POOR HENRY’S PUB & RESTAURANT

MONTVILLE, NEW JERSEY Definitely one of Jersey's best beerpubs, POOR HENRY'S PUB & RESTAURANT has been in business since 1975. In a fieldstone-bricked ranch (with aquamarine trim and sidewalk cafe), this Old World tavern on Route 202 could be defined as an Irish-styled pub, dive bar, gin mill or family restaurant. Each description fits the otherwise inconspicuous establishment well. Founded by Kenny Garrity, Poor Henry's originated in nearby East Hanover and served Guinness Stout to experimental palates. But while that Irish bar ceased to exist, the newly established Montville gastropub continues to flourish. During 2011, Garrity's son, Jesse, expanded the draught selection and brought craft beers onboard.   Featuring outstanding pub fare (prime rib, burgers, pasta, fish) and a quickly revolving 23-tap selection, Poor Henry's is divided into two distinct sections. To the left, a home-styled dining area with 4-seat tables serves lunch and dinner while the rectangular right side bronze-topped bar (with multiple TV's and blackboard tap listing) maintains a bustling sportsbar appeal. On the side walls, several road signs and auto licenses mix with several craft beer banners from Dogfish Head, Full Sail and Ithaca (plus a green-clover neon sign promoting Heineken and a Guinness ad). The extraordinary bottled specialties on this February 2015 sojourn included Brooklyn K Is For Kriek, Victory Oak Aged Horizontal Barleywine, Clown Shoes Peace Money Can't Buy, Lost Abbey Inferno Belgian Golden, Guinness 1759 Amber Ale eith Smoked Peat, Epic Elder Brett Saison and Allagash Midnight Brett. Grabbing a seat at the bar for a short mid-afternoon jaunt, I down fudgy dessert treat, Neshaminy Creek Coconut Mudbank Milk Stout (reviewed in Beer Index). Afterwards, I return for dinner with wife in tow and the bar has gone from practically empty to completely crowded. So we took a dining table and order two delicious mainstay menu items: Faroe island dilled salmon and Pizza with bacon, sauteed onions and mozzerella. Alongside the food, I consume four samplers of previously untried libations including sessionable Green Flash Jibe IPA and collaborative Du Claw/ Cigar City Impey Barbicane Moongun Amber as well as  Wild Beer Induna Cru Saison (with apples) and Du Claw Hell On Wood Bourbon-aged Barleywine. As much a friendly neighborhood hangout as a great destination spot, Poor Henry's warm, rustic charm will please everyone with its fresh food, interesting brews and cozy atmosphere.  www.poorhenrys.com

DU CLAW HELL ON WOOD BOURBON BARREL AGED BARLEYWINE

On tap at Poor Henry's, excellent Devil's Milk barleywine gets draped in Kentucky white oak bourbon barrels for an intensely complex summertime adventure. Luxurious bourbon sweetness gains light cognac lilt as zesty grapefruit peel bittering and sharp citric hop bite reveal sunny underside girded by pale, wheat and melanoiden malt dryness. On the sweet side, toasted coconut, almondine, maple molasses and toffee illusions gain attention alongside subtler plum-raisin conflux.       DuClaw Hell on Wood Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine

HARPOON UFO GINGERLAND

In bottle: herbal ginger spell outdoes sweet gingerbread spicing and sharp cinnamon stick respite to honeyed Graham Cracker spine. Light lemondrop whim adds mild sourness but stylish brown sugaring lacks.  On tap at Doherty's, pleasant lemony 'ginger ale' retains sessionable simplicity. Soft spiced hops allow ginger-leafed cinnamon and clove accents to spread across pasty Munich malting, but thin mouthfeel precludes advertised gingerbread splendor.

RAVENOUS COFFEE MILK STOUT

On tap at Doherty's, dry milk stout brings Rustica coffee bean roast to nutty chocolate opulence. Beneath the surface, black chocolate, Godiva chocolate, frothy espresso and vanilla bean illusions pop up alongside Brazil nut, hazelnut and cola nut nuances. Soft mineral-watered smoothness provides crisply clean flow for milk-creamed coffee finish. In the bottle circa '18, mild coffee-roasted espresso bean presence competes favorably with bittersweet black chocolate tones and hop-charred walnut-cola conflux, finishing with a silken carbolic briskness.  

EVIL TWIN I LOVE YOU WITH MY STOUT

On tap at Ambulance, masterful gypsy brewer (utilizing Two Roads Brewing) delivers beautifully complex chocolate dessert. Cookie dough yeast surrounds black chocolate frontage as well as creme de cocoa, coconut, toffee, vanilla and almond undertones. Light black cherry sweetness, mild burgundy-port wining and scant raspberry-blackberry tartness scurry across massive mocha-sugared resilience.