Pasty raw-honeyed astringency overwhelms lemony grassy-hopped spicing and skunked pale malting above doughy white breading.
TOP NEW YORK CITY MARIJUANA ADVOCATES
Classic High Times photo of most of my best friends at the iconic mag on Park Avenue taken probably before packing up Bonghitters in my van for Central Park game ’round year 2000.
Since Covid 19’s temporarily slowing things down, I got a chance to peruse my friend Steve Bloom’s 420 ICON AWARD listing at Celebstoner. Since marijuana is inarguably the most durable, affordable, reliable medicine and brain enhancer (and its legalization will increase home growers just as small-batch brewing benefited homebrewers in the past decade), let me celebrate the most important marijuana advocates I befriended in New York City as a proudly independent High Times writer from 1992 to 2015.
The list below includes many people I hung out with covering NYC concerts for over 20 years. These are people I love, respect and shared herb with. Most did me favors like assign cool articles, access free concert tix, land free drinks, scoop industry party invites and be part of High Times historic Bonghitters. On this site, you could find my insightful interviews with published authors Steve Bloom, Shirley Halperin, Rick Cusick and Danny Danko.
1. STEVE BLOOM – Undeniably the most important NYC pot advocate from the time he became editor at High Times. I always wanted to write for HT and he let it happen. Steve remains one of the most known, ambitious, loquacious and grounded personalities of the marijuana movement, supporting all causes, running numerous rallies, creating the annual Stony and Doobie Awards, running his famous Celebstoner website and managing the High Times Bonghitters to 29 straight wins in the ’90s (seriously, we were in Sports Illustrated and later NY Times featured our picture). He fiercely endorses pro-pot political candidates and alongside Rick Cusick, may be the most supportive male concerning women’s rights. Amen.
Steve knew fuckin’ everybody and was most capable running city events, one of the most treasured being the yearly NY Cannabis Parade & Rally (where my dog, Roscoe, friend Tom and myself ran loose security a few times). A rather stern SOB when his back’s to the wall and never one to veer off course when stating his firm beliefs, Steve may be the most professional marijuana advocate I’ve met. And he’s from the Bronx – where I grew up as a pre-teen.
In my eyes, Bloom was responsible for High Times hiring several well-respected authors such as Danny Danko, Craig Coffey and Dave Beinenstock. Even if he didn’t hire them, the love and common bond between these people is DEEP ROOTED. It’s a brotherhood I’m proud to be a cousin to.
Steve Bloom complained there weren’t enuff female reps on the 420 ICON list and ripped off 1,000 names for inclusion. Looking at my list, four of the first five people listed are Jewish and unless Nico Escondido’s Italian, I’ve not included any people of my own heritage. Hope the Italians won’t protest. So to all my Semite and non-Semite friends, I extend a Toking of gratitude.
2. SHIRLEY HALPERIN – Along with Bloom, wrote POT CULTURE, the absolute Whole Earth catalog for marijuana advocates. She moved her way up from Rolling Stone to Billboard to Variety editor and loves TV shows.
Shirl let me write for her independent underground tome, SMUG, when i was an ambitious music journalist ’round 1992. I saw a ton of concerts and musical events ’round town with her and Bloom before she headed West with her husband to live comfortably in the Valley. At her 1st Annual Smug party, I met Bloom, got him stoned in my car, became a High Times contributor, and the rest is history.
3. RICK CUSICK – A man so hellbent on pot legislation, he tried continuing a groundbreaking lawsuit for a pot bust at Boston’s Freedom Rally (along with NORML chief lawyer, Keith Stroup), even after authorities wanted to squash it. He once demanded to be excommunicated from the church, too. What a wise-ass anti-authoritarian son-of-a-cop renegade. I’ll always remember smoking the ‘dipshit’ with him at HT HQ. A man so respected among women, they voted him in as head ambassador to NORML’s Women’s Alliance. He also worked with Whoopi Goldberg’s medical cannabis company as top advising consultant.
4. AL ARONOWITZ (May 1928- August 2005) – The man who introduced the Beatles to Dylan and pot! Al became a legendary Blacklisted Journalist after a bout with deceptive editors and cocaine. Al knew everyone in the Sixties. He wrote the book Bob Dylan and The Beatles from an honored friends’ perspective and became loyal to Bobby Darin, whom he called the most memorable personality he’d ever met. When Al was dying of cancer, he called my house to let me know. I felt appreciated that he could confide in me. And listen up folks! If he introduced the Beatles to Dylan, then he’s the spark that led the Beatles to record acoustic gems like Revolver and Rubber Soul in admirable Dylan style while Dylan went electric. Talk about World, not just music, history.
5. DANNY DANKO – Senior Cultivation Editor High Times. An expert grower, taster, pot scene denizen and former Bonghitter, the devoutly informative Russian-born Danko wrote the Official High Times Field Guide to Marijuana Strains while quickly becoming one of the guiding beacons for pot legislation.
6. ELISE MC DONOUGH – Before heading West along with most of High Times crew (due to New York’s antiquated pot rules), Elise was already a highly regarded marijuana advocate, penning Marijuana For Everybody and a cookbook. I thrice brought back eight free growlers of beer from Magic Hat Brewery in Vermont (where she once lived) because they loved her and wanted to hire her before she took the HT job. The most level-headed, personable, friendly, reliable and loved of all HT staffers, I have met many people inside and outside the music and pot industry who simply adore her. Cheers from her buddies at Beef Trust Kitchen and Bar.
7. DAVE BIENENSTOCK – Husband of Elise Mc Donough (voted Cannabis couple of the year), snarky genius, tremendous Bonghitter shortstop, and author of How To Smoke Pot (Properly), the high-browed Bienenstock debated Republican rube, Tucker Carlson, on TV and continues to retain an enormous internet following.
8. SAMANTHA AEZAN – At barely five foot-two, Samantha Aezen befriended the Bonghitters over a decade ago, became a permanent team fixture while impressing everybody with her knowledge about marijuana and devoted connection to marijuana legalization. A free-spirited wanderer who lived at my house between moves, Samantha was actually quite conservative in her ways, never toking before work and maintaining a rather normal existence despite all the pot cretins surrounding her.
9. MATT STANG – Valuable High Times staffer did everything from writing and photographing to ad work. Now HT’s Chief Revenue Officer (sounds important), Manhattan-spoiled Stang currently supports marijuana in the retail industry as well. Sometimes I’d drive Matt home from the office and cook some herb. Just a real nice guy and a pleasure to be around. Now on the Left Coast.
10. KYLE KUSHMAN – Former High Times cultivation writer, Oaksterdam University professor and respectable ex-Bonghitters pitcher (before heading West), Kushman was there at the cusp of the expansive ’90s growing industry. I’d get stoned before our Bonghitters games with Kyle, taking a few solid hits. But this lanky head would cook like five bowls before pitching. How the fuck’d he see the plate. But we always won.
11. NICO ESCONDIDO – High Times media and cultivation expert, Nico and I convinced the teenagers running The Aquarian Weekly tent at the Meadowlands that he was a narc looking for pot-smoking bandits hanging out amongst them. He looks the part with his well-cropped buzzcut and six-foot something frame. Another Bonghitter – and quite good.
12. BOBBY BLACK – Resident High Times metalhead and gonzo journalist. Introduced many adult industry types to HT, increasing the mag’s marijuana advocacy among not only porn stars, but bikers, serious music lovers and Cannabis Cup conventioneers. A real sweetheart of a guy.
13. NATASHA LEWIN – Natasha authored High Times Pot Smokers Activity Guide and to me, was the most conservative staffer, smoking lots less than most. Natasha always supported the marijuana cause, winning a best screenplay for Stoner Road. Lovely and talented, she gave me several assignments with high profile music figures such as Pharrell Williams.
14.CRAIG COFFEY – Veteran High Times director of technology. Once, I bought a friend of mine to HT and everyone was winding down in Coffey’s office. He was busy as hell while the rest of us were indulging, so my friend asked, “Are you the only one who does all the work?” His wife, Melissa, is also one of my favorite people.
15. JACKIE THE JOKEMAN MARTLING – Probably upset because High Times has honored many celebs while he does his comedy routine prior to inductions, yet he never scored an award. Hung with him at Stony and Doobie Awards, wrote Aquarian article ’bout him, and went to his house for cool 4th of July celebration years back. Gaining increased popularity from the Howard Stern Show, Martling continues to do standup. I only wish I was in the limo ride with him to Atlantic City with Bloom and Cloris Leachman where Martling thereafter had everyone pissing their pants with his naughty routine during a celebration of (I think) Rod Sterling.
BACKWARD FLAG BREWING CO.
FORKED RIVER, NEW JERSEY
Veteran-owned BACKWARD FLAG BREWING COMPANY came to fruition during 2016 (and closed 2024) when Army Staff Sergeant Torie Fisher’s passionate commitment to craft a stylish array of diverse beers fully blossomed. Military-rooted badges, uniforms and emblems bedeck the right wall alongside the microbrewery’s black American flag insignia, designed to amplify Fisher’s appreciation for the armed services.
Backward Flag’s current 10-barrel system (as of February 2020) delivers interestingly wide ranging and oft-times non-conformist fare. Since opening, BF has crafted nearly 100 different brews. There’s a flagship blonde ale, citric sour ale, a few Cascadian IPA’s, a fruited cream ale and more on my initial quest.
Lodged inside a tan aluminum warehouse at the northern Jersey Shore town of Forked River, Backward Flag features a lacquered pine serving station with two separate tap setups delivering a dozen different brews. The cement-floored, window-fronted interior includes multiple US flags, a lounge-y couch area, one large community table and brew-tanked back space.
Fisher and I shared a decadent Knob Creek bourbon-aged Oak Armored Ale blend (with oaken vanilla resonance, dry Scotch licks and silken flow) after enjoying the entire lineup this sunny March ’20 winter afternoon.
First up, approachable flagship, Oak Armored Ale, plied oak-toasted vanilla pleasantry to honeyed orange goodness, lemon meringue tartness and scant cherry souring above pastry-like pale malting.
Next, vanilla creamed blackberry subtleties placated dry oak-based Blackberry & Cream, leaving candied fruitcake and honey-spiced mead illusions upon its light earthen musk bottom.
As for the two Black India Pale Ales (a.k.a. Cascadian Dark), Mil-Spec Black IPA left cocoa-dried black chocolate bittering on ashen wood-charred charcoal resin as well as black grape jam, blackcurrant and black licorice snips. For citric-pined West Coast-styled Dope On A Rope, black grape musk gained moderated coffee-burnt Bakers chocolate pungency and slight pumpernickel toasting.
Hybridized East Coast/West Coast styled Simmunition IPA featured dank wood-dried Simcoe hops that promoted orange-peeled grapefruit rind bittering and tangy pineapple juicing over oated wheat.
Tartly lemon-limed tangerine acidity embedded oaken vanilla tannins for Roadside Donkey Tangerine Vanilla, a lactic mouth-puckering sour ale with lightly vinous berry piquancy.
Raspy chocolate raspberry caking punctuated Hearts & Minds Brown Ale, a heavenly creamed mocha-bound dessert treat surpassed only by the even mightier chipotle-peppered cinnamon and coconut conditioned version.
Arguably my favorite, light roast Ethiopian coffee bean serenity seeped into the citrus-backed pale malt setting of S.T.F.U. Pale Ale, leaving mild charred nuttiness and oaken vanilla residue on its back end.
On summertime ’22 two-hour stop-off, my wife and I drank at the makeshift canopied parking lot where a life-size game of Battleship was being waged while finding three previously untried brews.
Lemon-wedged passionfruit bittering and limey guava-gooseberry tartness guided Passion Party, a ‘wild’ sour ale with acidulated malting.
Soft-tongued West Coast-styled IPA, Rock Da Boat, let brisk orange peel zesting, salted pineapple bittering, subtle cantaloupe sweetness and mild tangerine tanginess receive musky black-peppered hop herbage.
Coffee-sugared brown chocolate entry secured Zero Dark Thirsty, a sweet milk stout with soily earthen bottom.
During early January ’23, stopped off once again for seven more delightful afternoon libations at Backward Flag.
Dry lemon spiced light body, Golden Outlaw Blonde, will draw in casual thirsts with its easygoing citrus spritz and serene grassy-hopped herbage caressing musty Bavarian pilsner grain rusticity.
Coniferous citrus-spiced IPA, People And Pondering, placed reserved orange-peeled pineapple tanginess, dry yellow grapefruit bittering and mild blackcurrant tartness above tingly piney sage minting.
Sunshiny NEIPA, Something’s Missing, brought lightly embittered yellow grapefruit and orange rind tanginess plus lemon-limed licks to lacquered pine tones above dry pale malts.
Honoring the annual Army-Navy football game, Historic Rivalry, a juicy NEIPA collab with Pennsylvania’s Tattered Flag, scurrying sharp lemony grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering, white grape tannins, salted pineapple tanginess and tropical vodka snap thru floral-daubed hop pining.
A rare stylistic combo, Coyote Brown IPA, coalesced dark-roast hop charred Cascadian Dark Ale bittering with less aggressive piney citrus India Pale Ale dryness.
Roasted sweet potato influence and ginger-rooted cinnamon/allspice/cumin minting soaked up by milk-sugared vanilla for quirky Mama’s Table, a wintry-spiced potato brown ale.
Backward Flag’s newest offering, Warrior’s Shadow Black Ale, let politely bitter black malting and nutty dark roast hop char invite black coffee, espresso and dark chocolate patronage.
TUCKAHOE BREWING CO.
EGG HARBOR, NEW JERSEY
Open in 2011 (closed 2023), Egg Harbor’s TUCKAHOE BREWING CO. handcrafts straightforwardly well-rounded brews as well as experimental sours and barrel aged elixirs in a conservatively elegant setting.
Inside a tan aluminum warehouse, the wood plank-floored pub features a beautiful 10-seat mahogany bar with 20 centralized tap handles, several wall paintings and a TV. Pristine wood chairs and tables fill out the spacious interior while the windowed brew tanks don the back space.
A Grateful Dead video plays in the background as my wife and I consume thirteen rangy samplers, March ’20..
Mild cream ale, Rural Juror, let fizzy lemon spritz splash its mild cereal graining and grassy hop astringency with ease.
Sweet cereal grains also regaled moderate-bodied Patty’s Pale Lager, leaving subtle lemon-peeled orange pith bittering in the recess.
Caramelized barley roast caressed orange-peeled grapefruit juicing for Anglesea Red Ale, letting mild walnut, chestnut and pecan illusions absorb the back end.
Tartly sour blueberries engaged the sunny yellow fruited bittering guarding Fu Man Blue, a mustily hay-dried, moderate-bodied saison.
Spritzy lemon zest brightened banana bubblegum sweetness for peachy Belgian golden ale, Astute Gentlemen, a welcoming 9% ABV elixir with wispy floral-spiced herbage.
Conditioned on plum puree, Special Magic, a bubblegummy dried-fruited Belgian dubbel, picked up desiccated orange tartness and earthen tobacco crisping over sedate caramel malting.
Sessionable IPA, Damn The Torpedoes, meshed lemony grapefruit, orange and tangerine tropicalia with piney hop resin above restrained pale malt sugaring.
‘Pungent candied citrus’ enveloped double dry-hopped IPA, Quatrain, absorbing its dank graininess, subtle grapefruit-orange-peach tang and delicate floral nuances.
Robust Steelmantown Porter engaged vanilla bean bittering and oak-charred Scottish peat with dark chocolate syruping for a dewy mocha celebration.
A delightfully unique lactose-aided pastry stout, Lucky Spud, brought its sweet potato adjunct to fudged brownie creaminess and casual cinnamon-coconut seduction.
Briny oyster-shelled Bakers chocolate inundated lightly creamed dry stout, What The Shuck.
Adding mellow marshmallow sweetness to the mix, The Other Side Of The Mountains Stout maintained vanilla-creamed brown chocolate sugaring for its ancillary toasted coconut, toffee and Graham Cracker illusions.
Just as exquisite, laidback barrel-aged version of In the Deepest Ocean Tequila Mole Stout drove vanilla-spiced bourbon warmth into tequila-daubed brown chocolate sweetness.
HIDDEN SANDS BREWING COMPANY
EGG HARBOR, NEW JERSEY
Filling out a large 10,000 square foot aluminum warehouse in Central Jersey’s Egg Harbor, HIDDEN SANDS BREWING COMPANY opened January 2018. A multifarious high ceilinged venue with a welcoming ground floor pub, spacious table-chaired mezzanine area (with twelve draught handles) and upper level seating space, Hidden Sands utilizes a freshwater aquifier that provides a clean briskness to each handcrafted beer.
There are twelve taps at the ground level, formica-topped, ten-seat serving station. Antique beer cans line the front wall and a Hidden Sands insignia hangs down on the opposing wall while decorative barrels and five small tables fill out the concrete-floored room.
My wife and I hang around for a few hours, downing all twelve crisply clean watered suds this seasonally warm March afternoon, 2020. Not many breweries offer three pilsner-lagers, but Hidden Sands did.
Pleasantly mild Bavarian-styled flagship, 800′ Pilsner, brought sugary pilsner malting to lightly salted lemondrop souring and daintily citric Hallertau/Tettnanger-hopped floral spicing.
Sweet orange peeled peach, tangerine and clementine fruiting glided thru mild mineral-grained Noble hop herbal bittering and toasted cereal graining for crisply clean Amber Sands Amber Lager.
Easygoing Hidden Helles Lager placated its tangy peach-tangerine-clementine conflux with moist earthen-grained Noble hop bittering.
Maize-dried pilsner malts crisply engaged light lemon sugaring for The Kolsch, a delicately sparkling straw yellow light body.
Glistening Citra-hopped orange and grapefruit spicing added pizzazz to pilsner-lightened honey wheat as lemon-dropped floral herbage fluttered behind pale yellowed moderation, Pump Handle Honey Wheat Ale.
A milder West Coast interpretation, 107′ IPA let refreshingly citric floral-perfumed Citra-Centennial-Columbus hops enjoin coniferous pine needling and mild juniper bittering to top its dry pale malted spelt spine.
Delicate citrus-spiced tanginess, oats-flaked pilsner malting and relegated piney hop bittering set the stage for straightforward 608′ Imperial IPA.
By blending 608′ with strawberry, tart citrus piquancy and oats-flaked pilsner malts subsumed much of Strawberry Imperial IPA’s floral-bound berry essence.
Kettle-soured compost soiling seeped into tart lemon-candied peach sourness for spritzy white wined Sand Blasted Sour Peach Ale.
Just as approachable, tropical fruited lollipop, Sand Blasted Sour Guava Ale, stayed slightly sour as tart guava salting grazed lemon-candied gooseberry, passionfruit and papaya snips.
Dark-roasted coffee infiltrated smoked maple syrup-draped First Drop Coffee Maple Baltic Porter, leaving rye-dried Black Patent malt bittering on its nutty caramel-burnt dark chocolate bottom.
Creamy milk-sugared coffee crowded roasted chocolate malts for sweet mocha dessert, Imperial Stout, the perfect afternoon delight to close my visit.
Revisited Hidden Sands, May ’23, on a warm Friday afternoon to try six more well-rounded suds.
Tart cherry sugaring glazed the honeyed wheat base of Cherry Amber Sands, a fruited cereal grain-toasted amber lager variant with mild orange-tangerine tang and candied apple whims.
Tart strawberry twang snuffed limey woodruff syruping and lemony Citra-hopped zesting of Strawberry Wheat, a salt-prickled summer ale with minor phenolic alkalinity.
Another stylistic variant, Sandy Blues Kolsch, allowed brown-sugared cinnamon toasting and mild blueberry souring (plus licorice licks) to penetrate its delicate Noble-hopped herbage and pilsner malt grist with unlikely Christmas spicing.
Lemon-candied orange mimosa and strawberry daquiri tartness gained mild sour acidity for Strawberry Lemon Orange, a fruity pale-malted wheat ale.
Spiking its golden ale with Belgian yeast funk, Belgian Sands slightly veiled its coriander-spiced orange tang with white-peppered fungi as distant Chardonnay wining and banana daquiri daubs melted thru briny Salty Dog vodka licks.
Nitrogenated Rum Barrel Aged Imperial Stout brought oaken vanilla tannins to its dry rum influence, dryer burgundy-bourbon auxiliary and dewy truffle-like mossing above musty dark chocolate base.
During early October ’23 revisit, discovered six more Hidden Sands elixirs, including three citric soft drink-inspired ales based on previous recipes.
Inspired by fructose-salted Tang sugaring, Witty Orange (a White IPA blending Belgian Sands Golden Ale with 107′ IPA), spread powder-candied navel orange tartness all over, leaving spritzy lemon soda and peachy apricot daubs on the tail end.
Mixing Belgian Sands Golden with juicy orange, Citrus Wit let its orange Tang frontage receive Pez-like candied powdering and slight coriander spicing.
Mingling 107′ IPA with tangy orange as well as tangerine sweetness, green mango salting and tart lemondrop souring, Orange IPA relegated its piney hop dryness and pilsner malted spelt base.
Mellow mango-juiced habanero peppering teased Spicy Mango Pilsner, a nebulous soft-toned light body.
Gingery cinnamon bark outdid brown-sugared pumpkin spicing and zesty orange peel sweetness for daintily crystal malted Autumn Equinox Ale- Amber, a spicy autumnal moderation with truffly gourd licks and tertiary cardamom, mace, sage and basil nips.
‘A twist on traditional Sand Blasted Sour,’ blush pinked amber-hued Watermelon Splash had Jolly Rancher candied tartness and watermelon Warheads souring.
On July ’24 jaunt, tasted two easygoing fruited brews.
Slightly sour strawberry tartness laid atop white wheat wafering for washed-out Strawberry Wheat, leaving cucumber-watered watermelon rind earthiness in its wake.
Mild summertime spritzer, Lemon Shandy, retained brisk powdered lemonade tartness and fizzy soda sugaring.
SLACK TIDE BREWING COMPANY
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, NEW JERSEY
Inside a tin-roofed, stone-based, tan aluminum barn house mall at Cape May Court House, SLACK TIDE BREWING COMPANY opened for biz during December ’15. Using locally sourced natural ingredients from the Cape May region, this three-barrel outpost owned and operated by brothers’ Jason and Taghd Campbell crafts well-rounded diversified suds.
Slack Tide’s nautically-themed tasting room features an six seat, eighteen-tap serving station with a pristine white-tiled blue wall backdrop. The cement-floored pub also contains nifty palate wood accents, fourteen chaired tables, a centered blackboard beer list and one TV. Several silver tanks, wood barrels and a canning line dot the rear.
First up this sunny February ’20 afternoon, ‘easy drinking tropical fruited’ moderation, Schoolie Pale Ale, brought sharply citric IPA briskness to the fore as spritzy lemon zest brightened grapefruit rind bittering, orange peel sweetness and pineapple tanginess above the lightly spiced salty bottom.
Then came a string of variegated India Pale Ales starting with centrist moderate-bodied flagship, Tipsy Dipsy, a durable Citra-hopped Imperial IPA (with well hidden 8% ABV) boasting lemony orange-peeled grapefruit tanginess, tart pineapple salting and subtle peach, nectarine and clementine illusions alongside lightly creamed vanilla-dabbed pale malting.
Possibly as popular, dry West Coast-styled IPA, Angry Osprey, serenaded piney grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering with salty mango, lemony herbal notions and grassy hop astringency.
Dry pine lacquering enjoined zesty orange-peeled lemon zest and yellow grapefruit rind bittering for double dry-hopped NEIPA, Neutral Buoyancy, a lactose-teased medium body with mild hop bittering and earthen compost surfacing latently.
Another New England IPA, The Ridge, loaded oaken vanilla-laced lactose upon tangy yellow grapefruit-juiced orange rind bittering as well as sour gooseberry-guava-passionfruit illusions, dainty peach-tangerine-mango spicing and light herbal peppering.
Mild coriander-spiced orange zesting gained vanilla-creamed banana and clove sweetness for amber-clouded Belgian Blonde, Bell Buoy, leaving a daub of salty white-peppered basil and dill herbage upon the gentle sourdough base.
Then came a cast of stellar stouts.
Nitrogenated Monkey Face Stout, a dry Irish Stout, retained mildly creamed nut-charred dark coffee roast and Bakers chocolate bittering.
Creamily milk-sugared French roast coffee and Vermont maple syrup combined for sweetly soothing Imperial Breakfast Stout, Morning Bite, leaving dark chocolate, maple oatmeal and toffee subsidies to fight back its lightly embittered tarry hop sear.
Like a vanilla iced coffee, lusciously decadent sweet stout, Manatee Milk, utilized Columbian coffee to amplify its Madagascar vanilla bean bittering, milky lactose-sugared chocolate syruping and spiced toffee nicety.
AVALON BREW PUB
AVALON, NEW JERSEY
At the tony white sandy beach town of Avalon, ‘upscale casual gastropub,’ AVALON BREW PUB, was established in 2016. Specializing in efficiently traditional mid-range beers and serving sumptuous cuisine in a demurely sophisticated atmosphere, Avalon’s high profile ocean visibility makes it a prime summertime hotspot.
A small cement patio with hot weather furnishings and a couch leads patrons to the exquisite porcelain-tiled wood floor pub. Edison lights dot the ceiling alongside unique silver keg tops. There are fifteen dining tables, an eight-stool marble top bar with two TV’s, an aqua blue-painted backdrop with white Avalon insignia and a windowed brew room.
Mild Bohemian-styled Chill Pils, placed subtle grapefruit, pineapple and orange zest next to delicate lemongrass herbage above dry pale lagered malts.
Expansive grain-toasted amber ale, Healing Sun, took on piney orange-red-yellow fruiting and dry pine resin for a vibrant IPA-like moderation.
“Sharp, twangy” witbier, Belgian Beach Bum, retained a charmingly seductive orange-peeled coriander spicing reinforced by chamomile, lemongrass and cellared funk subsidies.
Amber grain-toasted crisping and dry hop phenolics plied Red Session Ale with brisk grapefruit-orange-peach tanginess, pastry-like pale malting and dried maize astringency.
Floral citrus-spiced West Coast IPA, We Don’t Play, a brisk hometown favorite, let orange-peeled grapefruit tanginess gain pale malt sugaring in a moderate-bodied setting.
Sessionable IPA, Cooler By A Mile, a hoppier version of We Don’t Play, allowed floral-perfumed citrus zest to graze its grassy wet-grained finish.
GUSTO BREWING COMPANY
NORTH CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY
Taupe mall-bound GUSTO BREWING COMPANY began its journey December 21, 2018. Since then, the venturesome seven-barrel/seven-fermenter nano beerhouse has turned out over 75 different brews in fifteen short months ‘keeping it small and keeping it weird.’
Gusto head brewer Dan Petela began experimenting as a homebrewer for seven years, bartending at nearby Cape May Brewing before manning Gusto’s tanks. His glass-encased brew room turns out surefire suds for the ten draught taps at the fifteen-seat, concrete-topped, glass-crushed serving station in the brown vinyl-floored, baby blue-outlined pub. A mezzanine provides grain storage and a mill room.
I surveyed nine fine offerings during my one-hour, chilly afternoon perusal late February ’20.
Sunny lemon zest adjoined lightly spiced grapefruit and orange briskness, winey green grape tartness and herbal wood tones for oats-based As The Crow Flies Pale Ale, the most approachable brew on hand.
Precariously offbeat pale-cleared turnabout, Soft Handshake Lager, a dry-hopped moderation, soaked Merlot grape esters in sour gooseberry-guava tropicalia, limey lemongrass herbage and harvested dill over its gentle white wheat bed – going way beyond stylistic tradition.
Mossy earthen dew gathered musty cellar funk to contrast the toffee-like Maris Otter malting of Cool Hand Lucas ESB.
Dewy English IPA-like rye malting advanced Switch Pop Shove-It, leaving earthen herbal fungi and minor pine resin upon zesty orange, dried lemon and melon rind.
Dryly citric-piney Slam Poet IPA scattered spritzy lemon zest across yellow grapefruit and orange rind bittering as well as salted mango tanginess, relegating its honeyed oats spine.
Sugar-spiced citrus juicing paved the way for Said The Joker To The Thief IPA, scattering lemon peel bittering across mild grapefruit, navel orange and clementine tanginess as well as wispy herbage.
Dried fruited candi sugaring gave cilantro-seeded Blackbird Fly Dark Saison the appeal of a Belgian dubbel, posting prune, plum, raisin and currant notes for its dewy peat bottom.
Decadent chocolate and ‘sultry vanilla’ headlined Little Spoon: Swoon Edition, a mocha-creamed oatmeal stout with Bakers chocolate, cocoa nibs and light-roast coffee tones settling atop caramel-burnt maple oats.
Dark maple syrup coated wood-burnt black chocolate and dark-roast coffee for Oliver Bright’s Maple Caper Imperial Stout, a hazelnut-glazed barley roaster with black cherry snips.
EVIL TWIN NYC WILD BANANA SPLIT STOUT
Chewy full-bodied dessert stout (with heady 12.5% ABV) knocks off banana split with confectionery Thai banana and roasted peanut adjuncts gathering below syrupy dark chocolate goo. Creamily mocha-topped, bourbon vanilla-centered digestif gathers sufficient blackberry brandy, burgundy, dried cherry, caramelized fig, prune and glazed hazelnut subsidies to enhance its bold warmth.
CIGAR CITY CAFFE AMERICANO DOUBLE STOUT
On tap at Ambulance, boldly expressive espresso-roasted stout reaches nirvana as creamy brown chocolate sweetness and fudgy vanilla-beaned cocoa nibs penetrate deeply. Tucked away beneath brash coffee-sugared cocoa richness lies hazelnut-glazed chocolate caking, dried cherry tartness, caramelized whiskey nip and cayenne-peppered cumin wisp. Recommended.
MIKKELLER NYC LATE NIGHT MENU IMPERIAL STOUT
On tap at Ambulance, heavily lactic vanilla-beaned cocoa nibs absorb chipotle-peppered cinnamon adjunct in velvety fashion. Fudgy brown chocolatey vanilla sugaring pushed forth to subsume peppery cinnamon-cayenne spicing at bold mocha finish.
EVIL GENIUS SO YOU’RE TELLING ME THERE’S A CHANCE IRISH COFFEE CREAM ALE
On tap at Andy’s Corner Bar, clear amber yellowed pale ale base underscores mild powder-sugared Irish Coffee cream liqueur sweetness contrasting spritzy lemon hop astringency. Pastry dough sweetness dots whipped cream Irish Coffee spell as tertiary Graham Cracker, marshmallow and nutmeg illusions flutter.
