On tap at Kitchen & Beer Bar, sour Belgian lambic’s brettanomyces yeast and funky barnyard acridity spread across Citra-Mosaic-hopped blood orange adjunct, mild yellow grapefruit bittering and oily lemon musk as salty lemongrass herbage (emanating from Ukraine’s Noble-like Zlato Polissya hop variety) simmers atop dry pale malting.
‘Heavily fruited’ Berliner Weiss with pulpy mango and tart passionfruit rampaging thru concentrated orange juicing picks up salty woodruff syruping as tangy pineapple zesting, pureed guava nectar and zesty lemon liming as well as candied herbage receive creamy vanilla froth above lactic sour wheat base. Brewed at Wisconsin’s Octopi Brewing for Batavia, Illinois gypsies.
Syrupy cling peachiness efficiently contrasts lightly lingered habanero heat above white wheat base. Peachy sweetness picks up dried apricot and tangerine tartness as spritzy lemon zesting curbs peppery hop prickle.
Easygoing lighter, brighter ’23 version retains lemon lime zesting of yore and white-peppered grains of paradise spritz of not long ago. Softly fizzed lemon-candied brining perfect complement for seafaring events.
On tap at Seven Lakes Station, sessionable ‘light lagered’ radler prickles salty pink grapefruit perfuming with wispy lemony orange zesting and ultra-dry lime brining. Delicate lemonade-sugared pink grapefruit pith, rind and seed tartness settles softly above teasing ginger-licked herbage seeping thru light pilsner malting.
On tap at Ambulance, unconventional New England-styled pale ale undercuts its salty guava-gooseberry souring, tangy orange-juiced pineapple zing and mild yellow grapefruit bittering with arid spelt-starched wheat dextrin. Musky herbal tinge slides thru musty sourly fruited finish.
On tap at Ambulance, sharp Citra-Mosaic hop blend brings sunshiny West Coast IPA vibe to “hoppy springtime blonde.” Bitter lemony yellow grapefruit rind entry obtains orange pith riff and mild lime zesting plus musky cannabis pungency. Mild oats creaming hikes pale malt sugaring for smoothly bitter tropical fruiting supersizing this haughty blonde.
On tap at Ambulance, flaked corn toasting ingrains lemon lime zesting and rice wining of whimsically easygoing Mexican lager. Light white peppering prickles its zesty lemongrass oiling beneath the surface.
On tap at Ambulance, heady lager-styled German pils brings spritzy lemon fizz to rustic fresh-cut hay leathering, musky Saaz-hopped floral herbage and bitter green tea nip. Slight cabbage rot spotted.
On tap at Seven Lakes Station, easygoing beige-cleared rice lager with washed-out raspberry-blackberry tartness and even wispier blush champagne and orange mimosa reminders gathering for spritzy summertime fodder. Ricey pilsner malt base too delicate.
MOUNT HOLLY, NEW JERSEY
Inside a tan brick warehouse in the close-knit Philadelphia suburb of Mount Holly, SPELLBOUND BREWING opened its doors in 2014. One of Jersey’s finest breweries, its owners are passionate homebrewing geeks crafting “everyday classics” and “extreme boundary pushing recipes.”
An overhead door leads to the small cement bay where several stainless steel brew tanks and some gray benches exist. Reclaimed wood decorates the eight-seat lacquer-topped bar and a few tables fill out the pub. There are a dozen-plus draughts available.
My wife and I went in late April ’23 to check out Spellbound’s expansive beer lineup.
Sweet Mango Pale Ale allowed its tangy mango juicing to embrace lemon Pez tartness and papaya-passionfruit zing fortified by lacquered pine tones.
Toning down its sweet banana-clove stylishness for lemon-rotted lemongrass herbage, dried plantain tartness and green grape esters, Dreamnesia Hefeweizen stayed dryer than expected.
Ginger-dried lemongrass herbage and lemony cologne perfuming consumed unique Arcana Ginger Lemongrass Ale, finishing like a rice-wined sake.
Dewy Vienna malted honey white breading and apple-skinned pear crisping gathered for 8th Anniversary Doppelbock, curtailing its wispy dried fruiting.
Fascinating 5th Anniversary Quad dangled dried cherry, sugar plum and date syrup alongside whiskeyed toffee sweetness and roasted tobacco crisping above chocolate pudding creaming.
Easygoing Peach Major Nelson NEIPA let tangy peach lead the way for spry lemon zesting, bittersweet mango salting and delicate passionfruit-strawberry tartness cruising above mildly creamed flaked oats.
Zesty orange-peeled pineapple and grapefruit tanginess picked up mild piney bittering and some grassy astringency for brisk Phase 7 NEIPA, leaving lightly creamed flaked oats on the bottom.
Soft-toned pale yellow cleared Enlightened IPA serenaded mild yellow grapefruit bittering, lemon peel zesting and floral-spiced mandarin orange sweetness with sugary pale malts countering grassy hop astringency.
Brown-sugared gingerbread cookie knockoff, Gingerbread Brown Ale, gained mild cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice illusions atop its sweet chocolate base.
Luscious bourbon barreled stout, Living The Dream, scurried light bourbon sweetness across dark chocolate syruping, picking up burnt wood bittering plus latent dry burgundy licks.
MOUNT HOLLY, NEW JERSEY
Residing at a rustic tan brick warehouse, veteran-owned STRATOSPHERE BREWING COMPANY became Mount Holly’s third brewhouse on St. Patrick’s Day, 2023. Entrepreneurial head brewers Christopher Pike (a navy reservist) and Jason Martinez (union electrician) were experienced home brewers way before taking on this venture with the promising slogan: “Elevating the craft.”
A gray concrete-floored high-ceilinged pub with elongated 15-seat oak bar, three overhead doors and several surrounding wood-metal seats, Stratosphere utilizes reclaimed wood for its bar back, corrugated aluminum siding as its frontage and Edison lighting for olden textile charm. Tanks are stationed behind the bars.
During my one-hour stopover on a Friday evening in April ’23, I discovered five rounded draughts.
Mild wildflower honeyed dryness caresses spicy citrus splash and tertiary peach-apricot-pear conflux above biscuity cornbread base of Lhotse Cream Ale, a popular light body.
Briskly sharp NEIPA, Tropical Depression, retained dried-out yellow grapefruit bittering, sweet orange peel zesting and peachy mango tang above dry pale malts.
Peachy nectarine tang and orange-peeled grapefruit bittering juiced-up Barometer Fruit IPA, leaving wood lacquer upon its pale malt sugaring.
Lemon-dried oaken cherry and tart peach souring inundated U.S.S. Nitze, a fruited sour with moderate acidity and no residual sweetness.
Dark-roast coffee bean nuttiness further embittered by black chocolate chalking of Strato Pivo Dark Lager, letting dewy peat slightly sweeten the rigid mocha insistence.