining, bent hop-spiced dried fruiting into laid-back chocolate malting, staying a tad thin.
S’mores-inspired pastry stout, Mulligan’s Delight, knocked of a marshmallowy chocolate Graham Cracker sandwich, could’ve been richer, but its ancillary coconut toasting, chocolate pudding skin richness and candied toffee sweetness paid dividends.
Inhabiting a red brick-based Main Street storefront in Toms River, BATTLE RIVER BREWING opened its doors August ’20. Utilizing a crisply clean water source second to none, head brewer Ian Barlet specializes in an interesting assortment of eclectic stylized brews, salty oceanic elixirs, hard seltzers, shandys and a beer-cider hybrid.
The red brick-walled interior features an art deco black ceiling, hanging Edison lights, exposed pipes and a narrow hallway leading to the back-sided beer tanks. At its gray granite top bar are 30-plus tap handles, a blackboard beer menu and centralized TV. There are windowed community tables for extra seating.
My wife and I sat down for some sassy suds August ’21.
Unconventional German pilsner, Mariner, allocated sweet rice-wined corn sugaring for herbal-hopped green peppering.
Traditional New Zealand-styled pilsner, Haka, a dry-hopped lightweight, let salted lime zest provide tart zing to its soft white wheat base.
Aluminum golden-hued dry lager, Battle Light, segued lemondrop candied piquancy into mineral grained maize astringency.
Dry Mexican-styled Vienna lager, Rio Bueno, placated its sweet corn frontage with white wine esters, herbal agave nectars and mild maize astringency.
Spritzy hybridized hefeweizen, River Lady Ruby Red Grapefruit, took its lightly spiced grapefruit adjunct to salty lemon-limed souring contrasting stylish banana-clove sweetness.
Subtle orange-peeled lavender and tart strawberry plied hybridized witbier, Wartime, a lightly sugar-spiced moderation.
Salted blueberry subtlety and lemony white peach tartness secured the clean-watered Kveik yeast-based Bluecoat Blueberry, a saison-inspired blonde ale with dry wheat-chaffed straw leathering.
Salt-watered raspberry and blueberry pureed fruit ale,Main St. Mosaics, allowed sour New Zealand hops to add abrupt limey gooseberry-guava tartness.
“Crushable” red-cleared kettle sour, Courthouse, brought tart blackberry adjunct to vinous green grape esters and cucumber-watered earthiness for mouth-puckered succulence.
Flagship IPA,Patriot, gave its straight-up lemony orange peeled grapefruit bittering a dank piney hop astringency and herbal-spiced floral flutter.
Easygoing East Coast IPA, Irons Street, daubed its vodka-licked citrus tang with wood lacquered residue and jasmine snips over syrupy pale malt sweetness.
Uniquely offbeat Belgian dubbel, River Root Bier, a crossbred cane-sugared soda alternative, dangled raisin, prune and plum sweetness alongside Jamaican sarsaparilla, sassafras birch, wild cherry bark and dandelion root.
Brown-sugared cinnamon anchored Snow Melter, a spiced-up Belgian strong ale, coalesced nutmeg, cardamom and ginger above dainty pilsner malting.
Combining chocolate, coffee and Madagascar vanilla, Headquarter Porter picked up toffee-spiced sweetness and tertiary cola nut, coconut and hazelnut illusions.
Richly rewarding chocolate raspberry porter, Robbins Street, forwarded bittersweet molasses-daubed cocoa nibs creaming to tart raspberry-pureed blueberry, blackberry and boysenberry licks.
Wildflower-honeyed dark chocolate enriched nitro stout, Bayonet, a smooth espresso-like nightcap with ancillary coffee, toffee and sarsaparilla tones.
During Super Bowl weekend, February ’22, revisited Battle River to suck down seven more diversified suds.
Crisply clean blonde ale,Full Day Sesh, brought spritzy lemony grapefruit zesting to mild clementine and mandarin orange snips above delicate pale malting.
Dewy toffee-spiced English Mild Ale, M24 Toffee, let caramelized fig, candied apple and sour prune pick up mild cellared fungi musk and crisp tobacco roast.
Brisk lemon spritz splashed banana-clove-induced hefeweizen, Huddy’s Revenge, to its honeyed wheat base.
Mellow beige-yellowed white IPA,Privateer, coalesced salty lemon spicing with tidy mandarin orange sweetness and white grape tannins as light pine lacquering coated the delicate wheated oats spine.
Wet-hopped red IPA, Super Maroon, plied rye-dried amber grains and roasted tobacco crisping to caramelized red fruiting (with a hint of beechwood smoke in the distance, perhaps).
Delightfully complex Belgian Quadrupel, Cannonball, maintained cherry chocolate sweetness enhanced by candi-sugared dried fruiting, dewy peat mossing, cinnamon-smoked nutmeg spicing and mild barleywine snips in a subtle bourbon barrel-aged setting.
Wintry spiced stout, Jockey Hollow, seeped cinnamon-nutmeg spicing into chocolate-y vanilla maple walnut sweetness and burgundy-draped prune, date and fig illusions.
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 Blueberrylet wildflower-honeyed blueberry jam pick up lime-soured floral herbage in a unique lacquered manner.
A clover-honeyed Creamsickle knockoff, Frog Hollow Orange Wheatbrought 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.
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 Alelet sour-creamed soy milking curdle sarsaparilla sass, cherry baby aspirin tartness and candied orange whims.
Nearly as idiosyncratic, brown-sugared Jamaican Me Crazy Milk Stoutallowed 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 ofFume, 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 droveWeh 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 guidedMB 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 acrossNutty 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 securedJazz 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, butMotherland 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 StripeOktoberfest, 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 Emergencydraped 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.
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 IPAbrought 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 Featureburst 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.
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.
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 anchoredNitro Stout, a traditional Irish stout.
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.
