EGG HARBOR, NEW JERSEY
Filling out a large 10,000 square foot aluminum warehouse in Central Jersey's Egg Harbor,
HIDDEN SANDS BREWING COMPANY opened January 2018. A multifarious high ceilinged venue with a welcoming ground floor pub, spacious table-chaired mezzanine area (with twelve draught handles) and upper level seating space, Hidden Sands utilizes a freshwater aquifier that provides a clean briskness to each handcrafted beer.
There are twelve taps at the ground level, formica-topped, ten-seat serving station. Antique beer cans line the front wall and a Hidden Sands insignia hangs down on the opposing wall while decorative barrels and five small tables fill out the concrete-floored room.
My wife and I hang around for a few hours, downing all twelve crisply clean watered suds this seasonally warm March afternoon, 2020. Not many breweries offer three pilsner-lagers, but Hidden Sands did.
Pleasantly mild Bavarian-styled flagship,
800' Pilsner, brought sugary pilsner malting to lightly salted lemondrop souring and daintily citric Hallertau/Tettnanger-hopped floral spicing.
Sweet orange peeled peach, tangerine and clementine fruiting glided thru mild mineral-grained Noble hop herbal bittering and toasted cereal graining for crisply clean
Amber Sands Amber Lager.
Easygoing
Hidden Helles Lager placated its tangy peach-tangerine-clementine conflux with moist earthen-grained Noble hop bittering.
Maize-dried pilsner malts crisply engaged light lemon sugaring for
The Kolsch, a delicately sparkling straw yellow light body.
Glistening Citra-hopped orange and grapefruit spicing added pizzazz to pilsner-lightened honey wheat as lemon-dropped floral herbage fluttered behind pale yellowed moderation,
Pump Handle Honey Wheat Ale.
A milder West Coast interpretation,
107' IPA let refreshingly citric floral-perfumed Citra-Centennial-Columbus hops enjoin coniferous pine needling and mild juniper bittering to top its dry pale malted spelt spine.
Delicate citrus-spiced tanginess, oats-flaked pilsner malting and relegated piney hop bittering set the stage for straightforward
608' Imperial IPA.
By blending 608' with strawberry, tart citrus piquancy and oats-flaked pilsner malts subsumed much of
Strawberry Imperial IPA's floral-bound berry essence.
Kettle-soured compost soiling seeped into tart lemon-candied peach sourness for spritzy white wined
Sand Blasted Sour Peach Ale.
Just as approachable, tropical fruited lollipop,
Sand Blasted Sour Guava Ale, stayed slightly sour as tart guava salting grazed lemon-candied gooseberry, passionfruit and papaya snips.
Dark-roasted coffee infiltrated smoked maple syrup-draped
First Drop Coffee Maple Baltic Porter, leaving rye-dried Black Patent malt bittering on its nutty caramel-burnt dark chocolate bottom.
Creamy milk-sugared coffee crowded roasted chocolate malts for sweet mocha dessert,
Imperial Stout, the perfect afternoon delight to close my visit.
Revisited Hidden Sands, May '23, on a warm Friday afternoon to try six more well-rounded suds.
Tart cherry sugaring glazed the honeyed wheat base of
Cherry Amber Sands, a fruited cereal grain-toasted amber lager variant with mild orange-tangerine tang and candied apple whims.
Tart strawberry twang snuffed limey woodruff syruping and lemony Citra-hopped zesting of
Strawberry Wheat, a salt-prickled summer ale with minor phenolic alkalinity.
Another stylistic variant,
Sandy Blues Kolsch, allowed brown-sugared cinnamon toasting and mild blueberry souring (plus licorice licks) to penetrate its delicate Noble-hopped herbage and pilsner malt grist with unlikely Christmas spicing.
Lemon-candied orange mimosa and strawberry daquiri tartness gained mild sour acidity for
Strawberry Lemon Orange, a fruity pale-malted wheat ale.
Spiking its golden ale with Belgian yeast funk,
Belgian Sands slightly veiled its coriander-spiced orange tang with white-peppered fungi as distant Chardonnay wining and banana daquiri daubs melted thru briny Salty Dog vodka licks.
Nitrogenated
Rum Barrel Aged Imperial Stout brought oaken vanilla tannins to its dry rum influence, dryer burgundy-bourbon auxiliary and dewy truffle-like mossing above musty dark chocolate base.
During early October '23 revisit, discovered six more Hidden Sands elixirs, including three citric soft drink-inspired ales based on previous recipes.
Inspired by fructose-salted Tang sugaring,
Witty Orange (a White IPA blending Belgian Sands Golden Ale with 107' IPA), spread powder-candied navel orange tartness all over, leaving spritzy lemon soda and peachy apricot daubs on the tail end.
Mixing Belgian Sands Golden with juicy orange,
Citrus Wit let its orange Tang frontage receive Pez-like candied powdering and slight coriander spicing.
Mingling 107' IPA with tangy orange as well as tangerine sweetness, green mango salting and tart lemondrop souring,
Orange IPA relegated its piney hop dryness and pilsner malted spelt base.
Mellow mango-juiced habanero peppering teased
Spicy Mango Pilsner, a nebulous soft-toned light body.
Gingery cinnamon bark outdid brown-sugared pumpkin spicing and zesty orange peel sweetness for daintily crystal malted
Autumn Equinox Ale- Amber, a spicy autumnal moderation with truffly gourd licks and tertiary cardamom, mace, sage and basil nips.
'A twist on traditional Sand Blasted Sour,' blush pinked amber-hued
Watermelon Splash had Jolly Rancher candied tartness and watermelon Warheads souring.
On July '24 jaunt, tasted two easygoing fruited brews.
Slightly sour strawberry tartness laid atop white wheat wafering for washed-out
Strawberry Wheat, leaving cucumber-watered watermelon rind earthiness in its wake.
Mild summertime spritzer,
Lemon Shandy, retained brisk powdered lemonade tartness and fizzy soda sugaring.
FREDERICK, MARYLAND
Tucked into a quiet residential neighborhood within walking distance of downtown Frederick, OLDE MOTHER BREWING COMPANY originated a few blocks away and opened its doors, Halloween '15. Now with a larger production facility and tasting room since 2018, Olde Mother occupies a spacious red brick building (with green awning and insignia-stenciled windows). Its cement-floored, steel-beamed expanse features a rustic bench-laden front bar and rear 10-barrel brewhouse stationed behind the auxiliary community-tabled back bar.
Offering a 'few twists' on many traditional styles and a tad bolder than the norm, Olde Mother's refined sour ales and India Pale Ales led a menu including a hefewiezen, lager and English Brown (the only dark ale available).
While sitting in the alleyway patio I quaffed three beers during my sweltering June '20 noon sojourn.
Lemony banana-clove stead stays subtle alongside sweet vanilla creaming for moderate-bodied hefeweizen, Tempest, utilizing open fermentation to expose delicately dank floral herbage.
Dry champagne-tinged rosé wining silkily lather Aurora Rose, a spritzy sedation with floral hibiscus wisps teasing its grape-leafed wine must.
Bold flagship IPA, Impressionist, maintained a mildly embittered grapefruit-orange-pineapple influx, tangy tangerine run-up and perky mango salting enjoined by dry pine resin over softly creamed crystal malting. 
LEWES, DELAWARE
Inside a cavernous maroon barnhouse with river rock stone base along Kings Highway, Lewes-based BIG OYSTER BREWERY is only a few miles northeast of the original Rehoboth Beach joint. Its wood-floored interior features a Cathedral ceiling, Industrial metal-wood dining area, a few TV's and tall glass-encased brew tanks behind the eight-seat bar. At the entrance, a smiling moose head, antique Coca-Cola machine, upside down canoe and several wall-hung items greet patrons.
During June '20 dinnertime trip after soaking up sun at beautiful Cape Henlopen beach, sat at metal-furnished grass field just past the six-tabled back covered deck. Grabbed some raw clams and oysters as well as nachos to go with four India Pale Ales, a pilsner, witbier, tripel, and stout.
Retried brisk flagship, Hammerhead IPA, a sharply citric moderate body with mild piney resin and astringent Citra-Mosaic hop bittering guiding its floral lemon-seeded grapefruit and orange rind musk.
Creamily lactic-sugared India Pale Ale, Double Delaware Dreamsicle, let zesty orange tanginess obtain bittersweet Madagascar vanilla beaning in a cold-conditioned kettle hop setting.
For a pleasingly sunshiny Dreamsicle offshoot, vanilla-creamed orange juicing enhanced the pureed mango tang of dry-hopped Double Mango Dreamsicle, leaving cotton-candied sweetness upon the candied tropical fruited finish.
Richly frothed Cascadian Dark Ale, Hello Darkness Double IPA, retained mild coffee-roasted dark chocolate bitterness that overrode piney citrus hop char.
Maize-dried straw wheat, pasty sourdough and herbal Saaz hops informed German-styled moderation, Public Pils.
Zesty orange peel sweetness and mild coriander spicing picked up bitter lemon rind, candied peach, salted mango, tart peach and sweet banana bubblegum illusions for Solar Power, a delectable witbier with a honey-dripped pale malt wheat base.
Sweet-tart blueberry steeped in black tea bittering mildly affected politely spelt-malted tripel, Noir Et Bleu.
Caramelized coffee vanilla stout, On Point, retained creamy lactic mocha resilience and sweet toffee splendor for a durable dessert treat. 
ASBURY PARK, NEW JERSEY
After visiting bucolic Allaire State Park for a terse hike, my wife and I happened upon DARK CITY BREWING CO., Asbury Park's first craft brewery. Taking hold in 2016 (and closing 2025), Dark City provides a steady stream of consistently rewarding brews handcrafted in the closed-off back brewing space by reserved zymurgist, Steve Bohacik. On my sunny March '20 expedition, a gamut of rangy stylistic fare captures my palate.
Set in a window-laden tan building along the increasingly popular Main Street strip, Dark City's elongated wood lacquered serving station (with twelve draught handles) centers the sparsely decorated open space. A bright blue right-walled jellyfish mural adds pizzazz to the pallet-wooded furnishings, saucer-like lighting and pipe-exposed high ceiling. Several community tables fill out the wide expanse (with 2 TV's on opposing sides).
Grassy lemon-dried moderation, Circuit Kolsch, stayed crisply clean and deliberately understated, leaving compost-wafted raw grain moisture on wispy citric hop tartness.
Dryly brisk Brass Ring Wheat Ale brought citric IPA fruiting and woody Amarillo hop herbage to its floral-bound wheat grass base.
Bound by its sharp orange-peeled grapefruit rind tang an sunny Mosaic-hopped lemon zesting, Blue Bishop IPA with Blueberries let docile blueberry pureeing gain sourer-than-sweet alacrity.
Vinous balsamic-soured green grape esters and spritzy lime zest stayed mellow for white-wined alternative, Mixed Use Sour Ale.
Dewy peat and toffee-spiced dried fruiting enhanced the caramelized brown chocolate sweetness of serenading dessert treat, 1871 Barleywine, a sturdily welcoming strong ale with tertiary sherry, coffee and vanilla snips.
Creamy dark chocolate syruping draped dry bourbon pleasantry and mossy peat for softly creamed barrel-aged anniversary blend, DCBC3, an impressive 13% strong ale with fudged cocoa brownie resilience and bitter vanilla beaning deepening its overall intensity. 
FORKED RIVER, NEW JERSEY
Veteran-owned BACKWARD FLAG BREWING COMPANY came to fruition during 2016 (and closed 2024) when Army Staff Sergeant Torie Fisher's passionate commitment to craft a stylish array of diverse beers fully blossomed. Military-rooted badges, uniforms and emblems bedeck the right wall alongside the microbrewery's black American flag insignia, designed to amplify Fisher's appreciation for the armed services.
Backward Flag's current 10-barrel system (as of February 2020) delivers interestingly wide ranging and oft-times non-conformist fare. Since opening, BF has crafted nearly 100 different brews. There's a flagship blonde ale, citric sour ale, a few Cascadian IPA's, a fruited cream ale and more on my initial quest.
Lodged inside a tan aluminum warehouse at the northern Jersey Shore town of Forked River, Backward Flag features a lacquered pine serving station with two separate tap setups delivering a dozen different brews. The cement-floored, window-fronted interior includes multiple US flags, a lounge-y couch area, one large community table and brew-tanked back space.
Fisher and I shared a decadent Knob Creek bourbon-aged Oak Armored Ale blend (with oaken vanilla resonance, dry Scotch licks and silken flow) after enjoying the entire lineup this sunny March '20 winter afternoon.
First up, approachable flagship, Oak Armored Ale, plied oak-toasted vanilla pleasantry to honeyed orange goodness, lemon meringue tartness and scant cherry souring above pastry-like pale malting.
Next, vanilla creamed blackberry subtleties placated dry oak-based Blackberry & Cream, leaving candied fruitcake and honey-spiced mead illusions upon its light earthen musk bottom.
As for the two Black India Pale Ales (a.k.a. Cascadian Dark), Mil-Spec Black IPA left cocoa-dried black chocolate bittering on ashen wood-charred charcoal resin as well as black grape jam, blackcurrant and black licorice snips. For citric-pined West Coast-styled Dope On A Rope, black grape musk gained moderated coffee-burnt Bakers chocolate pungency and slight pumpernickel toasting.
Hybridized East Coast/West Coast styled Simmunition IPA featured dank wood-dried Simcoe hops that promoted orange-peeled grapefruit rind bittering and tangy pineapple juicing over oated wheat.
Tartly lemon-limed tangerine acidity embedded oaken vanilla tannins for Roadside Donkey Tangerine Vanilla, a lactic mouth-puckering sour ale with lightly vinous berry piquancy.
Raspy chocolate raspberry caking punctuated Hearts & Minds Brown Ale, a heavenly creamed mocha-bound dessert treat surpassed only by the even mightier chipotle-peppered cinnamon and coconut conditioned version.
Arguably my favorite, light roast Ethiopian coffee bean serenity seeped into the citrus-backed pale malt setting of S.T.F.U. Pale Ale, leaving mild charred nuttiness and oaken vanilla residue on its back end.
On summertime '22 two-hour stop-off, my wife and I drank at the makeshift canopied parking lot where a life-size game of Battleship was being waged while finding three previously untried brews.
Lemon-wedged passionfruit bittering and limey guava-gooseberry tartness guided Passion Party, a 'wild' sour ale with acidulated malting.
Soft-tongued West Coast-styled IPA, Rock Da Boat, let brisk orange peel zesting, salted pineapple bittering, subtle cantaloupe sweetness and mild tangerine tanginess receive musky black-peppered hop herbage.
Coffee-sugared brown chocolate entry secured Zero Dark Thirsty, a sweet milk stout with soily earthen bottom.
During early January '23, stopped off once again for seven more delightful afternoon libations at Backward Flag.
Dry lemon spiced light body, Golden Outlaw Blonde, will draw in casual thirsts with its easygoing citrus spritz and serene grassy-hopped herbage caressing musty Bavarian pilsner grain rusticity.
Coniferous citrus-spiced IPA, People And Pondering, placed reserved orange-peeled pineapple tanginess, dry yellow grapefruit bittering and mild blackcurrant tartness above tingly piney sage minting.
Sunshiny NEIPA, Something's Missing, brought lightly embittered yellow grapefruit and orange rind tanginess plus lemon-limed licks to lacquered pine tones above dry pale malts.
Honoring the annual Army-Navy football game, Historic Rivalry, a juicy NEIPA collab with Pennsylvania's Tattered Flag, scurrying sharp lemony grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering, white grape tannins, salted pineapple tanginess and tropical vodka snap thru floral-daubed hop pining.
A rare stylistic combo, Coyote Brown IPA, coalesced dark-roast hop charred Cascadian Dark Ale bittering with less aggressive piney citrus India Pale Ale dryness.
Roasted sweet potato influence and ginger-rooted cinnamon/allspice/cumin minting soaked up by milk-sugared vanilla for quirky Mama's Table, a wintry-spiced potato brown ale.
Backward Flag's newest offering, Warrior's Shadow Black Ale, let politely bitter black malting and nutty dark roast hop char invite black coffee, espresso and dark chocolate patronage.
EGG HARBOR, NEW JERSEY
Open in 2011 (closed 2023), Egg Harbor's TUCKAHOE BREWING CO. handcrafts straightforwardly well-rounded brews as well as experimental sours and barrel aged elixirs in a conservatively elegant setting.
Inside a tan aluminum warehouse, the wood plank-floored pub features a beautiful 10-seat mahogany bar with 20 centralized tap handles, several wall paintings and a TV. Pristine wood chairs and tables fill out the spacious interior while the windowed brew tanks don the back space.
A Grateful Dead video plays in the background as my wife and I consume thirteen rangy samplers, March '20..
Mild cream ale, Rural Juror, let fizzy lemon spritz splash its mild cereal graining and grassy hop astringency with ease.
Sweet cereal grains also regaled moderate-bodied Patty's Pale Lager, leaving subtle lemon-peeled orange pith bittering in the recess.
Caramelized barley roast caressed orange-peeled grapefruit juicing for Anglesea Red Ale, letting mild walnut, chestnut and pecan illusions absorb the back end.
Tartly sour blueberries engaged the sunny yellow fruited bittering guarding Fu Man Blue, a mustily hay-dried, moderate-bodied saison.
Spritzy lemon zest brightened banana bubblegum sweetness for peachy Belgian golden ale, Astute Gentlemen, a welcoming 9% ABV elixir with wispy floral-spiced herbage.
Conditioned on plum puree, Special Magic, a bubblegummy dried-fruited Belgian dubbel, picked up desiccated orange tartness and earthen tobacco crisping over sedate caramel malting.
Sessionable IPA, Damn The Torpedoes, meshed lemony grapefruit, orange and tangerine tropicalia with piney hop resin above restrained pale malt sugaring.
'Pungent candied citrus' enveloped double dry-hopped IPA, Quatrain, absorbing its dank graininess, subtle grapefruit-orange-peach tang and delicate floral nuances.
Robust Steelmantown Porter engaged vanilla bean bittering and oak-charred Scottish peat with dark chocolate syruping for a dewy mocha celebration.
A delightfully unique lactose-aided pastry stout, Lucky Spud, brought its sweet potato adjunct to fudged brownie creaminess and casual cinnamon-coconut seduction.
Briny oyster-shelled Bakers chocolate inundated lightly creamed dry stout, What The Shuck.
Adding mellow marshmallow sweetness to the mix, The Other Side Of The Mountains Stout maintained vanilla-creamed brown chocolate sugaring for its ancillary toasted coconut, toffee and Graham Cracker illusions.
Just as exquisite, laidback barrel-aged version of In the Deepest Ocean Tequila Mole Stout drove vanilla-spiced bourbon warmth into tequila-daubed brown chocolate sweetness. 
AVALON, NEW JERSEY
At the tony white sandy beach town of Avalon, 'upscale casual gastropub,' AVALON BREW PUB, was established in 2016. Specializing in efficiently traditional mid-range beers and serving sumptuous cuisine in a demurely sophisticated atmosphere, Avalon's high profile ocean visibility makes it a prime summertime hotspot.
A small cement patio with hot weather furnishings and a couch leads patrons to the exquisite porcelain-tiled wood floor pub. Edison lights dot the ceiling alongside unique silver keg tops. There are fifteen dining tables, an eight-stool marble top bar with two TV's, an aqua blue-painted backdrop with white Avalon insignia and a windowed brew room.
Mild Bohemian-styled Chill Pils, placed subtle grapefruit, pineapple and orange zest next to delicate lemongrass herbage above dry pale lagered malts.
Expansive grain-toasted amber ale, Healing Sun, took on piney orange-red-yellow fruiting and dry pine resin for a vibrant IPA-like moderation.
"Sharp, twangy" witbier, Belgian Beach Bum, retained a charmingly seductive orange-peeled coriander spicing reinforced by chamomile, lemongrass and cellared funk subsidies.
Amber grain-toasted crisping and dry hop phenolics plied Red Session Ale with brisk grapefruit-orange-peach tanginess, pastry-like pale malting and dried maize astringency.
Floral citrus-spiced West Coast IPA, We Don't Play, a brisk hometown favorite, let orange-peeled grapefruit tanginess gain pale malt sugaring in a moderate-bodied setting.
Sessionable IPA, Cooler By A Mile, a hoppier version of We Don't Play, allowed floral-perfumed citrus zest to graze its grassy wet-grained finish. 
Sunny lemon zest adjoined lightly spiced grapefruit and orange briskness, winey green grape tartness and herbal wood tones for oats-based As The Crow Flies Pale Ale, the most approachable brew on hand.
Precariously offbeat pale-cleared turnabout, Soft Handshake Lager, a dry-hopped moderation, soaked Merlot grape esters in sour gooseberry-guava tropicalia, limey lemongrass herbage and harvested dill over its gentle white wheat bed - going way beyond stylistic tradition.
Mossy earthen dew gathered musty cellar funk to contrast the toffee-like Maris Otter malting of Cool Hand Lucas ESB.
Dewy English IPA-like rye malting advanced Switch Pop Shove-It, leaving earthen herbal fungi and minor pine resin upon zesty orange, dried lemon and melon rind.
Dryly citric-piney Slam Poet IPA scattered spritzy lemon zest across yellow grapefruit and orange rind bittering as well as salted mango tanginess, relegating its honeyed oats spine.
Sugar-spiced citrus juicing paved the way for Said The Joker To The Thief IPA, scattering lemon peel bittering across mild grapefruit, navel orange and clementine tanginess as well as wispy herbage.
Dried fruited candi sugaring gave cilantro-seeded Blackbird Fly Dark Saison the appeal of a Belgian dubbel, posting prune, plum, raisin and currant notes for its dewy peat bottom.
Decadent chocolate and 'sultry vanilla' headlined Little Spoon: Swoon Edition, a mocha-creamed oatmeal stout with Bakers chocolate, cocoa nibs and light-roast coffee tones settling atop caramel-burnt maple oats.
Dark maple syrup coated wood-burnt black chocolate and dark-roast coffee for Oliver Bright's Maple Caper Imperial Stout, a hazelnut-glazed barley roaster with black cherry snips. 
