DEVIL’S PURSE BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

SOUTH DENNIS, MASSACHUSETTS

Beginning its journey in 2015, South Dennis-based DEVIL’S PURSE BREWING COMPANY crafts slightly offbeat stylistic and mostly easygoing soft-watered brews. Named after an indigenous Cape Cod shark egg, Devil’s Purse came to fruition when local homebrewer Mike Segerson decided to craft a few diversified Euro style brews.   

Inside a garage-like brick warehouse, the standing room only interior of Devil’s Purse has the feel of a blue collar pub with its cement floor, aluminum overhead doors and general rustic appeal. A benched patio with green turf provides outside seating.

My wife and I visited late September ’24 before heading north to Truro for body surfing. After enjoying six rangy brews around lunchtime, we took home Stonehorse Citra IPA and Pollock Rip IPA (both reviewed in Beer Index).

Soft-toned Wellfleets Rice Lager brought sake-like rice wining to briny oyster minerality, gaining mild lemon limed yuzu tartness and spritzy champagne sparkle above maize-dried white breading.

Geman Hallertau hops allow lemony green grape tannins to intensify mildly effervescent Devil’s Purse flagship, Handline Kolsch, attaching spicy citrus zesting to fresh-cut grassiness over lightly buttered French breaded Weyermann malt dryness.

Minty shiso leaf minting lightly grazed pureed raspberry and blackberry tartness atop delicate rice and oats flaked pilsner malting for Shiso Berry Ale, picking up strawberry rhubarb pie, sparkling rose, guava and boysenberry illusions.

Waxy tropical fruiting guided Floating Neutral IPA, regaling zestful lemony grapefruit bittering, brisk orange peel sweetness and sour guava salting as light pine resin drifted into crystal pale malt sugaring.

Milk-sugared coffee and dark chocolate fronted Powder Hole Porter, relegating its creamy caramel center.

Briny oyster shelled musk infiltrated the dark-roast burnt coffee sear and bittersweet dark chocolate syruping of Intertidal Oyster Stout, leaving dried cocoa, espresso, chicory, walnut and Blackstrap molasses remnants.

During Devil’s Purse revisit early June ’26 on a humidly sunny Saturday afternoon at the Cape, tried four stylishly eccentric elixirs at one of the white umbrella-lined picnic tables adorning the turfed parking lot biergarten.

Aged on oak, “experimental” light lager, Town Water, let cold-fermented crisping provide clean-watered mineral base for sour lemon must and mild herbal whims relegating its delicate sourdough breading.

Uncommon ‘hoppy pale ale,’ Table Beer, combined dry lime juiced adjunct with citric yuzu, white grapefruit, Meyer lemon and Mandarin orange pleasantries, picking up slight herbal musk at the zesty sunshiny finish.

Dill pickled green peppering and mild jalapeno burn anchored Spicy Pickle Lager, slipping limey soapstone parch thru subtle briny pungency settling above mineralized amber graining.

Indigenous German-styled amber ale, Charlene’s Dream, a nebulous altbier, sank desiccated orange pekoe tea musk, dewy peat and musty fungi into murky dry rye malts.   

BARNSTABLE BREWING

United States Brewpubs,

BARNSTABLE, MASSACHUSETTS

Inside the village of Hyannis at the town of Barnstable, family-owned BARNSTABLE BREWING opened September ’17. Hidden away in a residential Cape Cod neighborhood, the cornflower blue shingled pub features a marble granite top bar with corrugated aluminum siding, two draught boards with twelve taps, rustic white walls and wood floors, low exposed pipes and two centralized TV’s.

A silver silo out back leads patrons to the Adirondack-chaired wood covered deck and a plank-wooded aquamarine enclosure with beautiful painted ocean design. Specializing in a wide range of approachable brews, my wife drank the blueberry ale while I sunk eleven five-ounce offerings on our September ’24 Cape Cod trip.

Dandy summertime light body, Blueberry Ale, let its sweetly sour blueberry spritz pick up phenol floral-spiced hop astringency over honeyed wheat.

Traditional helles light lager, Cape Crusher, prodded raw honeyed orange oiling and dank lemon musk with corn-dried biscuity malts.

Peaty Irish yeast provided mossy earthiness for lightly creamed Irish Blonde, a spiffy pilsner malted moderation with mild citrus spicing.

Interestingly offbeat saison, Spiced Resverie, placed tart lemon meringue piquancy, orange-peeled coriander spicing and buttery Chardonnay wining across black peppered sage and saffron, leaving its stylish barnyard rusticity way in the fruit soured back end.

Sharp brown-sugared cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice seasoning got sprinkled with vanilla-daubed waffle cone sugaring and wispy floral perfuming for busy autumnal Wobbly Jack Pumpkin Ale, regaling rich pumpkin pie essence.

Caramelized rye saturated Bock This Way, a spirited maibock with dry bourbon whiskey tones, oaken vanilla tartness and recessive cocoa powdering.

Flagship Imperial IPA, Jesuit Juice, evenly spread zesty lemon, grapefruit, navel orange and peach zing atop sugary pale malts as tertiary cantaloupe, guava and papaya whims waver.

Waxy fruited New England IPA, Two Jesuits Walk Into A Brewery, allowed mild yellow grapefruit-peeled orange bittering and sour guava-passionfruit-gooseberry tartness to reach buttery pale malts.

Dark-roast coffee and black chocolate bittering stayed upfront for rich mocha porter, Portah, hiding black grape, black cherry and fig subtleties near its burnt caramel bottom.

As for sweetened up variant, Coconut Portah, toasted coconut and honeyed Graham Cracker picked up distant chestnut-almond conflux above brown chocolate base.

Nitro version of Here’s The Keys Barleywine retained toasted caramel sweetness for rum raisin, stewed prune and dried plum.

OAK BAY BREWERY

United States Brewpubs,

A hidden gem on Main Street in downtown Hyannis, family owned and operated OAK BAY BREWERY opened its doors, Memorial Day 2024. A black awning with white Oak Bay lettering welcomes patrons to the harmonious bungalow-like nanobrewery. Nestled amongst thrift shops, boutiques and music stores, this alleyway pub features a cozy pergola-topped courtyard with plastic furnishings to go alongside its tiny oak-lacquered barroom (with four-seat table, stark wood floor and white ceiling).

Oak Bay’s silver stainless steel tanks feed directly into the draught lines and a small pub food menu suffices. My wife and I settled in on a warm September afternoon ’24 to sample four brisk golden hued offerings.

An interesting witbier variant, Marlo Whit, united salty mango, sweet peach, Chinese plum, kumquat and kiwi tropicalia with stylishly sweet orange-peeled coriander spicing above its honeyed pale wheat bottom.

Made with phenol fruited Omega yeast ale, Irish Blonde Ale, NormAle, draped barley-flaked pale malt buttering atop dewy peat, mild herbage and raw-honeyed orange oil.

Soft-toned New England IPA, El Zapparado, let raw-honeyed oated wheat creaming seep thru subtle mandarin orange, white grapefruit, white peach, guava and cherry seduction.  

Spirited West Coast IPA, Rooks, laced its floral yellow grapefruit and orange peel tang with sour passionfruit, sweet apricot and red apple goodness in a lightly lacquered wood setting given spicy caramel malting.        

ICARUS KALASHNIKOFFEE IMPERIAL STOUT W/ MAPLE SYRUP & VANILLA BEAN

Beers A-Z,

On tap at Taphouse 15, dazzling Buffalo Trace bourbon-aged Kalashnikoffee variant segues perfectly from brown-sugared maple vanilla resonance to bittersweet dark cocoa richness. Draping bourbon-sweetened heavy maple syrup onto spunky Madagascar vanilla beaning thickens its oncoming mocha penetration, imparting lovely medium-roast Sumatra coffee tones (given mildly hop-charred black peppering).

MAGNIFY 9TH ANNIVERSARY SUNDAE BORN DAY BIRTHDAY CAKE IMPERIAL STOUT

Beers A-Z,

On tap at Taphouse 15, luxuriously detailed Sundae-creamed birthday caking soaked in Willett Barrels for seven years and conditioned on Rice Krispies and coffee drapes fudgy dark chocolate syruping all over its confectionery vanilla cake-battered affluence. In the recess, bruised black cherry, stewed prune and rum raisin deepen its rich dessert resolve.