On tap at Jealous Monk, crisply easygoing Baja-inspired Mexican lager places sea-salted lime zesting next to peppery agave perfuming in dry corn malt setting. In the can, briny citric zesting lacks resolve as papery pilsner malts and stale breading ground sea-salted lime adjunct and cologned agave snap.
On tap at Hoover’s Tavern, tart cranberry adjunct given candied apple-glazed red grape, strawberry, raspberry and blueberry subtleties in lightly syruped soda-like shandy. Spritzy lemon zesting sinks into sweet-tart berry merriment.
MIDDLETOWN, DELAWARE
A funky aluminum-topped farmhouse shack with rounded tin grain roof silo, Middletown’s CROOKED HAMMOCK BREWERY became the franchise’s third location autumn 2019. The rustic 7,000 square-foot pub boasts a hammock-packed backyard and slightly upscale pub menu to go alongside the varied proprietary beer.
A family friendly brew-centric sportsbar, its cement-floored multi-roomed interior features a separate left side dining area and tree bark-enclosed backspace. Large exposed pipes cover the low ceiling and an overhead door leads to the large turf-grounded back deck (with strung Edison lights, covered tiki bar, bocce court, horseshoe pit, cornhole boards and a tiled sequoia firepit lounge).
Plastic chaired tables crowd the outside deck area where my wife and I (plus Roscoe the dog) grab a cranberry pumpkin ricotta dip to go alongside nine delicious brews, November ’21.
Vintage clear purple-bronzed Delaware Punch sour ale knockoff, Wonder Punch, offered sweet-tart grape soda sugaring to just a hint of lemon lime souring.
Salty strawberry toaster pastry, Tardy Pass, an Imperial Sour Ale, hoisted lemon-limed brining and oaken vanilla into tart orange-juiced strawberry rhubarb.
Arguably the best fruited sour, pink magenta-hued FrankenBooBerry let milk-sugared blueberry-strawberry tartness gain aspirin-like cherry buffer, wispy cranberry-guava souring and mild oaken vanilla tannins.
Lactose-heavy Berliner Weiss, Brand New Day: Pomegranate Plum Vanilla, coalesced lime-salted pomegranate with plummy guava souring to contrast sweet vanilla resilience.
Crisp cucumber-salted watermelon rind earthiness contrasted lesser cantaloupe sweetness for fruited kolsch, One In A Melon, leaving cologne-wafted floral spicing on the dry finish.
“Bright” hazy pale ale, Sultana Sun, let mild juniper hop bittering affect juicy pineapple tang and mixed berry tartness over subdued pine resin dankness.
Juicy pink guava picked up grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering and dank wood tones for briskly clean tropical IPA, Bless Up – Pink Guava, combining hard-candied El Dorado, citric-acidic Cashmere and passionfruit-tinged Zappa hops.
Floral-daubed citrus zesting paced Party In The Back, an earthen-bottomed Imperial IPA plying yellow grapefruit bittering and lemon sourness to orange peel sweetness.
Cherrywood-smoked pumpkin salting seeped into the freshly ground black coffee entry of autumnal Jav-O-Lantern, a peppery soy-sauced dry body.
MILLSBORO, DELAWARE
Opened June 2019, Millsboro’s BRICK WORKS BREWING became the second franchise started after the original Smyrna pub took hold. Fourteen miles from the Delaware beaches in a sleepy suburban community at the Taormina Square mall, the cafe-designed Brick Works operates out of the same stately-styled red brick ranch as its first site.
A large black metal-fenced deck surrounds the entrance leading to the left side barroom featuring a 20-seat L-shaped bar with 14 tap handles, top shelf liquor, two central TV’s, decorative fire company ladders and ceiling-hung Edison lights. Several windowed brewtanks peek out from behind the bar. The sienna-walled right side cafeteria clusters wood-metal furnishings in front of an open kitchen serving worthy pub fare.
I had the crab and corn chowder while consuming five previously untried libations early November ’21 while watching Alabama beat LSU in nightly college football.
Whiskeyed banana-breading insistence gained spicy clove-coriander sugaring and zesty lemon spritz for Heff Off, a heady hefeweizen with mildly vanilla-creamed wheat base.
Peach cobbler pie crusting penetrated the spritzy citrus zesting and subtle honeyed apricot-nectarine fruiting of Princess Peach, a puree-infused pale ale.
Briny strawberry-kiwi tartness received mild lime souring for Strawberry Kiwi Sour, picking up wispy hard cider, gooseberry and cranberry bittering at the rhubarb pie midst.
Creamy S’mores-like confection, Chocolate Covered Pretzel Stout, loaded marshmallow fluffed brown chocolate sweetness inside wheat-honeyed Graham Cracker wrap, overshadowing any salted pretzel influence but gaining a rich chocolate pudding skin texture.
Another S’mores-candied confection, S’mores Part 2 Stout, engaged its cinnamon Graham Cracker-honeyed dark cocoa and mild vanilla-marshmallow sway with creme brulee, spiced toffee and plummy black cherry illusions for heavenly dessert.
On tap at Kitchen & Beer Bar, ‘sumptuous’ bourbon-barreled KBS stout variant lets sharp cinnamon spicing penetrate cocoa-nibbed vanilla and chocolate sweetness. Mellow bourbon warmth seeps into molasses-sugared chocolate syruping coating cinnamon-spiced vanilla, toasted coconut-almond conflux, mild coffee sway and dried cherry tartness.
On tap at Schatzi’s – New Paltz, richly creamed lactose-sugared pastry stout makes for perfect sweet-toothed nightcap. Ample brown chocolate creaminess mingles vanilla bean and hazelnut adjuncts with confectionery coconut-toasted marshmallow sweetness above honeyed Graham Cracker base. A milk chocolatey Mounds Bar candy bar knockoff with toffee-spiced snip.
On tap at Taphouse 15, lovely bourbon-aged Vermont maple syruping drapes marshmallow-sugared vanilla creaming and confectionery chocolate creme sandwich cookie richness above Graham Cracker base. Below its S’mores-like sweetness lies cinnamon bark, pecan, peanut and praline illusions.
Unique pastry stout utilizes almond-pasted Thistle honey to enrich lactose dark cocoa creaminess and spiced vanilla resonance. Milk-sugared coffee, cappuccino and espresso tones fortify its honeyed chocolate intensity as tertiary caramel latte, toffee, black cherry, black grape, hazelnut, cola and almond illusions contrast underlying charcoal-seared hop astringency.
On tap at Hoover’s Tavern, creamy dark chocolate syrup drapes sweet pumpkin spicing as brown-sugared cinnamon, nutmeg and clove contrasts lightly hop-charred roasted pumpkin brining. Buttery cocoa powdering and slight coffee swipe consume rich pumpkin-spiced finish.
On tap at Ambulance, dry bruised black cherry tartness saddles nutty cocoa nibs base for pleasingly easygoing nitrogenated Black Forest-caked stout.
On tap at Taphouse 15, enhanced brown ale plies coffee, hazelnut and cinnamon to lightly maple molasses-sapped chocolate malting, gaining ancillary sarsaparilla, almond and bourbon vanilla splendor. Cinnamon-hazelnut coffee frontage holds steady.
On tap at Kitchen & Beer Bar, less quirkily distinct than advertised ‘coconut rum tiki cocktail,’ this Diamond Unicorn antecedent reveals a more conventional NEIPA prototype. Mellow yellow grapefruit bittering and milder papaya-mango-guava tropicalia quietly step forth above setback earthen pine tones.
