Crisp IPA-like citric fruiting and bitter piney hop resin boost dry medium-bodied delight past simple pale ale styling. Brisk yellow grapefruit-peeled orange rind tang lingers above sappy pine-needled prickle and sugary caramel malting. Zesty lemon snip and grassy herbal respite deepen fruitful conviction.
On tap at Ginger Man, expressive New Orleans espresso dolce bean affords luxurious coffee uprising for fascinatingly authentic ’14 milk stout. Lactic chicory-smoked black chocolate undertones, muted ashen nuttiness and wispy vanilla hints reinforce bittersweet oats-roasted coffee theme. A classic stylistic representative.
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK
From its humble Houston digs in 1985, the original Texas-based GINGER MAN was considered the first multi-tap bar in America. Quite a huge statement considering the Lone Star state’s more conservative liquor laws. More than a decade hence, GINGER MAN’s prime midtown Manhattan franchise instantly gained a sterling reputation from beer geeks and snobs far and wide upon opening in ’96.
An Olde World-styled Irish-spirited pub with Gothic lamps hanging above a cozily cavernous wood-leathered interior, this charmingly classicist Herald Square beer haven serves some of New York’s greatest tapped selections alongside excellent single malt Scotches and worthy pub fare. Two bronze-backed serving stations at the 25-stool right bar offer 66 draughts listed on a crowded cardboard menu (alongside 160-plus bottled selections). A back lounge with couches and tables serves as an easygoing alcove retreat.
Sitting at one of the crimson suede-designed left side pews, my two colleagues dig into cask conditioned versions of Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA while I sample six previously untried brews on this dank Monday afternoon. For lunch, the Cobb Salad is crisp and fresh while the Shepherd’s Pie is undeniably rich. For dessert, we get amazing cinnamon-sugared soft pretzels with honey mustard.
While Dortmunder-styled Riegele Commerzienrat Privat stayed mildly creamed and delicately grassy hopped, dry-bodied old ale Greenport Harbor Anti-Freeze brought soft-toned dewy peat to dark-spiced dry fig and molasses breading. Brooklyn Oishi Belgian Session Ale layered lemony curacao orange above plastique lemongrass tones.
Those easygoing starters were blown away by winningly peculiar Founders Mango Magnifico Con Calor, a tropical mango-juiced fruit ale with throat-clearing habanero burn. Smooth oak-aged Element ESO (English strong ale) tasted just like dry Scotch and Abita Macchiato Stout featured a monstrously peppery espresso-like coffee roast. Full reviews in Beer Index.
Based on a classic post-war novel by American playwright JP Donleavy, each Ginger Man franchise does the legacy proud with uncommon bohemian ambiance meeting elegantly upscale vintage decor.
www.gingerman-ny.com
PERKASIE, PENNSYLVANIA
Perched between Philly to the south and Allentown to the north, Bucks County’s rural industrial village of Perkasie blends old farmhouses with small mills outside its red-bricked downtown perimeter. Inside a basement warehouse, FREE WILL BREWING CO. opened for business during January 2012.
Originating at a tiny 800 square foot garage before moving into its current spacious 8,600 square foot Walnut Street walkdown, Free Will now sells a heap of growlers, kegs and bottles to the surrounding community.
Established by brewmaster John Stemler and managing partner Dominic Capece, the capacious microbrewery serves free samples to walk-in customers at its raw, cement-floored, 14-draught tasting room. The windowed left side brew tanks occupy only half the remaining space but expansion seems imminent.
Stopping by mid-January ’14 in the late afternoon, I got to enjoy healthy 6-ounce samplers as the place filled up quickly with enthusiastic local minions and travelling beer geeks like myself.
Tasting room manager, Michael Standish, offered friendly tidbits and helpful flavor illusions concerning each beer. He claimed, “I’m a Scotch and bourbon man by heart, but now I also enjoy the art of drinking craft beers.”
His favorite Free Will offering, 7 Course Red, an easygoing Irish-styled medium body, brought roasted coffee and sweet chocolate to wispy caramel-spiced red fruiting.
A few more soft-toned brews captured my attention thereafter.
Destiny’s Wit, a reliable Belgian white ale, scattered mild white-peppered orange and lemon peel bittering across coriander-spiced candi-sugared Belgian yeast and banana-chipped lemon meringue pie.
Another well-rounded moderation, Saison De Rose, gathered lemony pink grapefruit, black-peppered pink peppercorn and ginger-leafed hibiscus for its herbaceous floral-fruited climax.
Despite loading 200-plus IBU’s and 10% alcohol volume into its soft-toned veneer, Sputnik 17 Chasing The Dragon managed to stay deceivingly laid-back for a full-on India Pale Ale. Tropical yellow-pink grapefruit, pineapple and lemon pick up grassy-hopped peach-pear-apple undertones.
Based on the second grain runnings of Black Friday Belgian Quad (an apple brandy-barreled elixir), Sputnik 20 worked well as a hybridized English bitter with crisply clean mineral watering countering earthen dewy musk and murky mocha mustiness.
After these libations, I bought a 6-pack of fabulous Free Will C.O.B. (Coffee Oatmeal Brown), a nutty coffee-ground roasted dark ale with dry pale-malted hop bitterness contrasting dark chocolate, vanilla, hazelnut and molasses tones (reviewed fully in Beer Index).
YARDLEY, PENNSYLVANIA
A few blocks away from the Delaware River in the bohemian Bucks County village of Yardley lies VAULT BREWING COMPANY. Opened October 11, 2012, its historic Cathedral-like brownstone frontage and stoic Goth-like visage stand out amongst the rural downtown surroundings.
Formerly a bank with a large vault (hence the name), its metal lattice and bronze-topped tables exude an archaic Romanesque feel further defined by stucco-textured tan walls, plum-hued barroom ceiling, incandescent street lamps, tin crown moulding, mirrored bar canope, mahogany-framed green marble columns and bronze beer tanks (utilized as pizza ovens in the open kitchen).
Besides making fine craft beer, the retired safety deposit boxes contain vintage stored wines. Four brass brew tanks behind the roomy six-seat bar contain today’s five available beers ranging from summer soft to heavily roasted.
Free jazz plays as my wife and I grab a table in the far left corner during lunchtime mid-January ’14. The menu features flatbread pizzas with beer-infused dough, sandwiches, panninis and salads. We settle for the excellent Wild Mushroom Pizza with bleu-cheesed honey, garlic truffle ricotta and caramelized onions.
As for the libations, sunnily upbeat Sorachi Ace Blonde brought herbal citric pleasantries to the fore as its lemon-peeled yellow grapefruit sugaring received mild lemongrass, vanilla and coconut vagaries.
Tropical-fruited Galaxy Pale Ale layered yellow grapefruit, white peach and lemon seed tartness above a pungent grain-toasted hop bittering reminiscent of robust Czech or German lagers.
Truly defining, the milder and less tart second batch of Cherry Dunkelweizen provided ample black cherry puree bluster to banana-clove-vanilla sweetness, dried plum-fig-grape illusions, wheat-honeyed apple ripeness and sharp hop spicing.
Piney grapefruit and pineapple embittered the dark chocolate roast and dried cocoa powdering of stylishly rewarding Cascadian Dark Ale.
For dessert, the smooth nitro version of The Vault’s Breakfast Stout maintained a luxurious La Colonbe coffee bean roast sweetened by Vermont maple syrup as well as bourbon-tinged dark chocolate, vanilla and cookie dough nuances.
AMBLER, PENNSYLVANIA
At an inconspicuous corner in a rustic old Victorian homestead with a white-fenched porch near the center of Ambler’s small center of town resides FOREST & MAIN BREWERY & PUB. Open for business since April 2012, the quaint English-styled plank-floored pub sixteen miles north of Philly relies on its cozy ambiance to set the proper relaxed atmosphere. During 2022, the pub expanded its capacity with a second location on Butler Avenue.
Specializing in small-batch British and Belgian styled beers while offering a fine rotating food menu (Roasted Guinea Hen with butternut squash and braised leeks, Croque Madame pork rillette with egg-fried green tomato jam and Parmesan Gnocchis), this Montgomery County hotspot keeps gaining respect.
The intimately candlelit green-walled bar room has four barstools and several chairs along the walls. A private right side dining space and two upstairs lounges get serviced by the backroom kitchen and rear brewtanks. A draught menu to the right of the bar lists three disparate saisons, one cask-conditioned Extra Special Bitter and one mocha-laden dark ale during my initial two-hour mid-January ’14 twilight jaunt.
As Beck’s tantilizing retro-rocker “Hot Summer Girl” emulates from the speakers, I dig into St. Mary’s Saison, an approachable ‘classic’ saison that borders on a golden ale with its crisply dry grassy-hopped citric entry. A wild yeast strain brings leathery barnyard, hay and herbal notions to the resilient lemony grapefruit-orange tartness.
Next up, dry-hopped Farmhouse-styled Saison Aloof brought a fresh floral bouquet to peppery coriander-spiced fruiting. Its lemon-pitted grapefruit-peach-nectarine tartness superceded banana bubblegum whims.
Just as good, sessionable light-bodied flagship Folk Saison draped lemon-soured brettanomyces acidity above compost-wafted lemongrass-peppercorn-wheatgrass illusions and coriander-salted leathering.
Hand-pulled Tiny Tim took British malts on an ESB trail where dewy peat and herbal-tinged grains softly recline atop the dry rye backbone.
For a robustly complex dessert treat, Gmork Imperial Stout lathered creamy molasses-smoked dark chocolate malts across oats-charred hop bittering, soured dried fruiting and oaken bourbon notions, leaving ancillary Baker’s chocolate, roasted coffee, dark cocoa, chocolate cake, hazelnut, anise and toffee illusions in its rich wake.
Perfect as a casual neighborhood cafe or nifty beer-centric destination spot, Forest & Main’s just another welcome addition to the revolutionary 21st century craft beer crusade.
On my second trip to Forest & Main, the brewery, now a seven-barrel nano system, had expanded with an ivy-lined front porch and white subway-tiled right side bar featuring community tables and a small stage. In seven years of operation, the pub’s now crafted over 300 different one-off beers.
Dry Chinook/ Huell Melon-hopped Evening King IPA plied lemony passionfruit, gooseberry and kiwi tartness to orange blossom-honeyed wheated oats with cool assurance.
Pleasantly wheated dark ale, Running Friend, a mixed culture sour saison, let sharply spiced orange-dried lemon rot infiltrate mildly vinous green grape acidity, hard cider bittering and tart plum-prune sedation.
Bright Mosaic-hopped IPA, Secret Kind, allowed lemony orange-candied tanginess to saturate sugary wheated oats, leaving minor wood shavings at the fruited tail end.
Cold-brewed coffee insistence overlaid nuttily-oated Maris Otter malts for casked dry stout, Man & Bear, a lightly creamed sedation with charcoal-stained Goldings hop astringency battling back chocolate brownie residue.
A true community watering hole, you’ll find sundry locals of every race, creed and sociopolitical affiliation at the fabulous Forest & Main.
EXTON, PENNSYLVANIA
A long-time staple amongst Chester County’s newsprung gastropubs, THE DRAFTING ROOM TAPROOM & GRILLE began serving fabulous local brews in ’94 – way before the craft beer renaissance took hold permanently. Back then, Victory, Troegs and Stoudts were just starting to receive underground plaudits as the Keystone State’s finest microbreweries. But nowadays, new breweries and beerpubs, big and small, keep turning up everywhere.
Located at Exton’s Colonial 100 strip mall in a glass-windowed red brick edifice, The Drafting Room also operates a second successful pub in nearby Spring House. Serving fine Americana fare alongside well-chosen wines and spirits, both spots cater to families, local businessmen and beer geeks equally. At Exton, plentiful left side dining is available in two rooms across from the quaint 12-seat marble-topped bar at the far right (with 3 TV’s).
During my initial January ’14 visit, I passed up Sunday brunch for dinner, finding three previously untried draught beers from Pennsylvania Maryland and Illinois at my afternoon session. Though only 13 tap handles (and one hand-pulled cask condition station) are currently on hand, there’s a large cooler with 100-plus craft beers for on-site and off-site consumption plus 70-plus single malt Scotches.
While alternative rock played in the background, I consumed floral grapefruit-yellowed Victory Hop Ranch, cider-sweetened Flying Dog Orchard Ale and barleywine-fruited Two Brothers Revelry (all reviewed in Beer Index).
After getting my daughter at Philly airport from joyful Jamaican jaunt, my wife and I came back for dinner. And we wouldn’t be disappointed. I chowed down chicken wings and delicious Turkey Melt (on pecan raisin bread with aged Swiss cheese, peach lager jam, arugula and sweet potato fries) while my other half enjoyed Warm Tuscan Dip (mozzarella cheese, sun-dried tomatos, roasted garlic, artichokes and celery).
For dessert, Drafting Room 19th Anniversary Ale (a celebratory Imperial IPA recipe brewed at Troegs) brought mellow Chinook-hopped bittering and wispy grassy-grained musk to tropical grapefruit, pineapple and peach bluster.
Richly creamed milk stout collides luscious chocolate eclair sweetness and chocolate liqueur syruping with bruised black cherry tartness. Blackened hop char brings tarry bittering to the fore. Ancillary coffee roast burrows thru the fudgy vanilla midst to its dashing cherry cordial finish. Excellent dessert beer for chocolate cake lovers.
Modest hybridized fruit-forward Czech pilsner (circa 2013) brings white pear tea and fermented pear juicing to toned down Saaz hop earthiness. Complacent Bosc and Chinese pear subtleties flutter across herbal-nipped florality, leaving sweet ‘n sour lemony grapefruit-orange spritz to contrast depleted husked corn astringency as well as barren chamomile-green tea nuances. It’s like a laid-back pear cider.
On tap at Three Wise Monks, easygoing India Pale Ale competes favorably with brewers’ similarly styled and more pungent Hop Ranch (via 2013). Beautiful yellow and pink grapefruit overtones ride above piney whole-coned Chinook-Citra-Simcoe bittering, creamy crystal malting and gorgeous floral bouquet. Apple, pear, melon, peach and tangerine fruiting sweetens stylish grapefruit, pineapple and orange tang. Passive mango, papaya, passionfruit and guava tropicalia hidden beneath the surface.
On tap at The Drafting Room, indelible yellow grapefruit-juiced entry picks up floral-daubed tropicalia over pungent whole-coned hop bittering and piney hemp oiling. Tart orange-peeled lemon rind crisping deepens tangy pineapple-mango-papaya-nectarine-tangerine undertones for fruitful delight.
On tap at The Drafting Room, lulling fruited moderation utilizes locally pressed apples, but fails to truly intrigue. Sweet cider stead too ineffective against murky hop astringency and flailing lemon-peeled bittering. Vinous green grape tartness never fully integrates with sweet ‘n sour red apple signature.
