HAMPTON TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY
In the rural northwestern Jersey village of Hampton Township,
ANGRY ERIK moved from nearby Lafayette to now occupy a maroon aluminum-sided barnhouse at a newish industrial mall area during 2019.
A high ceilinged cement-floored open space with 14-seat wood-topped serving station, stooled tables and random barrels, Angry Erik's pristine yellow-walled interior also features a massive bar-centered brewery banner, cool end-of-bar serpent and at least 12 tap handles.
A maroon-umbrellaed, slate-pavered side deck with plastic furnishings offers plenty of outside seating along the hillside.
A host of patrons greet my dog Roscoe upon my initial August '19 sojourn. My wife and I will quaff five previously untried suds while grabbing a few seats on the deck midafternoon.
Dryer than expected, Belgian Abbey singel,
Hand Of Tyr, brought mild raw honeyed bittering and tart fig-date-apricot dried fruiting to its relegated beet-sugared pecan glaze.
Honey-spiced tripel,
H2 Ale with Honey & Hibiscus Tripel, reeled in its unassuming 10% ABV
to reveal vibrant citrus tanginess, gentle hibiscus tropicalia and subtle floral herbage.
Hybridized Belgian-styled India Pale Ale,
Fjord Crosser, retained a dryer wood-toned citrus bittering as lemony grapefruit-seeded desiccation and grainy pine rusticity picked up sweet honeydew, tart lychee and sour gooseberry undertones.
An interesting black ale/ Maxwell Heavy Scotch Ale blend,
Shady Max coalesced its dewy Scotch-fruited tobacco leafing with cocoa-dried black patent malts in a well-conceived manner.
Best bet: glorious
Bourbon Barrel-aged Vangandr, a 2019 version of Belgian brown ale aged in sweet bourbon, regaled sharp-spiced cherry, banana, toffee, raisin and coconut luster as well as peated whiskey persistence.
EARLY
ANGRY ERIK ARTICLE PRIOR TO HAMPTON MOVE
LAFAYETTE, NEW JERSEY
Directly off Route 94 in the rural Western Jersey town of Lafayette,
ANGRY ERIK BREWING is a small, successful, independent business ready for imminent expansion. Since opening in 2014, the entrepreneurial husband-wife tandem of Erik & Heide Hassing have taken their steady offering of one-off beers and seasonal repeats statewide and beyond.
Relishing the cool "Don't Get Mad, Get Angry" slogan and utilizing a thrasher-wielding dragon Viking insignia, Angry Erik boasts a "constant variety of beers to quench every craft beer lover. Inside a red-tanned light Industrial complex, its eight-seat bar features several tap handles and a blackboard listing draught selections while three wood tables line the left side. In the back brew room are two plastic picnic tables for further seating.
Just ten miles away from Sparta's beer-centric Krogh's Brewpub and Mohawk House Restaurant, Angry Erik's ever-changing beer menu moves faster than a speeding bullet.
On my celebratory 4-20 visit during 2018, the entire menu changed from a mere two weeks hence. I got to quaff five previously untried suds before heading East at sundown.
First up, Angry Erik's easygoing
Belgian What? Belgian Blonde let spritzy orange-peeled grapefruit, pineapple and lime zest gain moderate Amarillo piney hop bittering above oats-dried wheat malts.
Next, 'seductive' elderflower-enhanced
The Dainty Viking Blonde Ale brought tart citrus-spiced Chardonnay buttering to subdued pale malting, though its rustic dried flowering seemed overwhelmed.
Tidy IPA,
To Taste (Hoppy Heide #4), spread moderate yellow grapefruit bittering across spritzy pineapple, peach, orange and tangerine tanginess above crystal malt sugaring.
Politely hop-headed IPA,
Hop The Fence, brought sweet 'n sour grapefruit tones to ashen pine resin and plasticine-grouted clay hops, gaining tertiary peach, pineapple and orange juiciness at the moderately bitter citrus finish.
For silken Valentines Day-inspired dessert,
Cordially, Cupid Porter regaled prominent Black Forest cake sweetness thanks to tartly sweet 'n sour black cherries and sugary chocolate-cocoa fudging.
www.angryerik.com
BRAINTREE, MASSACHUSETTS
Residing at a cement-floored red brick industrial warehouse in Boston's South Shore suburb of Braintree, WIDOWMAKER BREWING creates some of the finest small-batch ales in the entire state.
Open since September 2017, co-founding brewer Ryan Lavery designs a wide array of delectable elixirs.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon, April 2018, my wife and I peruse Widowmaker and throw back a few original house recipes.
A 20-stool front bar with eight community tables welcomes customers to the beige grayed beam-exposed open space. Towards the rear, a six-stool serving station with crowler-to-go refrigerator and large TV becomes our home for the next hour as I sample the suds.
Though many English milds are a bit nebulous flavor-wise, an up-front chocolate roast seeped into earthen dewy peat for perfectly stylish Noble-hopped Claremont Mild - a fine choice for dark ale fans.
Lightly perfumed lemon zest gained mild juniper bittering and spicy floral zing for refreshing springtime moderation, Manc Juniper Ale.
Brisk orange-peeled grapefruit juiciness and candied pineapple tanginess settled into the moderate mainstream midst of Greenbush Pale Ale. Its dry Mosaic hop astringency and minor wood tones deepened above mildly creamed crystal malting.
A lovely milkshake-inspired medium body, Martin & Lewis Milkshake IPA, offered creamy vanilla sugaring to juicy orange, mango, peach and pineapple tanginess, contrasting minimal lemony grapefruit bittering. Its well-integrated sweet vanilla spicing gained mild marshmallow, coconut and pecan snips as well.
Straightforward Ecstasy Of Gold IPA informed its bittersweet orange-peeled grapefruit juicing with lightly pungent pine tones to contrast creamy crystal malting and subtle pineapple-mango-peach tanginess.
For sharp-toned Bat Country Double IPA, lemony grapefruit tang receives resinous piney hop bittering over rigid rye-spiced malting. Candied pineapple, peach, mango and tangerine snips add juiciness.
A back-tongued cold-brewed coffee roast rises above soily hop-charred bittering as well as black-malted chicory, espresso and black licorice snips for Donut Shop Coffee Stout, leaving a lightly sugared java reminder.
Reminiscent of a lightly embittered Snickers candy bar, There's No Wrong Way Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout's rich dark chocolate syruping and burnt caramel sweetness contrasted walnut-charred peanut salting and charcoal-singed coffee tones.
widowmakerbrewing.com 
SCITUATE, MASSACHUSETTS
Inside a spacious tan aluminum mill in the Massachusetts seacoast town of Scituate, UNTOLD BREWING came to fruition October '17. Revamping a small schoolhouse, co-brewers Kyle Hansen, sister Kristin Greene, and close pal, Matt Elder now have plenty of room to operate as the cement-floored open space utilized already stores some massive brew tanks.
At 11 AM on a musky Sunday in April '18, I mingle with the staff at the varnished pale blue tasting table before any customers get there. Interestingly, the back classroom now serves as a pristine community-tabled beer parlor. And an attractive stone-bordered slate-topped patio adds more seating.
Currently, there are eleven tap handles serving five flagship brews as well as two more IPA's, a red ale, Scotch ale and porter.
The mildest ale available may be Untold's best. Brisk lemony orange tanginess regaled Abigail Blonde, a citric perfume-spiced treasure yielding ancillary wood-toned grapefruit, peach and pineapple illusions above biscuity pale malts.
Valencia orange, mango and peach fruiting anchored Pale 143, a mild pale ale with dainty floral-pined citrus hops reaching a dry finish.
Stylishly mild East By Northwest IPA draped floral orange-spiced sweetness atop subtle pine hop bittering and mineral-grained rye breading.
Muskier and dryer, Time Shall Unfold IPA gave its orange-peeled ruby red grapefruit tang a spritzy carbolic splash and musty wood respite.
Nut-charred caramel and chocolate malts inundated Rebecca Brown Ale, a semi-rich darkie with latent coffee roast bittering, sweet toffee tease and dewy earthen restraint.
These flagship offerings were rivaled by five non-regular brews.
Lemon-candied moderation, Untold Identity Crisis, a 'hazy IPA,' gathered juicy grapefruit and orange peel bittering and resinous pine to contrast sweet mango, pineapple and peach fruiting as well as sugar-candied malts.
Easygoing To The Limit, a mildly creamed Imperial IPA, had subtler grapefruit-orange bittering and softly spiced pineapple, peach and tangerine subtleties backed up by leafy wood-toned hops.
Pleasingly affable Irish Red united toasted caramel malting with snappy orange-apple fruiting and mild hop astringency.
Tenacious P Porter worked molasses-sugared milk chocolate into mild hop bittering and dry rye malts as well as oncoming praline-glazed almond and walnut sweetness.
For dessert, excellent Mean Mother Maggie (aged on oak spirals) sufficed. Its peaty rye-dried Scotch malting gained a whiskey smidge to reinforce caramelized apple, apricot and peach tones.
www.untoldbrewing.com 
BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT
Grabbing local headlines as the first brewery in Bridgeport since 1940, ASPETUCK BREW LABS take a scientific journey thru zymurgy. Just a few minutes off Route 95 in the southwestern Black Rock district, the spotless white-roomed 'lab' creates some distinct beverages.
Borrowing its Aspetuck moniker from 'a river originating at the high place,' the 2017-established pub resides inside a gray-bricked warehouse (closing November '24).
Upon entering the orange door, its plastic-furnished setting featured a ten-stool serving table with eight taps and plain pendant lighting. An acrylic black-lettered brewery insignia stationed atop the draught handles adds tasteful simplicity.
Brew tanks in the rear served seven well-designed and delightfully quaffable brews this Sunday afternoon in April '18.
Smoothly sessionable lightweight, Pt. 78 Blonde Ale, draped mild lemony orange spicing over minor wood tones and bready pilsner malts.
Gentle Belgian-styled farmhouse ale, Gray Matter Grisette, laced mildly spiced lemon-seeded juniper bittering with herbal black-peppered rosemary, thyme and jasmine whims above dry wheat backbone.
Yellow grapefruit pith, rind and peel dominated 06605 Pale Ale, a salty-bottomed moderation with lightly spiced mandarin orange, tangelo and tangerine tanginess.
Indelibly mainstream Cosmic Siesta IPA let grassy-hopped tropical fruiting graze lightly pine-sapped Mosaic lupulin powder with a breezy sway as candied orange, pineapple, peach and mango tanginess usurps tart lemon notions.
Just as easygoing, lupulin-powdered Turbidity Lucidity IPA (double dry-hopped) seeped honeyed fruits into syrupy sugared malts as tropical pineapple-grapefruit-orange briskness and fig-dried licks contrasted grassy hop astringency.
Arguably Aspetuck's finest: halfway aggressive Empirical Evidence Imperial IPA doused juicy lemony orange spicing with perfumed dry hops over buttered biscuit malting in a splendid manner.
For dessert, cautiously rich Chocolate Stout brought dry cocoa-powdered dark chocolate malting to cedar-burnt coffee roasting, picking up toffee sweetness at the finish for contrast.
www.aspetuckbrewlab.com 
LIVINGSTON, NEW YORK
Inside an old freestanding red brick building just south of the town of Hudson on the rural back roads off Route 287, Livingston's SAUREZ FAMILY BREWERY crafts some of the East Coast's finest lagers, pale ales and saisons since opening June '16.
Its large white room setting features three massive store front windows, five community tables, wall-bound art deco and high ceilings, creating grandiose splendor from simple auspices. Behind the small serving station lies a refrigerator area and the brew tanks.
Former Hill Farmstead brewer, Dan Saurez, not only crafts wholly approachable, crisp, clean and brisk brews, but each of the four previously untried brews I quaff on this sunny Sunday afternoon, December '17, maintained an uncompromising originality and majestic aura.
First up, hoppy spelt-grained pale ale, Homespun, aligned tangy grapefruit, lemon and orange juicing with vinous green grape tartness in a fresh mineral-watered setting that gained straw-dried astringency.
Next, splendid wheat pale ale, Crispy Little, brought zesty lemon, grapefruit, orange, pineapple and peach tanginess to perfume-spiced hops and oats-dried wheat cracker malts, gaining the slightest vinous grape perk.
Countryside farmhouse pale ale, Big Night Saison, let subtle brettanomyces funk affect vinous green grape tartness as well as lemony white peach, pineapple and mango subtleties plus lemongrass-peppercorn snips to its grassy barnyard bottom.
Arguably the best selection in a fine field, Bandwidth, a highly approachable pale ale, plied sweet orange-tangerine-peach tanginess, zesty lemon spritz and mildly creamed cotton-candied sugar malts to grassy hop resin.
www.suarezfamilybrewery.com 
Called a 'Sierra Nevada with a burst of flavor,' approachable Proprietors Pale Ale's candy-spiced orange, peach, apple and tangerine tang picked up grassy hop resin.
'Basic' Widows Walk IPA stayed stylistically prim as gently-spiced grapefruit, pineapple and orange briskness gained subtle piney hop bittering and mild grassy notions.
Floral-perfumed yellow grapefruit spicing fronted dry rye-malted Rye To Me Rye IPA.
Brisk piney tropical fruiting inundated Beached Whale New England IPA, where grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering picks up lemony hop phenols to contrast sweet peach-mango tang and prickly floral spicing.
Honeyed nuttiness casually affected English Brown Ale, a moderate-to-medium body with drifting molasses, caramel and chocolate truffle dollops.
Dark chocolate malts crested atop Burnt Caramel Porter, letting caramelized molasses contrast its light wood char just beneath the mocha surface.
For dessert, Tainted Senorita Mexican Coffee Stout allowed its cold-brewed coffee tones spread across dark chocolate malts and dark roasted hops, gaining light vanilla, espresso and cacao nibs tones by the finish.
www.hudsonbrew.com