RAPSCALLION BREWERY

January 25, 2016United States BrewpubsFISKDALE MA, RAPSCALLION BREWERYJohn Fortunato

FISKDALE, MASSACHUSETTS

Off the beaten track two miles up a hill from Sturbridge’s main drag in Fiskdale’s Hyland Orchards lies a rustic sienna-hued barnhouse that’s home to RAPSCALLION BREWERY. Formerly housing Pioneer Brewing Company, identical twin owners, Cedric and Peter Arnold, took over operations in 2013 and re-branded the company to its current rogue handle. Head brewer Shaun Radzuik crafted some of Rapscallion’s recipes while working at Holyoke’s Paper City.

Basically a one-room, concrete-floored lodge with centered community bench, a few wooden tables and red brick-walled beer trays, Rapscallion’s uniquely enhanced by Hyland Orchards’ outdoor music pavilion, picnic area, petting farm and apple orchards.

Visited on a cold, snowy January ’16 evening, this growing neighborhood pub serves 13 taps worth of homemade beer to local minions and curious beer hounds. A large mounted glassware section is just down the L-shaped bar from the beer-to-go refrigerator.

Before heading out to get dinner, I settled into flagship Rapscallion Honey Ale, a dry, soft-toned moderation with mildly creamed honey-spiced butterscotch sweetness and lemony orange tang furrowed by grassy hop phenols. For further investigation, 32-ounce crowlers (canned growlers) of Irish Red, Rye IPA, Munich Dark and Porter (reviewed in Beer Index).

Traveling beer fanatics should also check out nearby Acton’s Rapscallion Table & Tap, a related restaurant serving all beers mentioned above.

Before heading back to Publick House Historic Inn, my wife and I stopped by Enrico’s for wood-fired pizza, splitting the Giardino (white-sauced ricotta cheese with artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers). A terrific Tuscan-influenced Italian food venue with U-shaped left bar and right side dining, its open kitchen also serves pasta dishes, panini sandwiches and salads. On tap are 20-plus macro-micro brews.

Revolution Anti-Hero (a Chicagoland India Pale Ale fave) had a bright floral fruited briskness gathering tangy grapefruit, orange, pineapple and mango juiciness atop piney hop bittering.

Easygoing Notch Left Of The Dial, a milder IPA, bolstered its lingering Chinook/Amarillo hop pining with less aggressive lemony grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering, sugary peach-pineapple-quince-cantaloupe-mango dalliances and recessive floral nuances.

RAPSCALLION COFFEE STOUT

January 25, 2016Beers A-Zcoffee stoutJohn Fortunato

Profound Mexican dark-roast coffee beans (from local Sturbridge Coffee Roasters) really take charge over black chocolate malts and sharp hop char. Tarry black molasses bittering lingers below sweet ‘n sour java theme.

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RAPSCALLION PORTER

January 25, 2016Beers A-Zmocha porter, RAPSCALLION BREWERYJohn Fortunato

Dry black patent-malted medium body brings mildly creamed dark chocolate, day-old coffee and dark-roasted nuttiness to the fore as Blackstrap molasses-embittered oily hop char reinforces its perpetual mocha insistence.

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RAPSCALLION HONEY ALE

January 25, 2016Beers A-Zpale aleJohn Fortunato

Locally popular flagship ale (originally brewed at Paper City) layers mildly creamed wildflower honey sugaring above grassy-hopped lemon and orange tang, but loses momentum by nebulous finish.

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RAPSCALLION RYE IPA

January 25, 2016Beers A-Zindia pale aleJohn Fortunato

In 32-ounce crowler (a.k.a. canned growler), citric-laced rye malting gains immediate tobacco-roasted crisping and light pecan-walnut-chestnut conflux. Mild lemon peel bittering seeps into leafy hop rusticity just below the surface.

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RAPSCALLION PALE ALE

January 25, 2016Beers A-Zpale ale, RAPSCALLION BREWERYJohn Fortunato

Sweet caramel-malted Scotch licks, mild lemony orange tang and prickly hop spicing pick up light phenol acidity for sessionably straightforward moderate-to-medium body. Decent middle of the road fare for less adventurous ale imbibers.

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RAPSCALLION OATMEAL STOUT – CASK

January 25, 2016Beers A-Zoatmeal stoutJohn Fortunato

On cask at Brew City Grill, soft-toned dry stout retains bittersweet oats-charred black chocolate theme atop subtle hop char, picking up casual cocoa, vanilla and coffee undertones.

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BREW CITY GRILL

January 25, 2016BEER PUBWORCESTER MAJohn Fortunato

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WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS

In an old brick building on a bustling corner of Worcester’s rustic downtown, BREW CITY GRILL slowly became a local craft beer haven after a decade in business selling macros. Just down the street from Wormtown Brewery, this glorified sportsbar served local families, businessmen and brewhounds alike on my initial January ’16 noon time visit on a cold Sunday.

A 15-stool right side bar with front tables and one private booth features decorative street lamps, 40-plus tap handles, fine wines, unique cocktails and several bottled-canned beers. Multiple TV’s fill the bar and left side 20-table dining area (where a brew kettle mural and wallpapered locomotive adorn the walls). The food menu includes reasonable pub fare and my wife and I order bourbon wings, potato skins, hummus (with feta and olives) while watching the Patriots and Jets football games.

Beginning with two cask conditioned ales, Berkshire Mint Chip Drayman’s Porter and Rapscallion Stout, I then quaff terrific Maui Coconut Porter and slyly hybridized Mystic Three Cranes Saison with Cranberry. (All reviewed in Beer Index).

A congenial hotspot in New England’s second largest metropolis, BCG boasts a respectable Massachusetts craft beer selection any outsider would appreciate.

OSKAR BLUES DEATH BY COCONUT

January 25, 2016Beers A-Zcoconut porter, OSKAR BLUESJohn Fortunato

On tap at Poor Henry’s, scrumptious Almond Joy-candied porter spreads shredded coconut milking above cacao nibs sweetness and dark-roasted black chocolate malting. Subsidiary vanilla, caramel, crème brûlée and creme de cocoa notions receive light powdered sugaring. An impeccable coconut-flavored dark ale.

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BOLERO SNORT VARIABULL 003 PORTER WITH CINNAMON AND VANILLA

January 25, 2016Beers A-ZBOLERO SNORT, vanilla porterJohn Fortunato

On tap at Dog & Cask, easygoing brown porter needs more pronounced cinnamon spicing and vanilla bean licks to infiltrate molasses-smoked black chocolate base (first used in Happy Buck’n Anniversary Imperial Porter). Dank hop roast dissipates toasted coconut, marshmallow and coffee subsidies.

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SAUCONY CREEK X RESERVE IMPERIAL COFFEE STOUT

January 25, 2016Beers A-Zcoffee stout, SAUCONY CREEKJohn Fortunato

On tap at Amazing Grapes, devilishly enticing Sumatrian coffee roast picks up milk-creamed espresso linger and caramel-burnt French dark chocolate sweetness. Mild hop char deepens smoked chicory, cayenne pepper, semi-dry port and black grape illusions.

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DEMENTED BOEWULF PORTER

January 25, 2016Beers A-ZDEMENTED BREWING, mocha porterJohn Fortunato

On tap at Amazing Grapes, rich dark-roasted chocolate malting outdistances day-old coffee dankness and charred nut bittering above moderate charcoal-hopped sear.

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