Category Archives: United States Brewpubs

REVOLUTION BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Situated in the increasingly popular Logan Square area (known as Hipster Highway) on Milwaukee Avenue just a few blocks away from Piece Brewery, ultimately rewarding gold-bricked beer haven, REVOLUTION BREWING COMPANY, practically created the whole 21st century Chi-town craft beer renaissance. An amazing modern Mecca for brews and food, Revolution opened in 2010 to rave reviews, expanding into production brewing at a nearby Kedzie Avenue location thereafter.

A nifty German beer hall-styled central island bar serves 40-plus patrons plus the left-side dining tables and right side balcony. Beautiful pine furnishings, hanging globe lights and silver ceiling tiles provide exquisite elegance. A rear open kitchen, full service second story bar, exposed ducts and windowed brew tanks fill out this ultimate north-side restaurant and brewpub.

Filled to the brim on a sunny Sunday afternoon in mid-July ’14, I grab the only seat left at the bustling bar to sample 13 well-rounded selections. Besides the excellent hand-crafted fare emanating from the colorful fist-clenched tap handles are 100-plus bottled choices – many of which were rare finds or one-offs.

The lightest fare was quaffed first. Soft-toned Bottom Up Wit unleashed orange-dried lemon zest upon floral-perfumed hops and white-peppered coriander spicing, leaving banana-breaded vanilla sweetness to contrast puckering limestone acridity and delicate mandarin orange tartness by the crystalline watered finish.

Traditional German pilsner, Mother Of Exiles, retained a light-bodied citric-soured spicing as grassy hops, musky grains and flaked corn reached its doughy bottom.

Tame lagered moderation, Use The Schwarz, brought mild dark-roasted mocha malting to the fore, as dry cocoa bean, Baker’s chocolate and burnt toast reminders usurped its earthen hop bittering.

One of Revolution’s most interesting elixirs, Rosa, a tart summer ale, brought red grape, red cherry, lemon and lime souring to raw-honeyed coriander salting, rose-watered lavender florality and a latent white wine spritz that contrasted sweet vanilla-spiced banana licks.  

A worthy collaboration with Wicker Park cocktail joint, Big Star, Fist City Extra Pale Ale, fortified its light hop-roasted grain malting with frisky orange-peeled pineapple bittering.

Ultra-dry Iron Fist Pale Ale placed wood-dried Chinook hop bittering beside lemony orange-rotted souring and dewy earthiness (picking up a diacetyl hint if  warmed).

A better alternative was approachable Double Fist Imperial Pale Ale, where tangy orange, grapefruit, pineapple, tangerine and papaya tropicalia overloaded crystal caramel malting.

Sessionable flagship beer, Anti-Hero IPA (also available in can), layered orange-candied grapefruit and pineapple tartness and lemon-peeled herbal notions atop oily pine hop resin.

Its friendly stylistic competitor, citra-hopped medium body, Citra Hero IPA, gathered orange-peeled apple-peach-pear fruiting for its spicy crystal malt sugaring, leaving cantaloupe-melon-nectarine traces in its wake.

Peppery Belgian yeast inundated lemon-spiced Coup D’Etat, a dry mineral-grained saison with leafy-hopped sour grape esters and mild herbal nuances contrasting pleasant sugared spices.

French-styled Biere De Garde, Bastille, retained a stingy dry hop persistence alleviated by earthen green grape esters, sour-pressed Granny Smith apple tartness, sharp oak-chipped cherry acidity and latent apricot-fig snips.

Musty robust porter, Eugene, contrasted its cocoa-powdered coffee, molasses and chocolate stead with dried cherry, grape and date fruiting.

Best bet: Spectral Imperial Wheat Ale, Filibuster, a luxuriously smooth 11.5% ABV remedy aged in Old Forester and Woodford Reserve barrels, splashed bourbon hints upon rum-sugared vanilla creaming, almondine-candied butterscotch sweetness and bruised orange-cherry-nectarine chewiness.

www.revbrew.com

NEVIN’S BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

PLAINFIELD, ILLINOIS

Serving the rural town of Plainfield as well as neighboring Naperville, NEVIN’S BREWING COMPANY took over its large North Plainfield Crossing Mall space on main drag, Route 59, during December 2012 (and closed August 2019). An expansive upscale sportsbar and brewpub (with intermittent entertainment), its plushly designed red-bricked interior matches antique wood with modern flagstone in a burnt orange-walled setting .

Besides its pristine central bar island, Nevin’s also offers wraparound dining tables, terrace balcony seating, a backroom banquet facility, glass-encased brew room and huge lanai vinyl side deck. Exposed pipes line the black ceiling, a chalkboard lists all current house brews available and a few pinball games at the entrance attracts gamers.

Science-teaching home brewer Marc Wilson, a Texas-reared Seibel grad formerly at Rock Bottom-Warrenville, provides a wide variety of beer styles for Nevin’s customers. Burgers, pizza, tacos and sandwiches fill the pub-fared menu.

On my mid-July ’14 two-hour nighttime stopover, I quaffed all twelve four-ounce pours available. Though best selling golden ale, Nevin’s Yolo!, had a gnarly vegetal musk, dank grained pungency and soured yellow fruiting, a better choice had to be soft-toned Nevin’s Summer Sesh, a less pungent alternative with lemon-rotted grapefruit acidity and grassy hop herbage overriding wheat-chaffed wild oats.

One of my faves, Ardennes yeast-affected Nevin’s Quick Witted, gained an herbal lemongrass-chamomile piquancy to highlight its sweet orange-peeled coriander spicing and distant banana snip. 

Decent Vienna lager, Nevin’s Vienna Waltz, maintained a musky lemon-bruised tartness over rustic alfalfa, whey and poppy nuances. But a finer option was dry-hopped Nevin’s IPL, a yellow-orange fruited India Pale Lager with dry bark astringency and resinous pine bittering contrasting sugary crystal malts.

Flagship medium body, Nevin’s Contentious IPA, brought tropical fruiting to peppery herbage as orange-peeled yellow grapefruit, pineapple and mango subtleties battles back banana-clove whims.

Just a tad richer, Nevin’s Fool Proof, a rounded Imperial IPA, let its multi-hopped tropical fruiting get affected by unexpected vanilla-creamed Chardonnay buttering.

Belgian pilsner malts aided Nevin’s Tripel Hops Brewed, a citric Cascade-hopped pleasantry with wood-dried perfuming.

Easygoing maibock, Nevin’s Bock It Up, possessed a dry honey-spiced yellow fruiting and candied Pez-like tartness.

Busy Baltic porter, Nevin’s Bolsha Moi, layered its cocoa-dried Baker’s chocolate bittering with sour prune, sweet raisin and black cherry illusions, finishing like day-old coffee.

Creamy mocha nuttiness and a thick eggshell head furnished Nevin’s Southside Stout, a decisive oatmeal stout with hop-charred graining, dark-roasted chocolate malts, amber walnut sugaring and wild cherry scurries.

The strongest and most aggressive offering, Nevin’s None Of Your Business (a hybridized 12% ABV Imperial Stout), received a barleywine-like dark fruiting to contrast its sweet chocolate-toffee conflux and deep-roasted black patent malting.

www.nevinsbrewing.com

PIECE BREWERY & PIZZERIA

United States Brewpubs,

Piece Brewery and Pizzeria | Book a Party

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

In Chicago’s upscale Wicker Park section in a red brick building on North Avenue, sensational hipster joint PIECE BREWERY & PIZZERIA, opened July 2001, recently celebrated its eighth anniversary. Modeled after Connecticut’s highly successful Bru Rm. at BAR, this humble post-industrial pub serves as a top-notch pizza place (specializing in thin crust New Haven-styled pizza) and casual sportsbar.

A rounded 20-seat right side bar sits across roomy stool-tabled seating. Multiple TV’s and several guitars (Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen’s part owner) are strewn about the gray and mauve walls while wood lattices and exposed ducts crowd the skylight rafters. Besides having a respectable selection of house beers, there are 20-plus bottles of fine craft beer available.

During July ’14 on a bright Sunday, my entourage grab a table at the raised level next to the front windows. Despite being crowded and busy, our thin crust pepperoni pizza came post-haste alongside the seven beer samplers.

For starters, dry-bodied Golden Arm Kolsch retained a lemon-soured hop fizz and orange-rotted cologne musk that may suit Blue Collar thirsts (though its sulfuric diacetyl murk may turn off a few stragglers).

A better choice was stylishly concise light body, Top Heavy Hefeweizen, a surefire bet with lemon-sugared banana, clove, bubblegum and vanilla sweetness sidling bubbly champagne effervescence and white-peppered orange blossom snips.

Similar in approach, Belgian-styled moderation, Swingin’ Single, brought tart banana-clove sweetness to dry black-peppered lemon peel bittering.

Piney juniper hop bitterness mellowed to grapefruit-peeled lemon pit souring for crisply clean Dysfunctionale, a wily American IPA with ancillary honeyed pineapple, mango, navel orange and tangerine tang.

For contrast, English-styled IPA, Victoria, maintained a musky lemon-grapefruit frontage, subtle juniper hop briskness, reedy bark-dried astringency and dewy earthen mustiness.

On the dark side, fudgy Roland The Headless Assistant Brewer possessed an approachable mocha theme as roasted chocolate, Columbian coffee, milked espresso, creme brulee, sweet hazelnut and bitter walnut illusions rode above the dry oatmeal base.

Best bet: classic Egyptian Pale Ale, Cameltoe, hid its hefty 9.5% ABV behind tropical IPA fruiting and soft resinous pine hops. Caramel malt sugaring and mild vanilla creaming sweetened its ancillary yellow grapefruit, mandarin orange, tangerine, clementine, pineapple, peach, nectarine and papaya tang as well as candied apple, pear and banana nuances.

While Chicago’s brewpub scene keeps growing exponentially, Piece continues to thrive and build a substantial reputation amongst locals and travelers alike.

www.piecechicago.com

ATLAS BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Along Chicago’s youthful northwest Lincoln Park section, brown-wood-paneled gastropub, ATLAS BREWING COMPANY, opened in June 2012 (then closed in 2018). Brotherly brewers’ John and Ben Saller took the Atlas moniker from a pre-prohibition brewery specializing in diverse ales.

Competing with established local competitors such as Revolution and Piece, this laid-back modern Industrial lounge features one large community table, several booths, overhead Edison bulb lighting and black tin tiling. Glass-encased stainless steel brew tanks at the rear hold the soft-toned liquid gold soon to be consumed. And at the 15-stool right side bar, glass mosaic-tiled tap handles serve the nine hand-crafted brews to be had on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, July ’14.

Since the eight-tabled front deck is completely full, my small coterie decides to sit inside at a booth to quaff a few five-ounce samplers. Alongside the lightest fare, I munched on the outstanding cheese-sauced mussels and duck confit. Though diacetyl buttering disrupted corn-malted perfume-hopped Prager Pilsner, moderate flagship offering, Diversey Pale Ale brought decisive IPA-like fruiting (yellow grapefruit, orange rind, pineapple and mango) plus floral-perfumed hop bittering to bark-dried wood tones.

Belgian saison yeast spiced up yellow-fruited Farmhouse Wheat Ale, a light-bodied nicety gathering lemony Bartlett pear, banana, plantain, grapefruit and pineapple briskness for its sweet lychee-spiked wheat base. In a similar vein, mild tropical-fruited Two-Headed Boy Belgian Pale Wheat covered its sugary bubblegum yeast with dry-hopped grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering.

A limited edition collaboration with nearby Une Annee Brewery, Raspberry Brown Saison, brought sweet ‘n sour raspberry tartness to zesty lemon, oaken cherry and vinous grape notions, finishing dry (with a nutty quirk).

More adventurous fare included Americanized Belgian pale ale, Archaeopteryx Dreamcoat, a ‘juicy citra-hopped’ moderation with yellow and pink grapefruit tartness, lemon rot souring, green apple pucker and advertised orange-blossomed blueberry subtleties. Just as pleasurably hybridized, floral-bound Rookery Rye IPA used grapefruit and gooseberry flavors to advance its rye-dried multi-grain breaded appeal.

On the dark side, chocolate-sugared Invincible Armor Robust Porter possessed a smooth dark-roasted mocha malting and dried cherry tang while lightly creamed Freight Handler Milk Stout plied smoked black chocolate to lactic cocoa-dried Baker’s chocolate and cacao nibs snips.

www.atlasbeercompany.com

SOLEMN OATH BREWERY

United States Brewpubs,

NAPERVILLE, ILLINOIS

The undisputed crown jewel of conservative suburb, Naperville, SOLEMN OATH BREWERY began crafting interesting Belgo-American-styled ales in 2012, developing a distinct flare for remarkably adventurous and original fare along the way. Located in a light industrial park warehouse, this daring no-frills brewhouse has built quite a sturdy reputation among local beer geeks and fanatical brewpub travelers.

Brewing an endless assortment of stylishly diverse ales from large stainless steel vessels and massive fermentation tanks, Solemn Oath has expanded exponentially since opening. As of my July 2014 jaunt, the dedicated staff now bottles, kegs and taps its highly respected product for Chicagoland consumption.

Upon entering the left side door of this off-white cement-floored edifice, an L-shaped serving station accommodates a packed late afternoon crowd. Nirvana’s raucous anthem, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” blares in the background as my friend, Scott, and I sample eight endlessly rewarding and stylishly hybridized libations. Many of these selections, plus a few others bought in bottle, are reviewed more fully in the Beer Index.

Light-bodied farmhouse ale, Hexafoos, began our session. Its fruity saison yeast ‘zang’ retained a white-peppered lemon pit sourness and mild herbal bittering, allowing mandarin orange, blood orange and tangerine illusions to flutter past whimsical chamomile snips.

Bettering most casual pale ales, the santiam-hopped version of Skinny Jeans Are Ridiculous possessed an herbal fruited pleasantry layered above dry pale malts. Its sweet citric zest and lemon-dropped grapefruit tartness contrasted hop-oiled hemp notions, picking up a broadened juniper bittering by the bold finish.

Boasting large amounts of grapefruit, pineapple and mango, tropical-fruited pale ale, Snaggletooth Bandana, brought buttery malt creaming to floral-hopped phenolic astringency.

A neat collaboration with Stone, ‘red’ farmhouse ale, Pyrros, seemed reminiscent of a Flanders Red with its tannic red cherry tartness, vinous green grape esters  and light Sherry illusions downplaying unanticipated pepper-spiced herbage.

Effervescent Belgian IPA, Butterfly Flashmob, offered dry tropical fruiting to floral-bound herbage and salty hop-oiled spicing. White-peppered yellow grapefruit rind, sweet orange peel, sweet banana and pineapple coast alongside crystal malts.

Approachable saison moderation, Whisper Kisses, softened its white-wined Chardonnay buttering with light grapefruit-orange tartness, lilting lemongrass liming and floral-hopped pleasantries (layered above a biscuity malt base).

Black kolsch-styled Eigengrau stayed subtle as light-roasted black patent malts skewered its coffee-burnt hop char and smoked chocolate subtleties. Powdered cocoa and Baker’s chocolate whims skim the surface.

Perhaps the best offering, Foux Du Fafa, a floral-fruited Imperial farmhouse IPA (with well-hidden 10% ABV), balanced crystal malt sweetness with delicate citric-hopped bittering. Lemon zest, orange blossom, vinous grape and yellow grapefruit illusions abound over earthen minerality.        

www.solemnoathbrewery.com

TWO BROTHERS BREWING CO.

United States Brewpubs,

Two Brothers Brewing Company - Absolute Beer

WARRENVILLE, ILLINOIS

Situated at Warrenville’s industrial park just north of Interstate 88, TWO BROTHERS BREWING was founded by brothers Jim and Jason Ebel during 1996. Previously, the duo sold beer and wine equipment in nearby Naperville and traveled Europe to discover the possibilities of brewing craft beer in the burgeoning US market. By time of this July ’14 sojourn, Two Brothers had already begun bottling its excellent fare for national distribution starting circa 2000.

In a freestanding off-white warehouse, this organic restaurant-brewpub draws serious beer geeks and local families alike. And the front door blackboard firmly insists ‘Uncle Sam Wants You To Drink Local.’ Besides its own savory fare, guest bottled selections from Belgium, Germany, England and United States are also worth checking out.

Serving well-prepped salads, sandwiches and pizza alongside 12-plus tapped selections, its super-clean maroon-walled interior features an L-shaped bar with gold hanging lamps, right side booths, windowed chairs, high ceilings and black exposed pipes. Glass-encased brewtanks behind the serving station hold the soon-to-be bottled and tapped offerings.

Though I’d already quaffed every beer on Two Brothers regular tap menu in bottles (check out Beer Index), there were two previously untried one-off libations available on tap during my mid-afternoon summertime perusal. Both showed off the wide spectrum of styles these experienced zymurgists create.

Wonderful Belgian-American hybrid, Cabinet of Curiousities White IPA, brought brisk orange-peeled coriander spicing to floral citra-hopped bittering, tossing white-peppered lemon zest, grapefruit, mango, tangerine, navel orange and pineapple illusions at its light doughy malting.

Just as fabulous, Irritated Koala Black IPA loaded smoked black tea into its mocha-fruited midst. Much like a beechwood-smoked German rauchbier, this unique hybrid maintained a barbecued campfire char that saturated sweet chocolate-cocoa malts, subtle grapefruit fondue illusions and peaty umami soy saucing.

www.twobrothersbrewing.com

 

IECHYD DA BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

ELKHART, INDIANA

Opened in 2011 by hometown married couple, Chip and Summer Lewis, Elkhart-based IECHYD DA BREWING COMPANY (its name is Welch for Cheers!) has become a popular Main Street bistro in this small northern Indiana metropolis. Visited July ’14, the caliginous freestanding pub was packed on a Friday evening. Settling in at the long right side granite bar (with hanging tiki lamps), I ordered up some hummus from the respectable light menu (pizza/ sandwiches/ snacks) and prepare to consume all eight currently available house brews.

Iechyd Da’s dark gray and maroon interior and scenic Welch decor match the dusky twilight setting of its external design. Shelved ceramic mugs, two TV’s and a back-walled blackboard beer list inundate the bar while an open kitchen, one community table, several tables, exposed pipes and black ceiling fill out the midsize room. A side patio is also available for dining and the brew tanks are stationed in the rear.

First up, light-bodied session ale, Local Blonde, offered buttery corn malts and light rice niceties to softly perfume-hopped grapefruit-juiced navel orange tartness.

Sour lactic acidity imbibed Tata Rosa Razz Berliner Weisse, a tart raspberry-laden summertime treat with lemon-dropped cranberry, green apple, mandarin orange and white grape souring over a soft salty-bottomed white wheat base.

Just as smooth, Cantankerous Irish Red brought toasted caramel spicing to tropical orange, pineapple, mango and peach fruiting as well as tobacco-leafed crisping and wispy nuttiness.

Approachable Two Mile Pale Ale let IPA-like lemon-seeded grapefruit and orange fruiting and oily pine-hopped perfuming deepen its juniper bittering above moderate pale malting.

A bit bitterer, floral-perfumed hops engaged Revolution American IPA, a wood-dried medium body gathering orange-peeled grapefruit, pineapple and pear illusions.

Each fine dark ale had a similar mocha profile. 13 American Black Ale layered sweet dark-roasted malts above hop-charred dark fruiting while Fearless King Rye Smoked Porter dealt smoked chocolate malts to dry-spiced rye breading, cocoa powdered chalking, cookie dough yeast and black cherry tartness.

For dessert, dry English-styled Cannonball Rye Stout plied sweet milk chocolate creaming to its toasted rye-pumpernickel base.

www.iechyddabrewingcompany.com

GALVESTON ISLAND BREWING

United States Brewpubs,

 

GALVESTON, TEXAS

In a freestanding garage-like edifice near the beach, GALVESTON ISLAND BREWING got off to a good start with its June ’14 Grand Opening. Featuring outback ‘Sunset Bleachers’ that overlook the island, this concrete-floored brewpub (with epoxied bottle caps) promises a huge amount of future expansion. A 12-seat yellow wood bar with six-plus taps distributes homemade beers emulating from rear brew tanks. Its sportsbar atmosphere gets reinforced by the 10 TV’s showing baseball, basketball and hockey games.

On tap are four diverse offerings and the small cask room readies barrel-aged ‘big beers’ aged in Four Roses whiskey and Makers Mark bourbon. On the light side, sessionable soft-toned pilsner-like Ze German Ale brought bread-crusted cereal graining to yellow-fruited niceties, picking up a dankly dewy  rye malt splurge.

Piney Simcoe-hopped acridity seeped into citric-spiced Excelsior IPA, a wood-lacquered medium body offering clean-watered briskness to dry grapefruit, pineapple, navel orange, tangerine and lemon zest as well as minor floral-wafted white peppering.

Dewy earthen peat draped The Scotsman Scottish Ale, a caramel-malted moderation allowing a dash of Scotch, a hint of caraway-seeded pumpernickel, and a daub of dark nuttiness to outdo its desiccated orange fruiting.

Like an instant brown coffee, Predido Porter placed smoky mocha malts in a cocoa-beaned dark chocolate setting with hazelnut, walnut and peanut illusions.

www.galvestonislandbrewing.com

BEERFOOT BREWERY

United States Brewpubs,

Beerfoot Brewery on Galveston Island | CRISP Marketing Agency

GALVESTON, TEXAS

Open for business in springtime 2014, Galveston-based BEERFOOT BREWERY, plans expansion beyond its one flagship offering. Right near the pier ‘looking out at Seawall Boulevard,’ this beachfront sportsbar/ taproom not only crafts its own brews but also provides 100-plus selections in a large cooler. At its L-shaped and V-shaped bars, several worthy Texas brews get served alongside Beerfoot’s own homemade offerings.

My friend Dennis was kind enough to bring back to New York a half-gallon sample of the soft-toned Beerfoot Island Kolsch. A sessionable moderation, its lemon-soured grapefruit, navel orange and lime tartness received a dry grassy-hopped mildness.

FYI: Grocery store chain H.E.B., with many Texas locations, features goodly Build-A-Six-Pack deals and high-profile bombers.

www.galveston.com/beerfoot/

SKEWED BREWING

United States Brewpubs,

  

WATERTOWN, NEW YORK

Opened during autumn 2013 (and closed 2020), Watertown’s SKEWED BREWING is located in the rear of Salmon Run Mall next door to Regal Cinema. An upscale gastropub with sportsbar leanings, Skewed’s the first brewpub in this remote rural village 90 miles north of Syracuse and 20 miles south of Thousand Islands.

Techno-industrial brushed aluminum, dark wood and high ceilings fill the interior while one dining section faces the mall’s food court. An elongated wood-lacquered bar features 24 taps on each side and multiple TV’s crowd the ample space. Behind plexiglass are several brew tanks holding Skewed’s proprietary brews. Also available on draught are several Stone, Left Hand, Brooklyn, Great Lakes and Lost Coast fare. Light Americana food fills the menu.

My pal, Dennis Flubacher, brought back three flagship offerings during a May ’14 excursion. The lightest, Hop ‘N Mad Pale Ale, brought red, orange and yellow fruiting to musty peat-moistened compost earthiness and leafy hop astringency, picking up wispy  dried plum-fig notions.

Dry coffee-soured Breaking Out Stout gained soy-milked dark chocolate and cocoa powder illusions above its oily hop char, but may’ve been too moderate for its dark ale styling.

Best bet: busy chartreuse-hazed Skewed Wit wondrously contrasted orange-peeled pineapple, melon, banana and peach ripeness as well as wheat-honeyed butterscotch malt sweetness against lemony hop bittering and white-peppered Belgian yeast fungi.

‘Get Skewed,’ indeed.

www.skewedbrew.com

CHARLESTON BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

 

CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA

Located a few blocks from West Virginia’s Elk and Kanawka Rivers, CHARLESTON BREWING COMPANY merged with Black Sheep Burrito & Brews to form a uniquely rural beer and burrito pub in springtime 2013 (and closed October 2016). Visited by my pal, Dennis Flubacher, April ’14, this corner-blocked concrete-floored downtown watering hole maintains a yuppie sportsbar atmosphere. Its back bar (with 2 TV’s) saddles glass-enclosed brew tanks while windowed seats crowd the side walls.

Bought in half-growlers for consumption back in Jersey, the best bet had to be compellingly complex Mr. Malum Tripel, a hybridized off-dry saison with sugary cherry-raspberry bubblegum alacrity serenading tart lemon-candied orange, apple and pear nuances alongside contrasted black-peppered fungi must as well as minty herbage.

Another hybrid, Unsteady, combined the brewers’ English-styled bitter (a.k.a. Wobbly) with fungi-like Belgian yeast for a mildly peat-soiled moderation that’s softly dry-hopped to its salty dried fruited finish.

Crisply easygoing H-Hop IPA scattered lemon rind bittering across desiccated navel orange and yellow grapefruit tartness as well as piney spruced herbs, leaving a floral-daubed vegetal smidge in the mildly dry-hopped malt-smoked backdrop.

Similarly styled piney-fruited IPA, The Raj, placed orange-peeled grapefruit briskness atop earthen mineral graining.

On the dark side, a mildly astringent dark chocolate roast inundated Mark 1 Oatmeal Stout, leaving coffee-soured toffee, soy and raisin illusions in its watery midstream.

www.charlestonbrewingcompany.com

DETROIT BEER CO.

United States Brewpubs,

DETROIT, MICHIGAN

In the historic Hartz Building, mainstream downtown venue, DETROIT BEER CO. opened September ’03 and has ties to equally centrist Royal Oak Brewery and Rochester Mills Beer Co. Serving decent Americana cuisine alongside predictable, yet well-rounded, hand-crafted libations, this spacious two-floored space with high tin-tiled ceilings, exposed pipes and prominent brass brewtanks sits across Comerica Ballpark and Detroit Opera House.

A veritable sportsbar with multiple TV’s, Detroit Beer  Co. benefits greatly from its accessible central locale. A front porch area gets set up when weather warms up and a relaxed ambiance suits local businessmen.

Though stylistically underwhelming, each on-site beer had its moments. Farmhouse Pale Ale brought hoppy lemongrass herbage to sweet Belgian yeast sugaring undone by phenol astringency.

Local 1529  IPA provided refreshingly clean floral-bound grapefruit and navel orange zest. Detroit Dwarf Altbier maintained a red ale-like citric spicing and caramelized nuttiness over toasted hop bittering. Semi-sweet brown chocolate malting and roasted hazelnut consumed Brokedown Brown.

Belgian yeast affected best offering, Dark Strong Ale, a Belgian-styled strong ale bending grape-soured stewed prune, raisin and black cherry fruiting into coffee-stained burgundy wining.

For dessert, citra-hopped Yeti Barleywine suited stronger tastes with its candi-sugared fruit zest and fusel alcohol burn.

www.detroitbeerco.com