Simple lawnmower fare. Spritzy lemon spicing easily glides into buttery cereal-grained biscuit malts and floral-wafted grassy hop astringency.
LONE EAGLE BREWING
FLEMINGTON, NEW JERSEY
Just down from Flemington’s bustling Liberty Village near the railroad station at a gray 5,000 square foot building out in rural western Jersey (fifteen minutes from Princeton), LONE EAGLE BREWING began operations July ’16. The brainchild of local homebrewers Todd Becker and Bob King, Lone Eagle gained instant attention by local denizens.
A quaint spot with a fenced-in family-styled patio, its white-walled high ceiling interior features right side silver brew tanks, a wood lacquered central bar and four yellow-wooded community tables. A loft above the serving station hosts private events when not seating patrons.
Along the left wall is a beautiful Brewing Process mural with a TV hanging above.
As my wife and I visit during a rainy Friday, October ’18, we sample nearly a dozen homebrews.
Impressive West Coast-styled flagship offering, Maiden Flight IPA, placed juicy yellow grapefruit, tangerine and pineapple tropicalia alongside lightly embittered orange rind as honeyed pale malt sweetness gained attention, leaving fusel 8% alcohol acidity upon its pine-toned black tea musk.
Equally fine yellow-hazed medium body, New England Chowdah India Pale Ale, stayed brightly refreshing as spritzy lemon zest, yellow grapefruit bittering, sour pineapple juicing and white peach tartness glazed citric hop dusting with minimal pale malt intrusion. In the recess, herbal snips, gin whims and phenol astringency reside.
Less complex Spelt Wrong IPA, a hazy New England-styled double dry-hopped brew, suited milder tastes as gentle spelt graining softened tart lemon, sour grapefruit and juicy orange subtleties above mild pine resin (and light alcohol esters).
Straightforward Local Pale Ale brought delicate orange-peach-tangerine tanginess to grassy hop astringency above frisky crystal malts.
Splendid beige-yellow hazed Return Of The Juice let lightly spiced lemondrop tartness dance on the tongue while grassy celery vegetalia provided an earthen backdrop.
Leafy autumnal foliage and sweetly soured fig led dry-spiced Marzen Oktoberfest Lager, retaining dewy Noble-hopped earthiness and navel orange rot above its baked bread bottom.
Subtle nuttiness imbued dewy Hunterdon Wet-Hop Brown Ale, a caramel-malted moderation with roasted tobacco hints and resinous hop bittering.
Sharp ashen hop-charred nuttiness and dark chocolate roast leavened Turkey Trot Porter, as its dry raw molasses bittering upended any sweet hazelnut propensity.
Stylishly thin rum barrel-aged Dowton Abbey Dubbel brought dark Belgian candi sugar to spiced rum, dry bourbon, sparkling champagne and Scotch spirits, drizzling oaken vanilla upon tertiary green grape esters and soured fig nuances.
Aged in rum-soaked oak chips, Belgian Dark Strong Ale relied on candi-sugared toffee sweetness and sweet fig-plum-prune-raisin dried fruiting to contrast its mossy earthiness.
Dryly complex English-styled Bourbon Barrel-aged Wheat Wine left whiskeyed bourbon-burgundy warmth upon gin-soaked raisin, prune and fig as well as caramelized toffee buttering and oaken vanilla sedation.
loneeaglebrewing.com
CARTON BASIC COFFEE
“Simpler version of golden coffee cream ale” finished with espresso-roasted blend of Sumatran, Columbian and Ethipian coffee beans picks up sharp cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cardamom and mace spicing as well as brisk orange zest. Ancillary cappuccino, caramel latte, vanilla latte and maple-syruped French Toast illusions abound. Carton’s Regular Coffee base – utilized previously for fabulous offshoots like Irish Coffee, Kaffee and Kuchen and Café Corretto – proves magnanimous again.
REVOLUTION STRAIGHT JACKET BARLEYWINE (2018)
On tap at Morris Tap & Grill, serene bourbon molasses syruping saddles brown-sugared black cherry, raisin, date and fig opulence that seeps into vanilla-spiced toasted coconut adjunct. A fine English-styled Chicago barleywine nearing perfection.
REVOLUTION JAMO-NILLA NITRO VANILLA IMPERIAL STOUT
On tap at Ambulance, silken Jameson Irish whiskey barrel aging glazes creamily bourbon-sweetened vanilla bean prominence and serene brown chocolate spicing of excellent nitrogenated stout. Smoked black malts provide modest bittering to contrast honey-smoked Jameson whiskey warmth.
JACK’S ABBY FRAMINGHAMMER BOURBON-AGED GRAHAM CRACKER
Spirited bourbon-aged Baltic porter variant offers cinnamon-toasted Graham Cracker sugaring and brown-sugared chocolate oats to silken bourbon vanilla warmth. Chocolate cookie, fudged molasses, toasted coconut, marshmallow and coffee undertones add resilience, complexity and sweet-toothed goodness to S’more-like dessert treat.
GIGANTIC MOST MOST PREMIUM BOURBON BARREL AGED RUSSIAN IMPERIAL STOUT
On tap at Morris Tap & Grill, luxurious bourbon-aged Imperial Stout stays dryer than most of its sweet peers. Bittersweet black chocolate-spiced entry gains vanilla-creamed molasses, hazelnut and cinnamon niceties. But its vermouth-laden bourbon influence and dried cocoa stint lean towards the dryer side.
CLOWN SHOES / SHMALTZ SHOEBELATION ALE AGED IN BOURBON BARRELS
“Epic” high octane collaboration combines Wild Turkey bourbon-barreled Clown Shoes Billionaire Barleywine with Shmaltz Jewbelation 11. Eager bourbon-spiced dried fruiting contacts molasses-sugared vanilla sweetness in a sinewy mix. Loud fig, raisin and prune illusions pick up a light alcohol burn that dries out the cognac-licked dry whiskey finish. 
CENTRAL WATERS RYE BARREL STOUT
On tap at Ambulance, celestial rye barrel aged stout lets lingered bourbon sweetness elegantly coat fudgy brown chocolate spicing and creamy vanilla undercurrent. Beneath the mocha bourbon richness, dry rye tones perk up oncoming whiskey warmth. In the bottle, wood-soaked molasses rye sweetness gains bourbon-spiced dark cherry blitz, coconut toasting, marshmallow fluffing and hazelnut glaze above treacly brown bread flouring.
LEELANAU ILLUMINATI STOUT AGED IN BOURBON BARRELS
Naturally occurring wild yeast fermentation adds vinous lactic sourness to dry bourbon-aged coffee and chocolate roast. Cherry-soured green grape esters and curdled soy milking nearly override any initial mocha aspect.
BEAU’S TOM GREEN CHERRY MILK STOUT
Mildly creamed milk stout with juicy red cherry tartness just a tad thin stylistically. Dry dark chocolate chalkiness gains ashen nuttiness and light tobacco roast as black coffee, mochaccino and cocoa nibs illusions intensify mocha mass but relegate cherry adjunct.
RIVERTOWN DEATH IMPERIAL STOUT WITH JOLOKIA PEPPERS
“Virulent heat” anchors creamy dark-roasted Imperial Stout. Dark chocolate syruping stays up-front alongside dry bourbon flicker before feverish ghost pepper chili heat leaves tongue numb. Fiery cinnamon burn increases chili rampage. Slight vanilla-fudged dried fruiting and sweet hazelnut snip waver way beneath the expansive chili chocolate surface.
