Finely hybridized ‘Wisconsin Farmhouse Wheat Beer’ blends herbaceous white-peppered Belgian ale yeast with sweet banana-cloved German hefeweiss. Sharp-spiced lemon hop salting pierces banana breaded midst to gentle harvest-grained pale wheat bottom.
OCHAKOVO LAGER
Droll straw-yellowed light body slouches forth with dainty French-breaded sourdough wisp and corn-sugared caramel malting. But oily hop astringency, buttery popcorn indifference and light skunking obliterate delicate tendencies of compromised pale lager.
OCHAKOVO BLACK LAGER
Indistinct cola-browned dark lager never fully integrates. Murky oatmeal-sugared chocolate malting and dewy molasses sapping undone by dirty watered swill. Black licorice snip and wispy nuttiness lost at the dire mocha finish.
(WYCHWOOD) KING GOBLIN DARK ENGLISH ALE
Elegantly soft-toned dark ale brings dry-spiced crystal malt sugaring to caramel-burnt dried fruiting. Subtle plum-fig-date-pecan conflux gains momentum. Sharp earthen hop astringency rubs up against dewy cellared must.
NORTH JERSEY CRAFT BEER STORES
Each of the following craft beer stores has a vital selection of microbrews from New Jersey and beyond.
B & B Liquor & Wine
13-05 River Road
Fair Lawn, NJ
Diamond Wine & Liquor
203 Diamond Bridge Avenue
Hawthorne, NJ
Ramsey Liquors
47 West Main Street
Ramsey, NJ
Super Cellars
32 South Broad Street
Ridgewood, NJ
Queen Anne Wine & Spirits Emporium
247 De Graw Avenue
Teaneck, NJ
Wine & Beverage Depot
823 Riverview Drive
Totowa, NJ
SPOT PIZZA GRILL
POINT PLEASANT, NEW JERSEY
While staying at popular Jersey Shore haven, the White Sands Resort, August ’13, found upbeat pizza-beer joint, THE SPOT PIZZA GRILL, one mile west of Point Pleasant’s beach and boardwalk. Perfect for family dining, business gatherings and beer geeks, this roomy sportsbar-geared neighborhood cafe opened in 2010. Located directly behind Spirits Unlimited (one of 25 Ocean and Monmouth liquor chains), its earth-toned stacked slate columns provide a stellar bucolic tone enhanced by pendant lighting, ceiling fans and exposed pipes.
Besides having arguably the best pizza in town, The Spot’s central bar features 20 tap handles serving regular fare such as Guinness Stout, Smithwicks, Blue Moon, Yuengling and Budweiser alongside several local faves by Carton, Kane, East Coast and Flying Fish (as well as nationally recognized micros by Starr Hill, Ithaca, Founders, Lagunitas, Allagash and Leinenkugel). The varied bottle selection will also please beer aficionados. Dining booths and TV’s surround the bar at every angle.
Seated at the open air front deck with family in tow, my wife and I share Arugula Pizza (garlic-oiled tomatos, bruschetta, pancetta bacon and oregano) after quaffing white wine-sauteed drunken clams and blackened tuna appetizers. My kids thoroughly enjoyed the thin crust pizza and black angus burger. A local artist plays Harry Chapin’s melancholy epic “Taxi” at the makeshift stage just past the entrance foyer as I consume Starr Hill Double Platinum IPA and East Coast’s Beach Haus Cruiser IPA.
The Spot wants to be a ‘foremost retro-diner with an Irish pub fare.’ Happily, it’s all that and more. A second location one-half hour north at Toms River in a tan-bricked building (also housing Spirits Unlimited) with 25-seat central bar and sidled dining tables is also worthy.
PEAK ORGANIC SUMMER SESSION ALE
On tap at Track 84, dry pale wheat ale gets hybridized with West Coast pale ale styling for moderate summertime refresher. Musty raw-honeyed graining and resinous Amarillo hop bittering saddle lemony grapefruit-peeled orange rind, pineapple and peach illusions. Leathery hay-barnyard-alfalfa acridity and herbal peppercorn-lemongrass snip add depth to approachable fare. In bottle, happily predictable fare gains perky lemon zest spritz and mild white peppering above rye-breaded nicety.
WOODSTOCK INN KANC COUNTRY MAPLE PORTER
On tap at Track 84, muddled cola-hazed medium body never fully integrates. Murky maple sugaring depleted by raw molasses acridity and day-old coffee nuttiness. Brown-sugared black patent malting and chalky black chocolate snip lose luster.
NEBRASKA HOP GOD BELGIAN STYLE IPA AGED IN CHARDONNAY BARRELS
Highly expressive triple-hopped Belgian IPA aged in Chardonnay barrels improves upon winning original recipe by increasing fruitful bliss with boozy white-wined banter. Floral-tinged lemon peel, grapefruit, peach, pineapple, nectar and cherry illusions receive gin-soaked Chardonnay buttering and sweet banana dacquiri swirl above earthy white-peppered basil-thyme herbage. Dry oak tannins soften citric-spiced hop bittering. Syrupy honey-combed caramel sugaring completes the score.
GREAT DIVIDE 19TH ANNIVERSARY STRONG ALE
On tap at Three Wise Monks, boozy celebrator brings caramelized birch syrup to brandy-fueled fruiting. Orange-bruised apple buttering and tangy pineapple-peach-tangerine-melon juicing meld to vanilla-creamed coconut milking. Grand Marnier, brandy and tequila snips crowd the vodka fruited finish.
OSKAR BLUES/ SUN KING THE DEUCE BROWN ALE
On tap at Three Wise Monks, busy hybridized ‘hopped up’ brown ale collaboration pleats mocha porter sweetness to IPA-fruited dark saison souring. Chocolate-covered cherry tartness straddles soured red grape esters and ripe nectar juicing. Ashen hop bittering and chalky cocoa acridity contrast its chewy caramel core.
BLUE MOON ROUNDER BELGIAN-STYLE PALE ALE
Vapid summertime moderation with negligible orange-peeled hibiscus influence and musty phenol spicing fails to make proper impact. Bland cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg illusions drape weak caramel malting. Pallid Belgian yeast strain is insufficient and ill-defined, lacking peppery citric resolve.
