On tap at Taphouse 15, delightful Belgian dark ale brings Muscovado brown sugaring to candy-coated fig, plum and black cherry sweetness as well as casual spice hops and honeyed barley roast.
GREEN FLASH GFB BLONDE
On tap at Taphouse 15, raw-honeyed orange peel and lemon rot pick up spritzy sugar-spicing for contrast above mellow toasted biscuit spine.
JUGHANDLE BREWING COMPANY
TINTON FALLS, NEW JERSEY
Tucked away in the Tinton Falls Center, a delightful mini-mall just off the NJ Parkway on the way to Point Pleasant, JUGHANDLE BREWING COMPANY opened on Father’s Day 2016 (and closed 2024). A nifty open Industrial space perfect for small batch brewing, Jughandle’s serving tanks, aging liquor barrels, brewery equipment and malted hop ingredients deck out the left side while wooden community tables and cool metal stools are situated near the right side 14-draught serving station.
On initial hot Saturday afternoon April 2017 visit, quaffed 14 well-rounded selections handcrafted by brewmasters Chris Hanigan and Peter Artherholt.
Delectably sessionable moderate-bodied opener, Hefeweizen brought banana-clove sweetness to lemony orange tang above cereal wheat malting.
Spritzy Firepit Belgian Wit loaded carbolic pep upon lemony curacao orange tartness, mild herbal hop bittering and politely spiced pale malts.
Amiable Mosaic Pale Ale let its mildly fruitful Mosaic hop profile shine with tangy yellow grapefruit, mango and orange tropicalia.
Brisk West Coast-styled India Pale Ale allowed citric Cascade hops and woody Chinook hops to combine for a tangy grapefruit, orange and lemon thrust punctuated by mild pine tones.
Stylishly soft moderate-to-medium-bodied Double India Pale Ale gained honeyed malt sweetness alongside pineapple, peach, clementine and grapefruit juicing.
Robust Black IPA contrasted black-malted Bakers chocolate bittering and molasses-soaked pumpernickel rye sweetness with less pronounced grapefruit, black grape and pineapple illusions.
Inviting Belgian Dubbel brought dry-fruited malting to the fore above musty fungi yeast, dewy peat graining and herbal hops as candi-sugared plum, raisin and banana sweetness increased.
Just as fine, Dunkleweizen coalesced crystal-malted cocoa and chocolate sugaring with tingly banana sweetness, tobacco-roasted crisping and dainty spices.
Lactobacillus-laden sour ale, Berliner Weiss, gently parched the tongue with oats-dried lemon rind bittering, light vinous grape esters and torrified wheat (?) malts. Adding raspberry syrup allowed subtle raspberry tartness to enhance the lemony grapefruit tang and lower the sour pucker. Quite nice.
Dry Calypso-hopped Pothole #2 Brett Pale Ale added light brettanomyces bacteria to affect its sour lemon pucker, herbal lemongrass-chamomile conflux and teasing tropical fruiting.
Peaty Scottish 70 Shilling Mild Ale offered dried tobacco crisping, desiccated orange tartness and mildewed basement dankness.
Earthen grains gave Partigyle Stout its earthen grounding as bittersweet black chocolate, dried cocoa and espresso tones overrode dark cherry snips.
Another dry dark ale, Irish Stout, retained a soft flow as bitter chocolate, milked espresso and day-old coffee tones proved sturdy.
Even better, Booskerdoo Breakfast Stout plied fresh roasted coffee beans to whiskey-soaked oak chips and gained a prominent brown chocolate and vanilla sweetness to soak up the whiskeyed coffee pleasantries.
During late September ’17 visit on the way to Long Beach Island Chowderfest, quaffed another nine previously untried and diversified brews.
Sessionable Kolsch placed sour lemon next to zesty grapefruit and bitter orange rind atop chamomile tea-like cadences.
Fruit-lacquered Curves Ahead! Peach Pale Ale sunk peach cobbler sweetness into bitter hop musk as dainty passionfruit notions and latent lemongrass herbage helped secure its peachy keenness alongside docile apricot, pear and apple undertones.
Rapturously “effervescent” Golden Strawng hid its bold 8.6% ABV beneath honeyed banana sweetness and mellow lemon-spiced alacrity, picking up nectarine, cantaloupe, pineapple, peach and orange illusions above its candi-sugared crystal malt bed.
Debonair 2017 Wet Hop Harvest Ale brought lemony yellow grapefruit zest to the surface as mild hop resin and light wood tones dovetailed across herbal notions that contrasted its lightly creamed crystal malting.
“Alpha hopped” A Hop Has No Name brought earthen florality to lemony grapefruit tanginess and ephemeral chamomile tea daubs.
Dry Citra-hopped Ryes N’ Shine let piney wood tones secure rye-malted peach, pear and apple illusions as well as lesser grapefruit, orange and lemon snips.
Tropical delight, 4057 Double IPA, regaled honeyed mango, peach and orange tanginess with dank reedy wood tones, scant spicing and herbal nips.
Bringing the heat, hybridized saison, Beasty Bee Sting, leavened its up-front honeyed lemon zest with floral lavender dalliances before ‘stinging’ Seranno and Thai chili peppering seared the tongue.
Malleably off-dry Party Guy Stout scurried blueberry, raspberry and strawberry tartness across mild chocolate chalking, sedate coffee tones and earthen Glacier hops.
www.jughandlebrewing.com
BOXING BEAR CHOCOLATE MILK STOUT
Elegantly creamed black chocolate syruping and bittersweet cocoa nibs expanse embrace dark-roast black malting, milky espresso mildness and cocoa-dried cola nuttiness, forging dry Irish stout style at times. Splendidly smooth mocha theme receives latent dried-fruited black licorice dash as well.
SARANAC BASKING IN BOURBON IMPERIAL STOUT
On tap at Growler & Gill, ‘decadent’ 11.9% ABV Imperial Stout laces oak-charred Kentucky bourbon barrel aging thru rich brown chocolate syruping and creamy vanilla sugaring. Ultimately, smoky mocha molasses malting gains resilience above tantalizing bourbon whiskey ambiance and singed wood tones.
CIGAR CITY JAI ALAI WHITE OAK-AGED INDIA PALE ALE
On tap at Growler & Gill, ‘elegantly dry’ white oak-aged version of high profile IPA brings ‘sleek vanilla, coconut and dill pickling’ to spruce-sugared tropical fruiting. Light tannic oak leathering soaks into floral-daubed grapefruit, orange, mango and peach tang while mild plasticine waxing snags the back end.
CIGAR CITY GUAYABERA CITRA PALE ALE
On tap at Growler & Gill, viable Citra-hopped moderation spreads dank oily-hopped pine resin across advertised ‘tangerine, lime and berries’ as well as mild floral-daubed guava, mango, peach, passionfruit and nectarine tang. Brisk citric-hopped brightness glistens above doughy French bread bottom.
HARPOON CAMP WANNAMANGO PALE ALE WITH MANGO
On tap at Growler & Gill, mango-infused pale ale brings sour-candied tartness to grassy hop restraint and dainty crystal-pale malting. Perfumed sweet ‘n sour mango adjunct receives sharp-hopped carbolic spritz as subtle lemon, peach and pineapple subsidies waver.
OMMEGANG FRUITION
On tap at Growler & Gill, summery dry-hopped witbier complacently blends lemon-soured mango, peach, passionfruit and kiwi tartness into grassy herbal thrift and mild fungi-like yeast mustiness.
NEW BELGIUM WHIZBANG HOPPY BLONDE ALE
Satisfactory Mosaic-hopped moderation spreads light lemon licks across sugar-spiced pale malts and mild toasted mineral graining, reaching proper stylistic astringency at the dank earthen bottom.
INDUSTRIAL ARTS METRIC PILS
On tap at Growler & Gill, stylishly bold Noble-hopped pilsner plies proper grassy hay-like astringency to herbal lemon souring, dry mineral-grained malting and serene floral nuances in balanced manner.
2 WAY BREWING COMPANY
BEACON, NEW YORK
Inside a pristine beige stucco industrial building and surrounded by quaint residential housing overlooking the Hudson River at the revitalized city of Beacon, 2 WAY BREWING COMPANY opened its doors in 2014.
A relaxing family-friendly local joint near the train station, 2 Way’s knowledgeable staff kept the bar patrons happy serving seven board-listed tapped selections or samplers to those grabbing growlers-to-go for outside consumption. The easygoing brews matched the relaxing atmosphere.
Convivial head brewer, Michael O’Herron, spent time learning his craft at popular Boulder, Colorado-based brewery, Avery, before moving back to his nearby hometown of Newburgh just in time for New York’s magical craft beer Renaissance. His balanced array of ales lean towards the lighter side on my first trip.
Six patio tables front 2 Way while the comfy single room interior features a 20-seat plywood bar with seven tap handles emanating from a 2 Way road sign plus a large screen TV as well as a few seating tables and sofas. Happily, there’s room for expansion as well.
Recently, the low-key pub started serving limited pub fare and on my April 2017 sojourn I enjoyed the fried chicken with six approachably fine brews.
Soft-toned Whole Hop Pale Ale layered earthen tea-like pale malts with moderate melon rind, grapefruit, passionfruit and apple tones.
Easygoing red, orange and yellow-fruited Revolution Red picked up caramel-toasted Maris Otter sweetness to contrast mildly resinous pine hops.
Sessionable Citra-hopped Forbidden Fruit IPA plied groaty grain malting and tender spicing to mellow yellow grapefruit, clementine, orange marmalade and curacao orange briskness.
Slightly unique saison-styled X-1 IPA soaked black raspberry-bushed yeast with lemony orange tones, soggy groaty oats and lemongrass hints.
Understated Beacon Brown brought cocoa, toffee and caramel sweetness to peat-dried mocha malts as well as frisky praline, walnut and hazelnut whims.
Mocha-dried Nitro Irish Stout saddled dark chocolate, black coffee and cocoa tones with dewy earthiness.
Two weeks later, came back with wife for her fave, Town Of The Lion Hefeweizen, a bittersweet moderation with polite lemon souring contrasted by stylish banana-clove-bubblegum illusions over Graham Cracker-honeyed wheat malts.
Better still, Confusion Farmhouse utilized X-1 IPA’s black raspberry bush yeast for its tangy lemon-dropped pineapple, grapefruit and orange juicing to soak into hay-like mineral grain rusticity and wispy lemongrass herbage.
2waybrewingcompany.com