On tap at Plank Pizza, sweet cereal-grained pilsner malts gain musky lemon-dropped herbage in crisply clean moderate-bodied setting.
TOMS RIVER BREWING
TOMS RIVER, NEW JERSEY
Assuming the beige marbled brewhouse previously run by Rinn Duin, TOMS RIVER BREWING took over this novel Jersey Shore chateau-like villa springtime 2019. New owner Jim Mulligan’s transformative grand reopening featured head brewer Bob Warzecha’s newly designed wide ranging ales, utilizing natural fruit extracts and flavoring.
A left side community-tabled Beer Garden (with green umbrellas) edges the narrow pub space. A ten-seat L-shaped bar with speckled gray granite top opposes the windowed brew tanks and a few high top tables line the walls of the high ceilinged room.
My wife and I visited TRB, August ’21, to suck down a dozen varied 5-ouncers in the breezy warmth of the Beer Garden.
A well respected holdover from Rinn Duin, St. John’s Irish Red took perfumed hop-spiced red and orange fruiting to caramelized barley-roasted chocolate and toffee whims.
Delightful light-bodied Koastal Kolsch let sweet-riced maize-flaked pilsner malting receive slightly sour lemon-dried Noble hop herbage and wispy floral-daubed botanicals.
Cali-styled Cascade hops provided perfumed lemon oiling to mash-billed corn flaked Kentucky graining for Cal-Tucky Common Ale, a simple carapils-malted moderation.
Diffident coriander-spiced orange zesting slacks off for soapy At Wits End, a grassy herbal hopped witbier with frail white wheat base.
Traditional Polish smoked wheat ale, Thadeusz Piwo (Ted’s Beer), a low alcohol ‘grodiskie,’ promoted beechwood-charred blackened rye graining over proper phenol hop astringency.
Summery watermelon-pureed Jolly Rancher bubblegum knockoff, The Gnar Watermelon Gose, a sea-salted Sour Patch-candied libation with earthen herbal frisk.
Sea-salted peach puree souring guided The Dude Peach Gose, relegating lemony grapefruit bittering.
Tart Belgian-styled hybrid, Celtic Sunrise Blood Orange Pale Ale, rendered salty blood orange, tangerine and clementine spicing for its light herbal soothe.
Sessionable yogurt-soured New England IPA, Gimme Mo,’ brought Motueka-hopped guava, gooseberry and green grape tartness to herb-licked pale malt spicing.
Floral-perfumed citrus spicing guarded white IPA, Windy Seas, forwarding its brisk lemon spritz to the cracker-like spine.
Limey mango salting picked up earthen herbal compost reminder for lactic IPA, Takes Two To Mango, leaving grassy hop astringency on its mild fruited tropicalia.
Bold dry-hopped Imperial IPA (9% ABV), New Beginnings, placated its sweetly soured passionfruit-addled melon scurry and lemony grapefruit bittering with floral-bound pine tones above plentiful caramel malt sugaring.
Revisited Toms River Brewing mid-July ’24 to enjoy another nine rangy suds.
Mild Blueberry Blonde Summer Ale had a breezy blueberry spritz, polite hop astringency and subdued honeyed wheat base.
“Pillowy” lemony orange spicing introduced What’sa Bro Pale Ale, a lactic milk-sugared NEIPA-derived moderation with tropical Huell Melon hops adding pine-daubed gooseberry and guava tartness to lactose milk-sugared wheat-flaked pilsner malting.
Rustic barnyard graining secured the sharp lemon-soured herbage of Stick Toss Kolsch, thickened by eggy sourdough wheat.
Offbeat hefeweizen, Slice Of Hefen, let spritzy lemondrop soaping and smoke pineapple tartness overtake stylish banana-clove sweetness swiping its thick sourdough bottom.
Tropical lime-salted candied lemon briskness, floral honeysuckle perfuming and spiced redcurrant reached fresh-cut hay barnyard acridity for Barbe Rouge-hopped French red ale, Brewlon Rouge, picking up light fungi musk for its distant rye breading.
Ultra-dry lactic IPA, Boots On The Ground, placed sharp lemony grapefruit rind bittering and lightly hop-charred pine lacquering across peachy mango-passionfruit fodder and wispy floral spicing atop heavily oated wheat creaming.
Interestingly woven Belgian Brown Ale, I Blame A.I., spread mild coconut-toasted cocoa nibs sweetness into subtle molasses-sugared hazelnut, chestnut and almond riffs as well as pureed raspberry snips.
Dry whiskey bent (10.5% ABV) barleywine, No Whining, bent hop-spiced dried fruiting into laid-back chocolate malting, staying a tad thin.
S’mores-inspired pastry stout, Mulligan’s Delight, knocked of a marshmallowy chocolate Graham Cracker sandwich, could’ve been richer, but its ancillary coconut toasting, chocolate pudding skin richness and candied toffee sweetness paid dividends.
BATTLE RIVER BREWING
TOMS RIVER, NEW JERSEY
Inhabiting a red brick-based Main Street storefront in Toms River, BATTLE RIVER BREWING opened its doors August ’20. Utilizing a crisply clean water source second to none, head brewer Ian Barlet specializes in an interesting assortment of eclectic stylized brews, salty oceanic elixirs, hard seltzers, shandys and a beer-cider hybrid.
The red brick-walled interior features an art deco black ceiling, hanging Edison lights, exposed pipes and a narrow hallway leading to the back-sided beer tanks. At its gray granite top bar are 30-plus tap handles, a blackboard beer menu and centralized TV. There are windowed community tables for extra seating.
My wife and I sat down for some sassy suds August ’21.
Unconventional German pilsner, Mariner, allocated sweet rice-wined corn sugaring for herbal-hopped green peppering.
Traditional New Zealand-styled pilsner, Haka, a dry-hopped lightweight, let salted lime zest provide tart zing to its soft white wheat base.
Aluminum golden-hued dry lager, Battle Light, segued lemondrop candied piquancy into mineral grained maize astringency.
Dry Mexican-styled Vienna lager, Rio Bueno, placated its sweet corn frontage with white wine esters, herbal agave nectars and mild maize astringency.
Spritzy hybridized hefeweizen, River Lady Ruby Red Grapefruit, took its lightly spiced grapefruit adjunct to salty lemon-limed souring contrasting stylish banana-clove sweetness.
Subtle orange-peeled lavender and tart strawberry plied hybridized witbier, Wartime, a lightly sugar-spiced moderation.
Salted blueberry subtlety and lemony white peach tartness secured the clean-watered Kveik yeast-based Bluecoat Blueberry, a saison-inspired blonde ale with dry wheat-chaffed straw leathering.
Salt-watered raspberry and blueberry pureed fruit ale, Main St. Mosaics, allowed sour New Zealand hops to add abrupt limey gooseberry-guava tartness.
“Crushable” red-cleared kettle sour, Courthouse, brought tart blackberry adjunct to vinous green grape esters and cucumber-watered earthiness for mouth-puckered succulence.
Flagship IPA, Patriot, gave its straight-up lemony orange peeled grapefruit bittering a dank piney hop astringency and herbal-spiced floral flutter.
Easygoing East Coast IPA, Irons Street, daubed its vodka-licked citrus tang with wood lacquered residue and jasmine snips over syrupy pale malt sweetness.
Uniquely offbeat Belgian dubbel, River Root Bier, a crossbred cane-sugared soda alternative, dangled raisin, prune and plum sweetness alongside Jamaican sarsaparilla, sassafras birch, wild cherry bark and dandelion root.
Brown-sugared cinnamon anchored Snow Melter, a spiced-up Belgian strong ale, coalesced nutmeg, cardamom and ginger above dainty pilsner malting.
Combining chocolate, coffee and Madagascar vanilla, Headquarter Porter picked up toffee-spiced sweetness and tertiary cola nut, coconut and hazelnut illusions.
Richly rewarding chocolate raspberry porter, Robbins Street, forwarded bittersweet molasses-daubed cocoa nibs creaming to tart raspberry-pureed blueberry, blackberry and boysenberry licks.
Wildflower-honeyed dark chocolate enriched nitro stout, Bayonet, a smooth espresso-like nightcap with ancillary coffee, toffee and sarsaparilla tones.
During Super Bowl weekend, February ’22, revisited Battle River to suck down seven more diversified suds.
Crisply clean blonde ale, Full Day Sesh, brought spritzy lemony grapefruit zesting to mild clementine and mandarin orange snips above delicate pale malting.
Dewy toffee-spiced English Mild Ale, M24 Toffee, let caramelized fig, candied apple and sour prune pick up mild cellared fungi musk and crisp tobacco roast.
Brisk lemon spritz splashed banana-clove-induced hefeweizen, Huddy’s Revenge, to its honeyed wheat base.
Mellow beige-yellowed white IPA, Privateer, coalesced salty lemon spicing with tidy mandarin orange sweetness and white grape tannins as light pine lacquering coated the delicate wheated oats spine.
Wet-hopped red IPA, Super Maroon, plied rye-dried amber grains and roasted tobacco crisping to caramelized red fruiting (with a hint of beechwood smoke in the distance, perhaps).
Delightfully complex Belgian Quadrupel, Cannonball, maintained cherry chocolate sweetness enhanced by candi-sugared dried fruiting, dewy peat mossing, cinnamon-smoked nutmeg spicing and mild barleywine snips in a subtle bourbon barrel-aged setting.
Wintry spiced stout, Jockey Hollow, seeped cinnamon-nutmeg spicing into chocolate-y vanilla maple walnut sweetness and burgundy-draped prune, date and fig illusions.
THE BRUERY MELANGE NO. 3
On tap at Ambulance, debonair reddish mahogany-hued blended ale (with astonishing 16.3% ABV) ambitiously combines brewers’ White Oak Sap Wheatwine, an anniversary series old ale and Black Tuesday Imperial Stout. Vanilla-spiced bourbon sweetness serenades rummy dried fruiting, brandied cherry tartness and tannic red wine leathering. Brown-sugared rum raisin, stewed prune and dried fig continuance further sweetened by molasses-sapped caramelized toffee, glazed hazelnut, chocolate bundt cake and cocoa butter illusions.
COLLECTIVE ARTS ORIGIN OF DARKNESS BOURBON BARREL-AGED IMPERIAL STOUT W/ COCOA NIBS & CASSIA BARK
On tap at Taphouse 15, dry bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Stout places bittersweet cocoa nibs and cinnamon-dried cassia bark adjuncts atop sour-creamed dark chocolate bed. Sour cherry, stewed prune and dried fig illusions daub cinnamon-barked mocha heat.
GUINNESS ST. JAMES GATE NITRO COLD BREW COFFEE
On tap at Ambulance, creamy eclair-headed nitro stout retains soft-toned cold-brew coffee nuttiness over mildly smoked barleymalts. Subsidiary black chocolate, espresso and cappuccino illusions fortify nitrogenated Irish stout. Using the same Guinness yeast strain fermenting all St. James Gate product, its plush java serenity never relinquishes.
NEW HOLLAND DRAGON’S MILK RESERVE: RASPBERRY HIBISCUS BOURBON-AGED STOUT
On tap at Taphouse 15, light bourbon wisp sweetens tart raspberry hibiscus adjunct reaching creamy dark chocolate center and mild nut-charred coffee snip over earthy truffle setting. Mild bourbon vanilla sway may be underwhelming but candied raspberry chocolate sugaring truly engages fine dessert treat.
BRIX CITY LIFELESS EYES IMPERIAL STOUT – BOURBON BARREL AGED
Wonderfully profuse nightcap aged in Four Roses bourbon barrels for nine months retains creamily lactic dark chocolate syruping for peanut-buttered coconut, cocoa nibs and marshmallow adjuncts above rich Graham Cracker-sugared cookie dough base. Sweet molasses-sapped bourbon vanilla resonance and chocolate nougat-candied Almond Joy reminder broaden bold pastry stout’s appeal. Tertiary black cherry puree tartness seeps into wintry cinnamon, nutmeg and cumin snips. Highly recommended.
ASLIN HOW NOW BROWN COW
On tap at Taphouse 15, lactic milk stout infuses light-roast coffee nuttiness with subtle maple-syruped bacon sweetness and swerved peanut-salted coconut toasting for fine dessert fodder. But filmy chocolate pudding-skinned surface lacks creamy resilience.
CROSS KEYS QUARANTINE RESERVE IMPERIAL STOUT
In the can, bourbon-licked Madagascar vanilla beans draped with dark chocolate syrup over tarry tobacco-chawed dark roast hops. Abrupt cocoa-embittered coffee roast tops whiskey/rye-backed bourbon vanilla serenade and dark toffee spicing at the midst, picking up tertiary black licorice, blackberry and black grape wisps.
PIPEWORKS MINT TRUFFLE ABDUCTION
On tap at Taphouse 15, creme de mint-laced dark chocolate frontage gains cinnamon-barked dried fruiting above dewy truffle earthiness. Beneath the monty chocolate surface, sour coffee stain contrasts sweet vanilla snip.
GOOSE ISLAND BOURBON COUNTY BRAND MON CHERI STOUT
On tap at Taphouse 15, oaken Montmorency cherry tartness floods granola-honeyed dark chocolate malting as sweet ‘n sour raisin, prune and fig illusions plus mild brandy wining circulate to brown-sugared oats base of bourbon-licked cherry cobbler knockoff.
