Category Archives: United States Brewpubs

DESTINATION UNKNOWN BEER COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

Gallery | Destination Unknown Beer Company | Local Craft Beer in Bay Shore, NY

BAYSHORE, NEW YORK

Just off Sunrise Highway in Bayshore’s Industrial section, DESTINATION UNKNOWN BEER COMPANY opened for business May 2015 (and began DUBCO Acres on a 50-acre farm, May ’22, in Warwick, New York). Created by head brewer Chris Candiano and Brad Finn, two local West Islip natives who began as garage-bound zymurgists, DUBCO (as it’s affectionately known) proves to be another worthy New York farmhouse brewery.

An overhead door leads to the 10-stooled serving station sparsely decorated with a side-walled Destination Unknown insignia, wooden L-shaped pew and amber-tiled floor. Wood-furnished mezzanine seating is also available at the small 2,000 square foot space. A large projection screen TV is set along the back wall.

A wide variety of ambitious liquids ranging from sundry India Pale Ales to two Belgian-styled ales to a coffee stout and sour ale pour from the tap handles as my cousins and I settle down at one of the three outside patios on a sunny Sunday afternoon in June ’19.

Image result for destination unknown brewing

Approachable flagship moderation, hopped-up pale ale, It’s A Shore Thing, retained a sedate citrus piquancy and mild woodsy dryness above mineral-grained cereal malting.

Easygoing smoothie, Sonar Saison, let lemon-bruised green grape souring gather rummy bourbon sweetness for bristling ethyl alcohol astringency.

Placing dry wood tones next to mossy dewiness and floral orange-peeled grapefruit zest, plainly monikered DUBCO IPA seemed to blend an earthen English IPA with a juicy fruited West Coast style.

One of the most popular amongst locals, tranquil dry moderation, Sore Thumb Double IPA brought limey grapefruit, pineapple and orange tanginess to resinous pine hops over its delicate caramel malt base.

Part of DUBCO’s “Milkshake Series,” Science Of Selling Mango Milkshakes IPA overwhelmed its lemony mango tartness with lactic vanilla yogurt souring and zestful orange-grapefruit-pineapple punch.

Lactose-sugared sour yogurt milking pervaded the juicy orange-peeled pineapple tropicalia of fruitful Water Taxi Triple New England IPA, gaining tart green grape, gooseberry and guava goodness.

Tartly white-wined Sour Science IPA retained lemon-soured green grape tannins and relegated straw-dried barnyard musk.

As for the two Belgians, wood-dried rusticity contrasted the dark candi-sugared citrus persuasion of off-dry Dubbel Rainbow. Pleasantly elegant Tripel Rainbow imbued its dried fruited candy sugaring with tea-like earthen dew, leaving sweet fig-date-raisin illusions to fade lightly.

Soft-toned milked coffee, hop-charred nuttiness and buttered molasses breading saddled Red Eye Breakfast Stout, finishing like a mild espresso.

destinationunknownbeercompany.com

LITHOLOGY BREWING CO.

United States Brewpubs,

Image result for lithology brewing

FARMINGDALE, NEW YORK

Smack dab in the middle of downtown Farmingdale with a bright blue awning and glass-front window, LITHOLOGY BREWING CO. opened during 2015. A tiny two-room nanaobrewery with small silver metal three-barrel system, Lithology’s whimsical one-off ales are usually delicately persuasive soft-toned liquids for easygoing semi-conventional tastes.

The front bar room features a modern Industrial setup with cozy L-shaped serving station, tan floor tiles, Classical white ceiling tiles, one central TV and prestigious side-walled wood insignia.

The twelve Industrial metal tap handles serve New York farmhouse brews and there are several state-crafted liquor selections as well.

Behind the kitchen-designed brew room lies a small outdoor patio beer garden with metal furnishings. During my June ’19 stopover, I tried nine homemade suds.

Soft-toned Jay Walker Cream Ale – Nitro retained grassy hop astringency and celery-watered crisping for its maize-dried finish.

Dry lemony grapefruit piquancy fronted Sunrise Summer Ale, leaving its subtle citric spicing upon the simple pale wheat malting.

Understated The White, a Belgian witbier, let coriander-spiced orange tartness subtly sink into wheat-dried lemongrass herbage and zesty lemon snips.

Tea-like moderation, Lithology Red Ale, imbued dry amber-grained chocolate malting with murky orange fruiting.

Dainty mango soaping welcomed summertime moderation, Magothy Mango, a buttery wheat ale with subtle tropical fruiting.

Pallid Watermelon Blonde’s cucumber-laden watermelon tease and melon rind earthiness gained mild lemony hop bittering and dry pale malting.   

Waxy citrus tones brought mild bitterness to herbal-tinged Local Gold, a watered-down West Coast-styled IPA.

Black chocolate and dark toffee picked up earthen leathering for mildly nutty Brown Ale.

Minty chai tea illusions seeped into dark chocolate and licorice tones for nitrogenated Chai-Lo Ren Latte Stout, relegating its delicate spiced black tea notion.

BARRAGE BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

 

FARMINGDALE, NEW YORK

Inside a pristine white warehouse across from regional Republic Airport and just a mile from Black Forest Brew Haus, BARRAGE BREWING COMPANY opened January ’14 (and closed January 2020).

Its small yellow-walled taproom features a metal-fronted serving station with bright Barrage insignia, eight draught handles, five stooled black tables and vinyl black floor.

Silver tanked brew barrels are located in the rear and store a veritable cornucopia of beers quaffed on my highly pleasurable two-hour June ’19 journey.

First up, delightfully IPA-fruited Nerd Girl Hoppy Pilsner raised zesty Mosaic-Citra-hopped grapefruit, tangerine, orange and pineapple tanginess above grassy earthiness, picking up tart gooseberry, melon rind and lemon custard illusions at the finish.

Soft-tongued New England-styled IPA hybrid, It’s Got Hops In It Pale Wheat, spread juicy lemony grapefruit zest across herbaceous floral hops and white wheat malts.

In the same NEIPA league, tropical I’m Still The Best Galaxy, brought subtle orange-grapefruit-pineapple-peach tanginess to dry pale malts and fennel-celery vegetalia.

A collaboration with nearby Spider Bite, Collaborator Doppelbock left dewy sweetness upon dark-spiced fig, date and apricot illusions as well as wispy toffee notions.

Not unlike a Snickers candy bar, Yada Yada Yada Brown Ale loaded caramelized peanut butter alongside dark chocolate, bitter coffee and coconut illusions, leaving a trace of oily hop bittering.

Salted caramel indulged Assault N Fudgery, an offbeat Imperial Porter with sour black cherry notions.

Pina Colada-bound Tribal Cow Toasted Coconut Milk Stout layered coconut-milked pineapple zesting above its mossy bottom.

A mellow milked coffee tone embellished Café De Leche, a divergent Imperial Stout with black chocolate and coconut illusions intercepted by mild charred hop bittering.

barragebrewing.com

NAP TIME LIQUID CREATION

United States Brewpubs,

BLAUVELT, NEW YORK

An outgrowth of Andean Brewing’s quirkily cherished maca root-derived Kuka brand, NAP TIME LIQUID CREATION came to fruition late 2017 (and closed 2023). Directed by proficient Kuka brewmeister, Alex Coronado (RIP), Nap Time’s rangy elixirs sometimes stretch stylistic boundaries, but just as often reach a comfort zone for Blue Collar pilsner-lager lovers as proven by the two fruitful offerings quaffed during my two-hour June ’19 excursion.

Nap Time’s cozy interior featured a few tables, couch, regal black-and-white paper cut wall art and slate-topped serving station with four draught handles. A few black metal patio tables near the entrance add extra seating.

Image result for nap time brewingImage result for nap time brewing

Sunshiny IPA-like citrus spicing and dank wood musk fronted dry-hopped The Dreamer Light Lager, leaving herbal snips upon its juicy grapefruit-orange tang, mild lemon spritz, latent Hallertau Blanc green grape tannins and teasing Hull Melon gooseberry tartness.

Similarly bright and lively moderation, Incantation Pilsner let lemon-peeled grapefruit zesting and delicate mandarin orange sweetness appease herbal barnyard-dried grassiness and white breaded pale malting.

Heavenly Lick The Mind Of God, a Mosaic-hopped Imperial IPA, brought tangy pineapple juiciness to sweet orange, red grapefruit, mango and peach tropicalia, contrasting its light resinous wood tones.

Dark-roast chocolate and bitter coffee coalesced for easygoing stout, Floating Into The Night, bringing molasses-draped cola, hazelnut and Brazil nut illusions and pureed black cherry daubs into the fray.

Ugandan vanilla beaning and roasted coffee tones guided clean-watered Swedish-inspired milk stout, Fika, a terrific dessert treat utilizing cardamom-spiced cinnamon toasting to caress its minty brown chocolate surge and vanilla-sweetened java finish.

During January ’21 afternoon jaunt with son, Christopher, discovered four more fine suds from this dependable lounge-styled pub.

Dry Italian-styled Imperial Pilsner, Obliviation, leveraged biscuity bohemian pilsner malting with ambrosial fruited oats sugaring.

Mildly creamed pale malt-sugared citrus zest embraced Dream Is Destiny, a crisply clean Imperial IPA with spiced pineapple, grapefruit and orange tang and moderate resinous piney hop bittering.

Temptingly sweet honey and brown sugar adjuncts regaled Nothingness, a judicious Imperial Stout weaving dried cocoa into ancillary hazelnut coffee, espresso, toffee and dark cherry illusions above a rich cookie dough base.

Inconspicuous 9.5% strong ale, Old Queen Cole, a subtly whiskey/red wine-barreled English barleywine-like dessert treat pleated brown chocolate-spiced sweetness with roasted coffee.

HACKENSACK BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

Hackensack Brewing Company | Hackensack, NJ | Beers | BeerAdvocate

Four Jersey-bred beer enthusiasts joined forces for HACKENSACK BREWING COMPANY, opening its doors January 2019. Though Bergen County remains too asininely exorbitant and monetarily manipulative to flourish in the current brewpub Renaissance, Hackensack now has two operational breweries within a quarter-mile of each other on Johnson Street.

Inside a white stucco warehouse with high ceilings, cement floors and barreled tables, HBC’s two-room interior features an overhead-doored brew room and right side pub.

At the pub’s V-shaped 12-stooled serving station, there’s several silver draught handles, a beer-ridden bulletin board, one central TV, Edison light fixtures and a crowler-filled refrigerator. Along the side wall are book-shelved seats and framed photos of several cool local musicians.

In early June ’19, stopped by to suck down nine straightforwardly original brews before grabbing dinner.

A fine opener, spunky Motion City Lager let casual lemondrop-hopped tangerine zest bring tongue-tingling spritz to buttery pale malt breading and latent herbal snips.

Pale malt spicing, lemony orange licks, dry wood tones and astringent herbal hops gather for bread-crusted moderation, Fairmount Pale Ale.

Summery fruit ale, Lawn Stripes, brought lacquered lemon-rotted raspberry candy and apricot pureeing to subtle resinous hop astringency over sweet wheat base.

Lemony banana-clove insistence permeated fine dry saison, Carried By Six, leaving funky barnyard earthiness, light white-peppered herbage and pale malt spicing upon candi-sugared citrus sweetness.

Just as effective and a tad lighter, more traditional Belgian-styled saison, Tried by Twelve, caressed its sweet orange-peeled coriander spicing, buttery banana breading and mild apricot sway with dry farmhouse herbage over a delicate sugary oats bed.

Easygoing New England-styled Imperial IPA, Walk-Off Double, brought tangy grapefruit zesting to lemon-sugared orange sweetness and barley-floured sourdough malting with irresistible splendor.

Crushed uziza pepper adds light herbal pungency to effectively offbeat hybridized Imperial Pale Ale, Pepper Coast, a cologne-perfumed dry body with limey chamomile resonance contrasting powdered lemonade tartness.

Subtle Madagascar vanilla creaminess faded over zesty citric hops for Nu-Bajan Blonde. Its coffee-beaned version, Nu-Bajan Breakfast Blend, coalesced light-roast coffee tones, creamy vanilla sweetness and mild coconut toasting above pale-malted citrus spicing.

Sweet toffee blanketed bittersweet chocolate and milk-sugared coffee tones for Toad Style Extra Stout, picking up dried anise, bruised black cherry and black grape illusions at the busy back end.

NIGHT SHIFT BREWING – EVERETT

United States Brewpubs,

Image result for night shift brewing everett

EVERETT, MASSACHUSETTS

With three locations as of my May ’19 trip, NIGHT SHIFT BREWING has become one of Boston’s most successful craft breweries since opening 2012. Just down the street from Bone Up Brewing and close to Everett’s colossal casino, this mighty red-bricked pub really gets crowded by loyal locals at nighttime.

A large overhead door leads to Night Shift’s high-ceilinged warehouse where 24 draught lines, a proprietary owl logo and colorfully designed (and individualized) blackboard beer listing crowd the bright blue-walled mahogany bar. Some simple community tables and a few round tables fill out the well regarded cement-floored pub.

A fenced-in patio near the entrance provides extra outdoor seating. Brew tanks are in the rear and a small stage area gets set up for local musical talent on occasion.

Best of all, most of Night Shift’s rangy brews (available in cans) really hit the spot, though the first few tried and reviewed down below merely offer an alternative to Bud-Coors-Miller fare.

Image result for night shift brewing exterior

Effervescent aluminum-cleared lo-cal Mexican lager, Lime Lite, pitched agave-cologned tequila whimsicality to lemony lime zesting above its fragile white bread spine. Bud Light Lime alternative and nothing more.

Dry clear-yellowed moderation, Cul-De-Sac Cream Ale, brought grassy-hopped grapefruit and orange subtleties to musky corn-starched pale malt hesitance and wispy herbal snips.

Corn-whiskeyed phenols enveloped Outer City Limits Dry-Hopped Lager, a briskly carbolic light body with herbaceous hops and dry pale malts.

Next came a few fruitily tart hybridized Berliner Weiss-styled sour ales, dryly vinous summertime moderations with low alcohol volume.

Leathery mixed culture fermentation provided a firm sour foundation for Ever Weisse, an extremely popular variant with tart kiwi, strawberry and hibiscus adjuncts gaining mild lactic acidity, vinous lemon juicing, bitter green grape apprehension and oaken cherry dryness above saltine crackered spine. Try in lieu of strawberry rhubarb pie.

Similarly mixed-cultured sour ale, Blossom Weisse, loaded tart oaken cherries atop its lactic kilned wheat bed, leaving lemony green grape tannins in its wake.

Vinegary cidered wild ale, Zou Bisou Bisou Ale with Lemon & Juniper, brought agave-tinged lemon zesting and subtle juniper berry bittering to musky hop-oiled astringency, leaving a slight metallic sheen upon the teasingly whiskey-grained finish.

Briskly sharp dry-bodied moderation, MVP New England Pale Ale (a spunky collaboration with Mondo), brought sunshiny grapefruit-peeled orange tanginess to lightly piney hopped bittering and juniper-licked gooseberry sourness. Tropical pineapple, mango, peach and guava illusions enhance its piney citrus splendor.

Thickly orange marble-hazed New England India Pale Ale imbued juicy grapefruit-peeled orange zest with lightly lingering herbal hop bittering countered by creamy pastry-like crystal malting.

Brisk One Hop This Time: Citra brought sunshiny lemon zest and floral nuances to resinous pine-hopped wet grass astringency, picking up mild pineapple, mango and tangerine whims.

Heady Fluffiest New England Triple IPA (the strongest version of Fluffy IPA at 9.7%) lets lemony grapefruit tanginess, heavily sugared pale malts and floral perfumed musk encounter harshly alcohol-burnt esters at lingeringly phenolic citric hop-embittered finish.

Heavily hop-charred black coffee bittering, wood-burnt ashen nuttiness and treacly Blackstrap molasses attached mild citric spicing for mocha-smoked full body, Exit 11 Black IPA, a musky Blackstrap molasses

Soy-sauced sour nuttiness contrasts toffee-spiced caramel malting and dried fig notions for thinnish bock-like schwarzbier, Nocturno Black Lager.

Sourly coffee-roasted Bakers chocolate entry guided Awake Porter aged with Coffee, leaving earth-scorched oily nuttiness along the ashen cocoa powdered finish.

www.nightshiftbrewing.com

IDLE HANDS BREWERY

United States Brewpubs,

Image result for idle hands brewing

MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS

At a renovated light Industrial area six miles north of Boston in a well-maintained red brick building, IDLE HANDS BREWERY is the pride of hilly woodland city, Malden. A black-gated entrance with Idle Hands insignia and metal-furnished porch welcomes patrons to the pristine warehouse pub.

Whether leaning towards German lagering, Belgian funk or American spunk, Idle Hands’ gentle touch can be felt with each distinctly soft-toned offering. Founding headbrewer Chris Tkach moved his operations from a tiny Everett storefront to its current nearby space in 2016.

The expansive high-ceilinged rafters add spacious dimension to the sparely furnished interior. LED-bulbed pendulum lamps hang above the twelve-seat serving station where twelve barn-wooded silver metal draught handles carry the brews crafted in the windowed silver barrels. Six cafeteria-styled community tables provide extra seating.

Fabulously boozy Country & Western tunes such as “Drinkin’ On  My Mind,” Whiskey Bent & Hellbound” and something about ‘getting his drunk ass home’ play in the background as my wife and I settle into ten Idle Hands suds.

Image result for idle hands brewing

Stylishly robust Edgeworth Pils brought mild floral citrus rind bittering to pungent maize-dried hop musk, fresh-cut grass astringency and cracker-like pilsner malting, leaving zesty lemon wisps on the clean tail end.

Grain-toasted baked breading appeased moderate zwickel lager, Emelyn, leaving musty fungi rusticity on the spicily fig-dried finish.

Approachably brisk dry body, Slate Ale, gathered slightly soured melon rind, lemon-spritzed papaya-raspberry tartness and mild hop bittering above sweet biscuit malts.

Salty-herbed Belgian wit, Blanche De Grace, goes a stylish step further as lemony orange coriander expectancy gets bum-rushed by cologne-perfumed lemongrass, fennel and wildflower illusions over its sedate pilsner-malted wheat bed.

Sweetly bread-crusted Munich dunkelweiss, Brunhilda, aligned toffee-spiced chocolate malts with mossy dried fruiting and earthen nuttiness.

Fermented subtly with Malbec grape must, Mazamomma Cream Ale let bubbly champagne sweetness reach raw-honeyed pale malt dryness.

Interesting, if not fully integrated, mixed culture farmhouse ale hybrid, Rosemary Reimagined, underutilized its sweet potato, candied yam and rosemary adjuncts, but let tannic-soured pinot grigio wining spawn a tartly puckered acidic aspect.

Soft-toned, golden-hazed, New England Imperial IPA, Splitter, allowed yogurt-soured yellow grapefruit piquancy and subtle melon-mango-papaya tropicalia to ride above its malted red wheat spine.

Another tropical fruited NEIPA, yellow-marbled Four Seam strove for sunshiny winsomeness as serene mango-guava-melon sentiments gained dry wood dankness and muted peach-pineapple wisps.

White-peppered lemon zest and honeyed banana-peach sweetness confirmed passionate tripel, Triplication, a boozy (8.9% ABV) elixir with spiced-up peach, pear and pineapple ripeness.

idlehandscraftales.com

DOWN THE ROAD BEER CO.

United States Brewpubs,

Image result for down the road beer co

EVERETT, MASSACHUSETTS

Just a few miles north of Boston inside a rustic red brick building at Everett’s heavy Industrial area, DOWN THE ROAD BEER CO. opened for biz in late 2017 (and became Aeronaut Brewing’s second location in 2020 after founder Donovan Bailey died).

A casual warehoused pub with an evolving beer menu, Down The Road’s pristine epoxy-floored interior includes a colorful Greek God mural, rows of cafeteria-styled community tables and a raised bandstand for entertainers.

Its quartz-topped serving station features thirty draught handles and Edison light fixtures with glass-encased brew tanks right behind. A few retro pinball machines guard the front wall and a small couch area with TV fills the diagonal back end. A large front-walled projection TV shows Star Wars while my wife and I consume nine fine brews this sunny Saturday afternoon in May (2019).

Image result for down the road beer co. Image result for down the road beer co. interior

Salty pinkish magenta-hued Feyborn Berliner Weisse (blueberry derivation) stayed tart as subtle Maine blueberries received dry raspberry-cranberry respite while retaining spritzy carbolic briskness.

Floral-fruited herbal spicing lingered gently for highly amiable Justa Saison, where sweet banana, lemon meringue and tangelo illusions reach white-peppered barnyard acridity.

Lacquered citrus and musty dewiness fronted West Coast IPA, The Resistance, leaving raw-hoeneyed buckwheat and dry rye malts upon tangy lemon-grapefruit-orange juicing.

Admirable Sour Cherry Table Beer let its tart beet-sugared cherry rhubarb pie likeness gain lemon candied soda pop pep.

Straight-ahead West Coastest IPA crossed tropical fruit-spiced pale malting with minor wood tones.

Easygoing beige yellow-hazed Dreamtime New England IPA brought barley-floured yellow grapefruit juicing to zesty orange peel sweetness as well as yogurt-soured passionfruit and pineapple tartness (above grassy-hopped pine resin).

Nutty dark chocolate and chalky cocoa powder guided Dirty Shillelah Dry Stout, picking up a hop-charred walnut sear.

Dark-roasted chocolate malts swept up smooth medium-bodied dark ale, Devils Twins Porter, leaving cocoa, fig and walnut snips on the tail end.

Chewy brown chocolate sweetness spread across cookie dough richness for Darkest Night Imperial Stout, retaining mild coffee-caramel-molasses conflux and subtle bruised cherry tartness.

BONE UP BREWING

United States Brewpubs,

Image result for BONE UP BREWING

EVERETT, MASSACHUSETTS

Formerly Boston’s smallest brewery, BONE UP BREWING now occupies a cozily polished overhead-doored red brick warehouse with black metal-fenced front patio. Inspired by old school Belgian farmhouse brewing while celebrating American styles, this husband-wife-owned pub continues to gain popularity (but closed operations 2023).

Founding heavy metal-loving homebrew spouses, Liz and Jared Kiraly, doubled their space and brought more brewing equipment when the place started humming along. In two-and-a-half years since August 2016, they’ve crafted three hundred small beer batches, creating an amazing one hundred-plus different draught offerings.

The left side fifteen-stooled L-shape bar (with canary yellow walls) features a few tables and multiple Edison lights. The serving station has twelve tap handles, one cask set up and a blackboard beer menu. Fabulous modern art crowds the walls and a left room drinking area has pinball and Ms. Pac Man games.

My wife and I visited Bone Up on a hazily sunny Saturday afternoon in May ’19.

Image result for BONE UP BREWING

First up were the four flagship offerings.

Crisply light-bodied cream ale, Extra Naked, gathered floral lemon-oiled herbal musk for delicate maize-dried pilsner malting and restrained grainy hop pungency.

Next, approachable white ale, Key Lime, stayed dry as lactic key lime-juiced lemon meringue tartness settled above honeyed Graham Cracker wheat malts.

Straightforwardly easygoing India Pale Ale, Wasted Life, brought blitzing orange-peeled yellow grapefruit tanginess to subtle piney hop bittering and wispy floral accents.

Richly embittered robust porter, Shut Up Kelly, retained black-malted dark chocolate muck and nutty dark-roast coffee tones.

As for Bone Up’s seasonal or one-off fare, there were a few pale ales left untried (Unholy Alliance; Dance Bob; Chaos Reigns ), but a grisette, hibiscus saison, smoked wheat ale and tripel got tasted.

Sessionable saison, Lawn Chair Grisette, maintained a lemony orange-peeled grapefruit tang reinforced by oats-dried barnyard acridity.

Tart pinkish amber farmhouse ale, Loretta, doused sweet-tart hibiscus florality with a white-peppered lemon twist and herbal saison yeast funk.

Bacon-smoked wheat ale, Oink!, let Band-aid-like beechwood astringency contrast humble bourbon-staved sweetness to its dry pale malt base, leaving petite meat-cured pastrami, salami and chorizo snips at the back end.

Creamily smooth tripel, Joybringer, relied on lingered banana spicing, candied citrus tartness, syrupy peach sweetness and salted pineapple zing to counter its musky herbal respite and dainty floral bouquet.

www.boneup.beer

DEMOCRACY BREWING

United States Brewpubs,

See the source image

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Strategically beginning operations on July 4, 2018, DEMOCRACY BREWING celebrates Independence Day on a daily basis. In the heart of Boston’s Downtown Crossing, this blue-faced side street pub boasts a German beerhall atmosphere while its decorative wood furnishings, old-fashioned wagon wheel chandeliers and stark arched columns provide serene Revolutionary Era antiquity.

Cozy wood booths and tables sidle the 20-chaired, red brick-walled bar (with 12-plus draughts and 2 TV’s). The brew tanks are located upfront in an exposed front cellar.

My wife and I grab seats at the central draught area on a glorious Saturday afternoon, May ’19, to quaff five stylishly conservative, yet well defined and balanced, Boston-made brews.

See the source image

Muskily dry lemony herbage seeped into light-bodied blonde ale, Workers Pint, an approachable pilsner-malted, citric-spiced flagship.

Sassy farmhouse ale, Fighting 54th Saison, gathered peppery chamomile-lemongrass herbage to sidle its tangy lemon-soured tangerine briskness and sweet banana-clove ascendance.

Dewy English bitter, Cellar Door, let moderated black tea-like bittering relegate its orange-dried pine resin and pale malted amber graining.

A frisky lemon spritz picked up mossy earthiness and dank wood tones for medium-bodied Imperial IPA, Consummate Rioter, leaving lightly spiced grapefruit-orange rind bittering in its wake.

Cold-brewed Peruvian coffee added medium-roast bitterness to Crash Coffee-Infused IPA, letting latent IPA-like citrus-spiced wood tones linger lightly at the brusque java finish.  

Unfortunately, the ever-popular Irish-styled 1919 Strike Stout, was unavailable.

www.democracybrewing.com

CHEEKY MONKEY

United States Brewpubs,

Image result for CHEEKY MONKEY BOSTON BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

A full-scale upscale cocktail lounge with a fully automated brewery, large billiard room, plush band stage and pristine Old world splendor, CHEEKY MONKEY opened for biz in 2017. Its black metal fenced-in porch with three tables leads customers into this sterling polished gem across the street from historic Fenway Park.

Besides offering crisply clean draught beers, Cheeky Monkey’s fine wine and liquor selection crowd the wood shelves at the elongated 30-stooled L-shaped bar. Solid pub fare goes well with the six tapped beers emulating from the far back windowed 10-barrel Smart Brew System.

The posh barroom also includes several shelved antique radios, old metal beams and low-hanging ceiling pipes to capture Boston’s historic rustic charm. Several wood booths and tables line the room.

An American-flagged back lounge with plush furniture and stone hearth provides some privacy to counteract the large sports-centric open area where a spacious billiards hall competes with shuffleboard tables and ping pong before leading to the back-barred brew tanks.

While my wife and I hung out at the bar, we tried four diversely easygoing brews during our quick May ’19 afternoon stint.

First up, wonderful fruit ale, Wild Blueberry, captured all its distinct sweet-tart blueberry goodness alongside briskly carbolic lemon zest and honeyed wheat sugaring.

Next, easygoing Galaxy-hopped Down Undah Pale Ale proved to be stylishly intensified as spritzy lemon zest, tangy orange juicing and tart guava-gooseberry spunk merged over its musky pale-malted oats spine.

Straightforward Harambe’s Ghost IPA brought sharp citric-pined crisping and tingly floral spicing to sweet caramel malting without making a fuss.

Fudgy milk chocolate-y Rebellious Monk Stout let lingered oats-sugared black chocolate and mild coffee tones gather for a creamily full-bodied midday nightcap.

cheekymonkeyboston.com

GHOST HAWK BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

Image result for ghost hawk BREW

CLIFTON, NEW JERSEY

Right across the street from famous hot dog joint, Rutt’s Hut, Clifton’s GHOST HAWK BREWING COMPANY came into existence April 20, 2019. Inside an unfinished overhead-doored warehouse connected to Silk City Distillery, this spacious one-room pub features high ceilings, cement floors, a brew crew loft and wood lacquered serving station. Five community tables and six cocktail lounge tables sit across from the left side 20-stooled bar with reclaimed wood-stacked draught handles.

Veteran brewmaster, Chris Sheehan, mans the 15 BBL tanks for Passaic County’s first ever craft brewery. The decorated UC-Davis graduate got the nod as head brewer after serving at Defiant, JJ Bitting, Gun Hill and Chelsea breweries. His endlessly varied recipes continue to thrive and he’ll no doubt brew a few barrel aged elixirs given the fact a distillery’s next door.

Owned by Clifton natives Tom Rachelski, a financier army vet, and Steve Bauer, a graphic designing streetwear maven who joins me in conversation this glorious day, Ghost Hawk strives to create high quality beers that attract wide-ranging palates.

On this sunny May ’19 Saturday stopover, my wife and I enjoy all seven well-balanced, efficiently designed brews on tap while consuming Rutt’s Hut Triple Decker turkey sandwich, fried cod and a ‘ripper.’

Image result for ghost hawk brewing

Worthy ‘Continental-styled’ staple, Ghost Hawk Lager, a dry Dortmunder-like medium body with crusty sourdough malts, perfumed maize husk and dewy herbal licks received musky sulfate-watered Noble hop pungency for a stylishly bold thirst quencher.

Briskly straight-ahead moderation, Daedalion Wheat, had an oats-dried pilsner malt mouthfeel and spritzy lemony grapefruit snap, picking up grassy hop astringency and mild wood tones at the rustic grained finish.

Tart cherry souring enveloped easygoing fruited hybrid, Cherry Daedalion Wheat, where rose-wafted lemon zest lightly embittered cherry rhubarb piquancy as well as passive grapefruit, passionfruit, kiwi and mango snips above its billowy white wheat base.

Fennel-seeded caraway herbage seeped into dry rye spicing for mildly pepper-breaded medium body, Along For The Rye.

Yellow grapefruit zest brightened mild New England-styled IPA, Apex Predator, letting wispy peach, orange and tangerine tanginess settle below oncoming piney hop bittering.

Decisive ‘Triple,’ Trouble IPA brought spicy red-orange fruiting to candied toffee sweetness, relegating its herbal perfumed black tea bittering while nascent honeydew, melon, pineapple, pear and apple illusions find space.

Today’s one dark ale truly sufficed as a delicious post-lunch dessert. Mocha-powered Ravendark Stout regaled grain-roasted dark chocolate, cocoa nibs and cold-brewed coffee overtones given spicy anise sweetness to contrast its charred hop remnant.

During December ’25 afternoon revisit, Ghost Hawk had a chili cookoff and live band while I consumed six previously untried suds.

Floor-malted barley and toasted rye supplied Shropshire Lad, a Brit pale ale with sharp dark-roast hop bittering.

“Fruity delight,” Cranberry Daedalion Wheat, a sweet cranberry variant, let tart cherry come aboard after its fizzy lemon spritz prickled the honeyed wheat base.

Vibrant hazy pale ale, Karin’s Wings, utilized Nectarine and Nelson Sauvin hops to advance its tropical guava-passionfruit-gooseberry appeal and lemony mandarin orange spurt before Simcoe Cryo hops added gentle grassy pined herbage.

A dry New England IPA, Intricate Order Vol. 7 updated its easygoing tropical splendor as piney yellow grapefruit bittering, sweet orange peel tanginess and tart pineapple juicing made way thru mild oated wheat creaming.

Caramel-like demerara sugaring and spiced plum-raisin-prune conflux consumed capacious Belgian dubbel, Dubbelthink, a mossy full body with musty cellared funk and tertiary pipe tobacco, blackcurrant and burgundy tones.

Bitter black chocolate and nutty coffee propped up semi-sweet stout, Hollow Ground, leaving mild burgundy riffs, raw molasses gunk and musky pine singe.

www.ghosthawkbrewing.com