TINTON FALLS, NEW JERSEY
Tucked away in the Tinton Falls Center, a delightful mini-mall just off the NJ Parkway on the way to Point Pleasant, JUGHANDLE BREWING COMPANY opened on Father's Day 2016 (and closed 2024). A nifty open Industrial space perfect for small batch brewing, Jughandle's serving tanks, aging liquor barrels, brewery equipment and malted hop ingredients deck out the left side while wooden community tables and cool metal stools are situated near the right side 14-draught serving station.
On initial hot Saturday afternoon April 2017 visit, quaffed 14 well-rounded selections handcrafted by brewmasters Chris Hanigan and Peter Artherholt.
Delectably sessionable moderate-bodied opener, Hefeweizen brought banana-clove sweetness to lemony orange tang above cereal wheat malting.
Spritzy Firepit Belgian Wit loaded carbolic pep upon lemony curacao orange tartness, mild herbal hop bittering and politely spiced pale malts.
Amiable Mosaic Pale Ale let its mildly fruitful Mosaic hop profile shine with tangy yellow grapefruit, mango and orange tropicalia.
Brisk West Coast-styled India Pale Ale allowed citric Cascade hops and woody Chinook hops to combine for a tangy grapefruit, orange and lemon thrust punctuated by mild pine tones.
Stylishly soft moderate-to-medium-bodied Double India Pale Ale gained honeyed malt sweetness alongside pineapple, peach, clementine and grapefruit juicing.
Robust Black IPA contrasted black-malted Bakers chocolate bittering and molasses-soaked pumpernickel rye sweetness with less pronounced grapefruit, black grape and pineapple illusions.
Inviting Belgian Dubbel brought dry-fruited malting to the fore above musty fungi yeast, dewy peat graining and herbal hops as candi-sugared plum, raisin and banana sweetness increased.
Just as fine, Dunkleweizen coalesced crystal-malted cocoa and chocolate sugaring with tingly banana sweetness, tobacco-roasted crisping and dainty spices.
Lactobacillus-laden sour ale, Berliner Weiss, gently parched the tongue with oats-dried lemon rind bittering, light vinous grape esters and torrified wheat (?) malts. Adding raspberry syrup allowed subtle raspberry tartness to enhance the lemony grapefruit tang and lower the sour pucker. Quite nice.
Dry Calypso-hopped Pothole #2 Brett Pale Ale added light brettanomyces bacteria to affect its sour lemon pucker, herbal lemongrass-chamomile conflux and teasing tropical fruiting.
Peaty Scottish 70 Shilling Mild Ale offered dried tobacco crisping, desiccated orange tartness and mildewed basement dankness.
Earthen grains gave Partigyle Stout its earthen grounding as bittersweet black chocolate, dried cocoa and espresso tones overrode dark cherry snips.
Another dry dark ale, Irish Stout, retained a soft flow as bitter chocolate, milked espresso and day-old coffee tones proved sturdy.
Even better, Booskerdoo Breakfast Stout plied fresh roasted coffee beans to whiskey-soaked oak chips and gained a prominent brown chocolate and vanilla sweetness to soak up the whiskeyed coffee pleasantries.
During late September '17 visit on the way to Long Beach Island Chowderfest, quaffed another nine previously untried and diversified brews.
Sessionable Kolsch placed sour lemon next to zesty grapefruit and bitter orange rind atop chamomile tea-like cadences.
Fruit-lacquered Curves Ahead! Peach Pale Ale sunk peach cobbler sweetness into bitter hop musk as dainty passionfruit notions and latent lemongrass herbage helped secure its peachy keenness alongside docile apricot, pear and apple undertones.
Rapturously "effervescent" Golden Strawng hid its bold 8.6% ABV beneath honeyed banana sweetness and mellow lemon-spiced alacrity, picking up nectarine, cantaloupe, pineapple, peach and orange illusions above its candi-sugared crystal malt bed.
Debonair 2017 Wet Hop Harvest Ale brought lemony yellow grapefruit zest to the surface as mild hop resin and light wood tones dovetailed across herbal notions that contrasted its lightly creamed crystal malting.
"Alpha hopped" A Hop Has No Name brought earthen florality to lemony grapefruit tanginess and ephemeral chamomile tea daubs.
Dry Citra-hopped Ryes N' Shine let piney wood tones secure rye-malted peach, pear and apple illusions as well as lesser grapefruit, orange and lemon snips.
Tropical delight, 4057 Double IPA, regaled honeyed mango, peach and orange tanginess with dank reedy wood tones, scant spicing and herbal nips.
Bringing the heat, hybridized saison, Beasty Bee Sting, leavened its up-front honeyed lemon zest with floral lavender dalliances before 'stinging' Seranno and Thai chili peppering seared the tongue.
Malleably off-dry Party Guy Stout scurried blueberry, raspberry and strawberry tartness across mild chocolate chalking, sedate coffee tones and earthen Glacier hops.
www.jughandlebrewing.com JUGHANDLE BREWING COMPANY
TINTON FALLS, NEW JERSEY
Tucked away in the Tinton Falls Center, a delightful mini-mall just off the NJ Parkway on the way to Point Pleasant, JUGHANDLE BREWING COMPANY opened on Father's Day 2016 (and closed 2024). A nifty open Industrial space perfect for small batch brewing, Jughandle's serving tanks, aging liquor barrels, brewery equipment and malted hop ingredients deck out the left side while wooden community tables and cool metal stools are situated near the right side 14-draught serving station.
On initial hot Saturday afternoon April 2017 visit, quaffed 14 well-rounded selections handcrafted by brewmasters Chris Hanigan and Peter Artherholt.
Delectably sessionable moderate-bodied opener, Hefeweizen brought banana-clove sweetness to lemony orange tang above cereal wheat malting.
Spritzy Firepit Belgian Wit loaded carbolic pep upon lemony curacao orange tartness, mild herbal hop bittering and politely spiced pale malts.
Amiable Mosaic Pale Ale let its mildly fruitful Mosaic hop profile shine with tangy yellow grapefruit, mango and orange tropicalia.
Brisk West Coast-styled India Pale Ale allowed citric Cascade hops and woody Chinook hops to combine for a tangy grapefruit, orange and lemon thrust punctuated by mild pine tones.
Stylishly soft moderate-to-medium-bodied Double India Pale Ale gained honeyed malt sweetness alongside pineapple, peach, clementine and grapefruit juicing.
Robust Black IPA contrasted black-malted Bakers chocolate bittering and molasses-soaked pumpernickel rye sweetness with less pronounced grapefruit, black grape and pineapple illusions.
Inviting Belgian Dubbel brought dry-fruited malting to the fore above musty fungi yeast, dewy peat graining and herbal hops as candi-sugared plum, raisin and banana sweetness increased.
Just as fine, Dunkleweizen coalesced crystal-malted cocoa and chocolate sugaring with tingly banana sweetness, tobacco-roasted crisping and dainty spices.
Lactobacillus-laden sour ale, Berliner Weiss, gently parched the tongue with oats-dried lemon rind bittering, light vinous grape esters and torrified wheat (?) malts. Adding raspberry syrup allowed subtle raspberry tartness to enhance the lemony grapefruit tang and lower the sour pucker. Quite nice.
Dry Calypso-hopped Pothole #2 Brett Pale Ale added light brettanomyces bacteria to affect its sour lemon pucker, herbal lemongrass-chamomile conflux and teasing tropical fruiting.
Peaty Scottish 70 Shilling Mild Ale offered dried tobacco crisping, desiccated orange tartness and mildewed basement dankness.
Earthen grains gave Partigyle Stout its earthen grounding as bittersweet black chocolate, dried cocoa and espresso tones overrode dark cherry snips.
Another dry dark ale, Irish Stout, retained a soft flow as bitter chocolate, milked espresso and day-old coffee tones proved sturdy.
Even better, Booskerdoo Breakfast Stout plied fresh roasted coffee beans to whiskey-soaked oak chips and gained a prominent brown chocolate and vanilla sweetness to soak up the whiskeyed coffee pleasantries.
During late September '17 visit on the way to Long Beach Island Chowderfest, quaffed another nine previously untried and diversified brews.
Sessionable Kolsch placed sour lemon next to zesty grapefruit and bitter orange rind atop chamomile tea-like cadences.
Fruit-lacquered Curves Ahead! Peach Pale Ale sunk peach cobbler sweetness into bitter hop musk as dainty passionfruit notions and latent lemongrass herbage helped secure its peachy keenness alongside docile apricot, pear and apple undertones.
Rapturously "effervescent" Golden Strawng hid its bold 8.6% ABV beneath honeyed banana sweetness and mellow lemon-spiced alacrity, picking up nectarine, cantaloupe, pineapple, peach and orange illusions above its candi-sugared crystal malt bed.
Debonair 2017 Wet Hop Harvest Ale brought lemony yellow grapefruit zest to the surface as mild hop resin and light wood tones dovetailed across herbal notions that contrasted its lightly creamed crystal malting.
"Alpha hopped" A Hop Has No Name brought earthen florality to lemony grapefruit tanginess and ephemeral chamomile tea daubs.
Dry Citra-hopped Ryes N' Shine let piney wood tones secure rye-malted peach, pear and apple illusions as well as lesser grapefruit, orange and lemon snips.
Tropical delight, 4057 Double IPA, regaled honeyed mango, peach and orange tanginess with dank reedy wood tones, scant spicing and herbal nips.
Bringing the heat, hybridized saison, Beasty Bee Sting, leavened its up-front honeyed lemon zest with floral lavender dalliances before 'stinging' Seranno and Thai chili peppering seared the tongue.
Malleably off-dry Party Guy Stout scurried blueberry, raspberry and strawberry tartness across mild chocolate chalking, sedate coffee tones and earthen Glacier hops.
www.jughandlebrewing.com 
BEACON, NEW YORK
Inside a pristine beige stucco industrial building and surrounded by quaint residential housing overlooking the Hudson River at the revitalized city of Beacon, 2 WAY BREWING COMPANY opened its doors in 2014.
A relaxing family-friendly local joint near the train station, 2 Way's knowledgeable staff kept the bar patrons happy serving seven board-listed tapped selections or samplers to those grabbing growlers-to-go for outside consumption. The easygoing brews matched the relaxing atmosphere.
Convivial head brewer, Michael O'Herron, spent time learning his craft at popular Boulder, Colorado-based brewery, Avery, before moving back to his nearby hometown of Newburgh just in time for New York's magical craft beer Renaissance. His balanced array of ales lean towards the lighter side on my first trip.
Six patio tables front 2 Way while the comfy single room interior features a 20-seat plywood bar with seven tap handles emanating from a 2 Way road sign plus a large screen TV as well as a few seating tables and sofas. Happily, there's room for expansion as well.
Recently, the low-key pub started serving limited pub fare and on my April 2017 sojourn I enjoyed the fried chicken with six approachably fine brews.
Soft-toned Whole Hop Pale Ale layered earthen tea-like pale malts with moderate melon rind, grapefruit, passionfruit and apple tones.
Easygoing red, orange and yellow-fruited Revolution Red picked up caramel-toasted Maris Otter sweetness to contrast mildly resinous pine hops.
Sessionable Citra-hopped Forbidden Fruit IPA plied groaty grain malting and tender spicing to mellow yellow grapefruit, clementine, orange marmalade and curacao orange briskness.
Slightly unique saison-styled X-1 IPA soaked black raspberry-bushed yeast with lemony orange tones, soggy groaty oats and lemongrass hints.
Understated Beacon Brown brought cocoa, toffee and caramel sweetness to peat-dried mocha malts as well as frisky praline, walnut and hazelnut whims.
Mocha-dried Nitro Irish Stout saddled dark chocolate, black coffee and cocoa tones with dewy earthiness.
Two weeks later, came back with wife for her fave, Town Of The Lion Hefeweizen, a bittersweet moderation with polite lemon souring contrasted by stylish banana-clove-bubblegum illusions over Graham Cracker-honeyed wheat malts.
Better still, Confusion Farmhouse utilized X-1 IPA's black raspberry bush yeast for its tangy lemon-dropped pineapple, grapefruit and orange juicing to soak into hay-like mineral grain rusticity and wispy lemongrass herbage.
2waybrewingcompany.com 
CLEARFIELD, PENNSYLVANIA
A great find in the hilly Western Pennsylvania countryside just off Route 80, homey Industrial mall-bound RACE STREET BREW WORKS opened on Black Friday, November 2014 (and closed December 2019), with four tapped beers for sale. Since that time, the eclectic mom and pop operation had become a popular local dive.
Going thru an inconspicuous hallway of the tan-bricked edifice towards a mid-space cement-floored warehouse, Race Street's refurbished wood community tables, cheesy decorative paraphernalia, hanging paper pom-poms, antique beer-capped aluminum shack and dank upstairs lounge encase the 10-seat bar and caged brew tanks serviced by innovative brewmaster Bohb Striker. In the summertime, a patio with fire pit gets utilized.
Refrigerated tap handles serve the fourteen well-rounded elixirs I thoroughly enjoy this breezy Friday evening in April '17.
For openers, musky German-grained Czech yeast affected the herbal floral-perfumed Polish hop brusqueness of stylishly robust Polish Pilsner.
Next, uniquely satisfying Saint Kamille Belgian Wit brought honeyed chamomile tea to lemony grapefruit, orange and banana expectancy as vanilla wafer-sugared grilled mango and tangy peach snips contrasted tart candy powdering.
Incense-like Saison La Roux mildly aged tart cherries and raspberries for a splendid sweet 'n sour mix back-ended by oats-dried Belgian pale malts.
'Dank' medium body, Hop Hash Brownie let resinous hop pining saturate mild nut-roasted toffee malts and brown tea-like bittering.
'Vainglorious' oak-aged derivative, Loud Mouth Oaked IPA brought cotton-candied honey malting, pecan buttering and floral perfume wafts to citric Cascade hop bitterness, leaving lemony mango-orange-pineapple tropicalia along the oaken vanilla midst before ethyl alcohol phenols coarsen the finish.
Tea-like Red Walloon, a dewy Belgian red ale, contrasted sour citric tartness against mild caramel-spiced alacrity.
Fine off-dry autumn seasonal, Jack Hammer Pumpkin Ale, brought pumpkin roasted butternut squash earthiness to ginger-spiced nutmeg and clove sweetness.
Well designed Rauch Street German Smoked Beer plied Band-aid-like peat smoked beechwood astringency to brown chocolate sweetness.
Interesting malt-roasted Thai Tea Porter let spicy Thai tea sweetness gain Black Forest cake, chocolate cake, toasted coconut, powdered cocoa and black cherry illusions.
Well executed Chanceux Tarte Tripel draped white-wined lemony cider tartness over soured rye bourbon for an offbeat stylistic turnabout.
Better still, candi-sugared GNOMebriation, a standard tripel, let sweet plum, raisin and date illusions get soaked in dry bourbon and honeyed vanilla.
Soft-toned Comrade Conrad Russian Imperial Stout, aged in rye bourbon barrels, retained brown chocolate-y coconut sweetness, pleasant cocoa nibs bittering, dried fruited fig spicing, mild cola nuttiness and warm bourbon licks.
A few experimental oak-aged elixirs at closing time proved satisfying as well.
Napa Valley Cabernet barrels held Weird One, a lactobacillus-soured red winey moderation with oaken vanilla tartness and light spicing.
Lastly, Flanders Red-styled Weird Two, aged eight months in Woodford Reserve Rye Bourbon barrels then refermented with sour lactobacillus and brettanomyces bacteria, brought lightly vinous grape esters and honeyed mead subtleties to the same oaken vanilla tartness influencing the previously quaffed Weird One.
On June '17 revisit, discovered four more goodies while chatting it up with wife and entrepreneurial brewmaster Bohb Striker.
Unassuming light-bodied Genesee knockoff, Jenny C. Cream Ale, recalled its macrobrew standard with soft-watered flaked corn malts, dry rice sedation and light lemon-spiced spritz.
Lemon-soured Saison Primitive Farmhouse Ale utilized ginger, peppercorn and orange peel adjuncts to embrace its cologne-perfumed honey spicing and lime-juiced snip.
Distinctly balanced moderation, Chow'duh NE IPA provided zesty grapefruit, bitter orange rind and sweet mango with gentle piney hops and creamy crystal malts to its wheat-oats spine.
For nighttime dessert, Nitro Coconut Milk Mooo-Stache sufficed, as its mildly creamed dark chocolate sweetness picked up casual coconut and caramel illusions.
www.racestreetbrew.com 
CLEVELAND, OHIO
Occupying a cavernous cement-floored warehouse at the east end of downtown Cleveland, MASTHEAD BREWING COMPANY opened its doors at the historic Bryant Building, January '17.
Providing the perfect sportsbar atmosphere for local fans, its massive reclaimed wood 100-foot bar, ample seating, widespread community tables, sizable sidewalk patio, multiple tap handles, strewn barrels and TV's in every direction create a natural blue collar rusticity to complement Cleveland's Industrial working class city.
The steel-furnished Masthead (with a huge company insignia along the back wall) crafts some serious elixirs in its rear brew tanks and the left side open kitchen offers fine pub fare including wood-fired red and white pizzas.
One of Masthead's newer brewers, government marine biologist-turned-brewer, Chris Spann, shared beer thoughts as I settled in on a sunny Saturday afternoon in April '17.
Light lemon-peeled curacao orange tang, sweet coriander spicing and subtle banana tones surround tart candied center of dainty Belgian-styled Wit.
Springtime-readied Doppelbock conveyed bittersweet fig-prune conflux to toffee-like caramel malting.
Mildly creamed rye wheat malting underlined Rydaho Rye Pale Ale's wood-dried Saaz hops and zesty lemon spicy.
Mild IPA brought orange-peeled grapefruit tang to grassy hop astringency to contrast light sugar spicing.
Despite its feral moniker, Brute Force Double IPA retained mild hop bittering for its balanced peach, pineapple, orange and melon tang sweetened by sticky sugar malts.
But today's best offerings could damn well be the three stouts.
Sweet-toothed Stout set the tone with its chocolate-roasted cocoa bean and vanilla sugaring gaining a black cherry rasp.
Mild Coffee Stout utilized Six Shooter coffee to lightly embitter milk chocolate and vanilla tones in a friendly dessert manner.
Better still, creamy Poblano Chili Stout left mild chili peppering upon coffee-sugared black chocolate malts, vanilla bean subtleties and oats-flaked molasses snips.
mastheadbrewingco.com 
CLEVELAND, OHIO
On the outskirts of town in Cleveland's westbound Rocky River district, ROCKY RIVER BREWING CO. opened in 1998 and remains a neighborhood sportsbar fave. Sticking to proven stylistic formulas with its standardized mainstream fare, the sizable freestanding joint sidles individual malls and family restaurants.
Upon entering, the prominent marble-topped 25-seat wooden bar with two blackboard beer menus and several draught taps welcomes patrons. A wraparound outdoor deck surrounds its rustic gray-paneled red brick edifice and multi-leveled oak wood tables, chairs and booths dominate the sterling interior.
Rocky River's brew tanks take up a separate front section and the glass-encased area behind the bar.
On a friendly Sunday afternoon jaunt, April '17, tried all eight offerings with famed Cleveland scribe, Chris Parker (whose King James book documents the Cavaliers 2016 NBA championship year).
Smooth macrobrew-styled blonde ale, Rocky River Pirate Light, rubbed popcorn-like maize astringency and tepid white rice neutrality against soapy lemon-bruised souring.
Sweet 'n sour blueberry tartness could've been heightened for Blueberry Ale, as its influence lost luster over pasty pale wheat malts, grassy hops and honeyed lemon wisps.
Mild lemon musk and mineral-grained pale malting moderated unassuming alt-styled Cooper's Gold Kolsch.
Mild citric-spiced Boondock Spring Ale gained a musky hop graining and lemony carbolic spritz.
Bettering the above samplings, dry-hopped Firelands Pale Ale drifted beyond its staid styling as honeycomb-like malts gained wispy nutmeg-cinnamon spicing.
Flagship West Coast-styled Hop Goblin IPA enjoined floral grapefruit, orange, peach and pineapple tang with light hop bitterness.
Candi-sugared Belgian yeast sweetened Titan Triple Belgium Strong Ale, an 8.6% ABV medium body with tangy sugar-spiced orange peel contrasting sour lemon and herbal lemongrass.
Muddled Black Pirate, a black-malted coffee stout, needed a deeper freshly milled peppercorn influence to perk it up.
rockyriverbrewco.com 
TROY, NEW YORK
Tucked into the industrial textile manufacturing section near Central Troy's Historic District on Congress Street near the Hudson River's eastern banks, RARE FORM BREWING CO. opened May 2014. A rustic, no-nonsense 5-barrel brewery, its basic essentials are clearly the well-rounded beers and ales lining the 14 tap handles at the 12-seat serving station.
A large screen TV above the front door keeps my wife amused during our friendly late morning March '17 two-hour stopover. A small food menu included smoked Peking duck, corned beef, cheddar cheese and raw-milked manchego. Whiskey flights and wine were also available. I sampled all eleven elixirs currently available from the tanks behind the serving station.
For starters, affable light-bodied Sabbatical Session Ale coalesced mild orange-peeled lemon zest with subtle rye, coriander and celery, gaining tangy tangerine, clementine and mandarin orange wisps at the brisk finish.
Earthen spelt graining anchored serene Steaze Spelt Saison as lemony grapefruit, orange and banana illusions picked up mild sugar spicing.
In its refined recipe, kitschy moderate body, Royal Coconut Cream Ale, allowed toasted coconut shavings to sweeten its zesty lemon bite and contrast the maize-dried cracked pepper bittering.
Hop-forward Freshy Hoppy Lager brought lemony passionfruit, guava and mango subtleties to mild raw-honeyed pilsner malting.
A limited edition fave, quaint Raw Beats IPA, let spritzy citrus zest linger over dry wood tones, raw rye malts and dainty sugar spices, leaving plentiful yellow grapefruit pit bittering along the way.
Despite its somewhat high 8.8% ABV, approachable medium body, Cascadia Double IPA, retained a charmingly perfume-spiced yellow grapefruit, lemon meringue, orange rind, nectarine and mango tang above spelt-dried grain malting.
Mildly creamed Karass Porter allowed bitter black chocolate to contrast brown-sugared almond, toffee and molasses atop dark-roasted hop char.
For Coconut Karass Porter, toasted coconut sweetened nut-charred black chocolate malting in stylish fashion.
Nutty caramel-toasted Members Only Brown Ale picked up dried cherry undertones to enhance its walnut-hazelnut-pecan conflux.
Bakers chocolate-like malts inundated Dark Day Schwarzbier as caramel-burnt coffee oiling gained mild spicing beneath the surface.
Mild Irish-styled Night Ride Dry Stout let black chocolate malts pick up subtle hop-charred nut roast. 
SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK
Inside Van Dyck Lounge at an infamously historic haunted brothel inconspicuously hidden among a residential Schenectady neighborhood, MAD JACK BREWING COMPANY re-established a former local brewery in 2011.
With the appearance of a low-ceiling upscale English pub, Mad Jack's rounded beer selection benefits from Van Dyck's great pizza, fine entrees and signature cocktails. A black canopy welcomes patrons to a separate right side dining area fronting the 20-seat bar area featuring walnut furnishings, booze-lined mirrors, a few tables and 2 TV's.
A prominent carpeted dining area with tiled hearth opposes the left bar while a brick and windowed brew room adorns the rear nearing the back deck.
Keeping with its antiquated brothel setting, curtained front windows and dim lighting complete the score during my March 2017 mid-afternoon sojourn.
First up, light German-styled Pinhead Pilsner brought dank pilsner malting and mild grassy hop astringency to laidback lemony licks.
Nonchalant Washed Out Belgian White plied tingly sugar spicing to sweet orange-peeled banana and clove expectancy as well as distant lemony grapefruit bittering.
Musty earthen peat and dewy pale malts anchored dry-bodied moderation, Irish Red, a crisply barley-roasted delight.
Locally popular flagship, Fightin' Irwin IPA, put apple, pear and peach fruiting on par with stylish grapefruit-peeled orange tang and spruce-pined hops above mild crystal malting.
Raisin, plum and black cherry pureeing pervaded Dunkel-Weizenbock, a sweet caramel malted medium body (with well-hidden 8.5% ABV).
"Intense coffee and chocolate" flavoring secures smoothly Vienna-malted Mount Pleasant Porter, a milky mocha delight with plenty of caramel sweetness.
Before heading to Saratoga, dark-roasted barley crisping deepened Stockade Stout's mild coffee tones and chalky cocoa dryness.
On early December '19 nighttime revisit, quaffed four fabulous seasonal brews.
Brown-sugared pumpkin pie sweetness glazed Upstate Harvest Pumpkin Spice Ale, a delightful Nugget-hopped autumnal offering with glistening cinnamon-spiced nutmeg, allspice and ginger seasoning.
Wonderful winter warmer, Uncle Jack's Christmas Ale, brought Scotch-licked cinnamon stick sweetness to ginger, nutmeg, fern and pine nut illusions while retaining bruised orange and cherry undertones.
Milk-sugared cold brewed coffee elevated Rooster's Wake The Clock Up Coffee Cream Stout to blissful digestif serenity, leaving vanilla, cocoa and caramel latte illusions to sweeten the persistent java exuberance of this hearty nightcap.
Fudgy nitrogenated Holy Cannoli Coffee Stout maintained its creamy milk-sugared coffee affluence and pastry-like ricotta creaminess above honeyed Graham Cracker malts for a nifty dessert treat.
My son, Christopher (living in Schenectady workin' for Beechnut), brought back two worthy Euro-styled dark beers during July '20.
Befuddlingly chameleonic helles bock, To Helles And Bock Again (a collab with nearby Helderberg Mountain Brewing), combined English IPA/ Scotch Ale facets as dewy compost-wafted moisture enveloped light cocoa, almond extract, chestnut, hazelnut and Scotch whiskey illusions corrupted by lemony Hallertau hops above caramel-spiced malts.
For full-bodied Northern English-styled Brown Ale, maple-sugared dark chocolate syruping draped unsweetened cocoa powdering to contrast modest walnut-charred hop bittering while dark floral spicing stayed distant.
Prior to Halloween '20, consumed busy Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Spice, a briskly pumpkin pie-spiced autumnal dessert embedding brown-sugared cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice seasoning into honey-glazed hazelnut sweetness (and crisp brown leafed hop foliage), finishing like a spicy gingerbread cookie.
During October '20 stopover, grabbed a table near the beautiful tile-chimneyed hearth with wife and son, Chris, at dinnertime to consume four previously untried brews.
Frisky Munich-styled lager, leafy autumnal moderation, Oktoberfest!, contrasted sweet-spiced dewy malts against herbal Tettnang hop restraint with rewarding results.
Rye-floured barley-malting nudged chestnut-acorn sweetness and earthen gourd for Upstate Harvest NY Pale Ale, leaving herbal lemon rot in the recess.
Tangy Mohawk Sunset Juicy New England IPA let mild milk-soured creaming seep into grapefruit-juiced orange, pineapple and peach effervescence while honey-spiced barleymalts, raw oats cereal graining and limey Cashmere hop herbage retained balance.
Marvelous lactose-infused Halloween candied dark ale, Big Stoopid Stout (a collaboration with Wolf Hollow) spread creamy peanut-buttered chocolate sweetness across candy-corned marshmallow sugaring as cumin-spiced vanilla beaning enriched the autumnal dessert confection alongside tertiary milk-sugared coffee, cocoa and black cherry puree illusions above a persistent cedar-burnt hop char.
www.vandycklounge.com/mad-jack 
POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK
Poughkeepsie's BLUE COLLAR BREWERY is a cavernously expansive no-frills neighborhood joint tucked into a residential area just on the outskirts of downtown. In an old factory industrial building, long-time home brewing Red Sox fan Kevin Marquis and his son, head brewer Randy (a proud UC-Davis grad), craft a steady menu of likable ales to go with respectable pub fare.
Blue Collar's red brick-walled interior features an open kitchen and opposing lower-leveled brew room that lead to its airy 15-seat backroom central bar (with 6 TV's, a dozen tap handles, ten dining tables and loft seating).
Several fine wines are available alongside the five durable draught ales sampled during my March '17 excursion.
Perhaps the finest offering, tea-like Irish Red gained a dewy earthiness to combat its caramelized barley roast, mild lemon spicing, raw molasses bittering and wispy coffee snip.
Floral citric herbs guarded light-bodied Saison, where well-watered freshness brought crisp carbolic spritz to sour lemon, zesty grapefruit, tangy orange and bruised banana tones above gentle pilsner-Vienna malting.
Briskly clean moderation, Cream Ale, saddled flaked corn and grassy hay with salted lemon souring.
Lemon-peeled grapefruit and orange rind bittering picked up sticky Amarillo-hopped pining for amiable medium-bodied India Pale Ale.
Mild black-malted Oatmeal Stout plied oats-sugared molasses to coffee-roasted milk chocolate for a nice capper.
CLEVELAND, OHIO
Open for business since the Fourth of July, 2014 (and closed February '23), PLATFORM BEER CO. is arguably Cleveland's best brewpub (with a second site now operating in Columbus). Utilizing a large, raw space just west of downtown Cleveland at the Gordon Square Arts District in the Ohio City district, Platform delivers a plethora of wide-ranging brews and allows dedicated brewing apprentices to sharpen their craft through their Incubator pilot batch program sponsored by owner Paul Benner's Cleveland Beer Shop across the street.
Inside a defunct meat packing warehouse, Platform's red brick-walled interior, Edison bulb lighting, black ceiling and exposed ducts provide an Industrial setting while the dog-friendly rear patio offers further seating. The 25-seat central bar contains 2 cornered TV's, 24 tap handles and several brew tanks. Two community tables, an electronic bowling game and a satellite kitchen at the front complete the score as my wife and I settle mid-bar to sample some of the best suds this town's got to offer in spades during a March '17 sojourn.
For a soft-toned starter, City Boy Sour retained a pinkish champagne hue and flavoring as raspberry-pureed souring reigned upon sugary Sweet-Tart spicing and spritzy lemon salting to its straw wheat base.
Dedicated to Cleveland's hard-working blue collar souls, New Cleveland Palesner Pilsner engaged its dried barleycorn musk with earthen Noble hop herbage, cracker-like pale malts and floral snips.
Hopped-up Vienna-lagered Taube Brau brought caramelized barley malting to floral-dusted hops and desiccated orange-fig illusions in a spritzy manner.
The Project -Eldorado Pale Ale, a light-bodied sweetener, loaded tangy strawberry, melon, lemon, canteloupe and pineapple brightener upon its honey-spiced Graham Cracker base.
'Complex' Winter Wit layered polite Christmas spicing atop mild lemon-soured orange peel bittering, herbal lemongrass perfuming, distant banana-clove sugaring and neutral white wheat graining.
Brisk tropical fruiting picked up sharp hop spicing for excellent flagship offering, Speed Merchant White IPA, where floral orange-peeled grapefruit, peach, pineapple, mango and lemon illusions brightened the soft white wheat base as its dry piney bitterness increased tension.
A veritable citrus hop bouquet wafts its way thru medium-full-bodied Warrah Imperial IPA, framing its bittersweet orange-peeled grapefruit, pineapple and tangerine tang as well as its dried-fruited black cherry, fig and date nuances with caramel malt sweetness.
Smoky meat-cured beechwood subtleties affected Noble Dragon Porter, a black chocolate-based dark ale with maple, caramel and vanilla sweetness contrasting earthen pepper spicing.
Possibly today's best choice, High Brow Barista Pale Ale let rye-spiced malts propel dry-beaned medium roast coffee bittering above its zesty lemon rind tartness and wispy grapefruit tingle in a crisply clean-watered setting.
platformbeerco.com 
CLEVELAND, OHIO
Just across the Cuyahoga River from downtown Cleveland in the newly gentrified West Side Market section of Ohio City, capacious sports-barred brewpub MARKET GARDEN BREWERY features a front patio and community-tabled beergarden to sidle its Prohibition Era-styled interior. Opened November '15 and initially visited March '17, this multifarious pub was transformed from its dilapidated state to become the centerpiece of a proudly reconstituted market district.
Occupying a cavernous warehouse facility and a few doors down from the owners' still-thriving sister brewery (the smaller-sized Nano), Market Garden's custom-built walk-thru brew system, manned by experienced former Dogfish Head and Great Lakes brewer, Andy Tveekrem, allows patrons full access to witness the brewing operations.
Meanwhile, olden chandeliers, decorative railroad-tied walls, marbled slate table tops and cornered leather booths provide sterling antiquity for the centralized 30-seat curved bar. Downstairs, the low-ceilinged Ohio City Room adds a separate bar and plenty of seating while a backroom dining space keeps kids happy.
The worthy pub menu included 30 items such as the delicious Brisket Burger and equally fine Truffle Mac & Cheese. Four chalkboards list 20-plus homemade brews.
Market Garden's most popular beer, perfectly streamlined Prosperity Wheat, brought mild banana-clove-bubblegum sweetness to lemony orange zest and wheat-sugared pale malts above sourdough breading.
Fine strong lager, Illuminator Doppelbock, stayed sweet as caramel-spiced toffee malting picked up mild dried fruiting.
Dewy peat malts soaked Wee Heavy Wallace Tavern Scotch Ale, leaving toffee-spiced caramel sweetness upon brown-sugared molasses wisps.
"Intense tropical fruiting" deluged brilliant Citra Max IPA, a zesty Citra hop-spiced medium body gathering grapefruit and orange rind bittering alongside tangy pineapple, mango, papaya and tangerine illusions. Dank piney hop resin increases its bold bitterness.
Sharp IPA-derived fruit spicing glazed Retro Hippo Barleywine (2017), a floral-wafted middleweight with tangy yellow grapefruit, navel orange, pineapple, peach, mango and tangerine tropicalia picking up fig-sugared sweetness and delicate butternut-pecan-praline undertones.
Then came the terrific dark ale selections.
Splendid Midnight Vorlauf Coffee Porter raised its cold-brew coffee roast above black-brown chocolate malts and mildly charred hops for a fine morning wake up call.
Nitro Saint Emeric's Stout retained a mildly creamed black chocolate moderation and dry nutty swipe above musky earthen wood tones.
Blending bittersweet chocolate-malted cocoa nibs with mild chipotle and cayenne-peppered habanero heat, Barrio Mole Stout lingered on with a smoky mocha resonance. Quite inspiring.
Even better and richer, oak-barreled Irishman's Enforcer Imperial Stout layered Tom's Foolery bourbon vanilla subtleties atop black-malted cocoa nibs and dark chocolate for comforting warmth.
Due to heavy drinking, I missed out on Chinook Strike Pale Ale and Progress Pilsner, two lighter mainstays.
Upon April '17 retreat, discovered three diverse hop-forward offerings.
Citric-hopped IPA fruiting and resinous pine lacquering girded the glutenous wheat spine of celery-watered Mirv Hoppy Wheat.
Brusque Particle Accelerator, a sharply embittered Imperial IPA, brought tangy orange-peeled grapefruit rind, pineapple and mango tropicalia to pine-lacquered alcohol esters.
Soft-toned Hellamango IPA received a lemony mango twist over mild Citra hop grassing as musty earthen pining and misty sea salting contrasted mango-sugared cornbread malts.
marketgardenbrewery.com