Despite its stylistically pigeonholed ‘bitter’ designation and mighty forthright moniker, this toned-down medium body’s easygoing, approachable and nearly tranquil. Its placid floral-hopped pine resin bittering cloaks apple-skinned apricot, nectar, pear and grapefruit dalliances. A fine crossover for pale ale quaffers and open-minded lager heads.
Ambitious midrange libation gathers brown chocolate, vanilla and caramel sweetness alongside spice-hopped fig sugaring to dewy bottom. Buttery toasted graining and mild earthiness affix latent date-breaded nicety. Stylistically accurate, bettering most perplexingly nebulous offerings.
Appeasing citron-hopped briskness will attract lighter thirsts as well as more refined tastes. Mandarin orange, lemon, lime and peach fruiting integrates floral honeysuckle perfuming. Faintest vodka-tinged boozing grapples tertiary clementine, pineapple, apricot and grapefruit illusions to mild biscuit spine.
Easygoing Belgian-styled witbier proffers brisk citric effervescence. Sunny lemon Seltzer spritz spreads across subtle coriander-spiced orange peel sweetness, laidback banana-clove conflux and herbal lemongrass-peppercorn splurge to sourdough honeyed wheat spine. Musty grain wisp and peppery hop bittering merely underscore delicate intricacies.
Vacillating magenta-bodied pink-blushed Belgian-style strong ale aged in French Chardonnay casks offers sweet-tart cherry pureeing to musty lambic-like sour fruiting as crackled carbolic fizz settles down. Mouth-puckering cherry tannins soak into hard cider, raspberry compote, green grape, cranberry and oaken vanilla illusions. Not far removed from rhubarb pie.
Heady German wheat beer hybrid (a.k.a. Scratch Beer Series #57), reminiscent of chocolate-covered cherry dessert, brings raspberry-pureed whiskeyed cherry frontage and fig-dried sugar plum midst to ample brown chocolate sweetness. On the mocha end, there’s Belgian chocolate spicing, chocolate cake richness and cocoa nibs pleasantries resting atop dewy moss. On the fruit side, cherry cordial, cherry jubilee and cherry pie illusions take hold. Well rounded, sufficiently balanced and quite enjoyable.
HERSHEY, PENNSYLVANIA
One of America’s largest and most successful microbreweries, TROEGS BREWING COMPANY began in ‘97 at Pennsylvania’s state capitol, Harrisburg. But increased demand for their malt-heavy beers became so overwhelming the brotherly operation run by Chris and John Trogner had to get bigger digs. As of 2012, their well-respected suds could be found in Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio and Virginia.
Now residing in a large freestanding warehouse (fourteen miles east of its initial location) just down the road from Hershey Park since the fall of 2011, Troegs new taupe-hued Derry Township home features a yellow-backed red-lettered Troegs-canopied insignia above brown aluminum siding and railroad-bound grain silo. Servicing the local community and curious out-of-state brew hounds, its ample front porch leads to a colossal indoor depot stationing a big 100-barrel production facility, enormous tasting room, glass-encased bottling plant, microbiology lab and shop.
After buying a Troegs T-shirt, my wife and I settle in the tasting room alongside dozens of cheerful customers this sunny Friday afternoon in late March 2012. A mini-brewhouse backs the prodigious bar where one lengthy community table and several booths lodge the primed weekend crowd. The high ceilings, exposed ducts and elongated steel fan allow for a haunting echo and The Clash’s vindictively apocalyptic “London Calling” plays loudly while I order up a beer and my wife’s $3 local roast coffee.
On tap today are Troegs’ Dreamweaver Wheat, HopBack Amber, Troegenator Double Bock and JavaHead Stout. The draught version of Dreamweaver seems to have a breadier wheat-cracked banana-clove resonance than the bottled versions I’d previously tried.
Also available this crisp spring day is the marvelous Chocolate Weizenbock, a heady elixir reminiscent of a chocolate-covered cherry dessert beer. Its raspberry pureed whiskeyed cherry frontage and fig-dried sugar plum midst saturate Belgian chocolate spicing. Peculiarly, the wafting Hershey’s chocolate kiss aroma makes this medium-to-full-bodied mocha-fruited brew seem stylishly analogous to the world famous chocolate factory down the street.
As we leave to head South towards Vintage 50 in Leesburg, Virginia, an hour away, dozens of new patrons join the throng of people still imbibing pre-dinnertime drinks. The times are certainly changing. And Troegs keeps getting better and more experimental, keeping the recipes consistent despite major expansion.
SOLOMONS ISLAND, MARYLAND
Tucked away on Chesapeake Bay’s marina-bound Back Creek in Solomons Island, Maryland, RUDDY DUCK BREWERY & GRILL opened July ’09. Argentinean co-owner Carlos Yanez and veteran restaurateur Michael Kelley (formerly Tavern On the Green GM) hooked up with brewer Matt Glass to create this bustling family-oriented sportsbar and restaurant. In a freestanding building next to Hilton Garden Inn, the spacious chalet-styled edifice with brown wood trimming and red brick foundation was packed on Saturday evening as the Final Four college basketball tournament played on one of the bar’s three TV’s this last day of March, 2012.
At the wood-furnished 15-seat bar area were several cocktail tables (with engraved golden duck insignias), inlayed Western-styled flat stone partitions, exposed ducts, nautical paraphernalia, beer-listed blackboards and a left side private lounge. Behind the glass-separated white-walled bar, a huge dining area with high ceilings stretched out far and wide. Opposing the bar near the entrance, the copper kettle tanks stored the house beers and an open kitchen served the food.
My wife and I sat in the bar section eating fish tacos and Mediterranean pizza while watching Kentucky down Louisville to advance into the college-basketball finals. The seared sesame crusted tuna and artichoke spinach dip also looked good. A wonderful bottled beer selection included favorites from Dupont, Ommegang, Aventinus and Corsendonk. But I was here to try Ruddy Duck’s offerings.
While astringent lo-cal Rudd Light (with its bland lemon-limed maize parch and popcorn reminder) and gluten-free Biere Nouveau (a light ale placing raw-honeyed sorghum across sourdough wheat acridity and sugar-free gum droplets) were humdrum, the rest of the lineup fared better.
Traditional autumnal choice, Festbier, brought leafy-hopped foliage and spoiled orange tartness to soft-honeyed Vienna malting, finishing with a sourdough splurge. Soft-tongued Helles Blonde Lager had a dry-honeyed citric blotch and wispy banana bubblegum notch.
More distinct were sweet-buttered Imperial Belgian Wit, a pleasing medium-bodied wheat ale affixing clove-coriander spicing to lemon meringue and mandarin orange subtleties. And juniper hop-embittered Imperial IPA, a briskly fruited winner with honey-malted peach, pear, tangerine, pineapple, grapefruit and honeydew sweetness.
Midlevel IPA ranked just below these with its dry resinous hop bittering and lemon-sugared grapefruit, mango, peach and melon tropicalia.
For dessert, I quaffed Ruddy Duck’s brown-chocolate-sweetened Oatmeal Stout, where fig-dried soy souring, coffee-roasted oats toasting and lactic alkaline acidity purged the expectant mocha malting.
Updated version of Alpine Black IPA given year-round permanence in 2011. Darkly roasted mocha malting deepens blackened hop char and usurps dark-fruited aspect. Caramel-burnt maple pining enhances midrange grapefruit-pineapple tease as well as tertiary black grape, raisin and fig nuances.
TWISTED ELM VALIDATES MR. ROGERS NEW NEIGHBORHOOD
As America’s craft beer revolution continues to move onward and upward at an increasingly fast pace, many fine neighborhood gastropubs have been popping up all over the Garden State. Being one of the latest beer-centric restaurants operating in northern Jersey, Elmwood Park’s TWISTED ELM TAVERN couldn’t possibly have a better regional location. Right next door to popular hot dog and hamburger joint, River View East, at the bustling side-winding corner of River Road just off Routes 4, 46 and 80 (plus the Garden State Parkway), this freestanding pub serves wide-ranging clientele including afternoon businessmen, dinnertime families and nighttime youths.
Celebrating its kitchen-incepted Grand Opening January ’12, but in business as a bar since August ’11, Twisted Elm is experienced restaurateur Jim Rogers latest flourishing endeavor. Retaining a casually elegant upscale charm inside the kitsch-y bygone wagon-wheeled Elmwood Barn, this red brick-based, maroon-paneled, white windowsill-framed space still houses the sturdy oak bar of its previous tenant, but the new wood furnishings, tongue-in-groove plank floor and intimate right side dining sections offer multifarious modernistic aspects. Yet it’s the rustic feel preserved by the crude wood paneled walls that brings a little country comfort to this snug suburban community.
A modest banquet party room features a community table alongside several smaller serving tables while the connected backroom offers a wood-burning stove, high stable ceilings, a few booths and regular seating. The left side 12-stooled U-shaped bar (gathering two TV’s, four side tables, pendant lighting, a blackboard beer list, oak-mantled hearth, exposed beams and Touch Tunes jukebox) supports a private 10-seat lounge with four bay windows.
Prior to owning Twisted Elm, Rogers ran Lodi’s Thirsty Toad (formerly the Rusty Nail) for seven years and, beforehand, headed an Englewood bar. But he was eager to diversify a bit and sought the comfort of a homier bistro-like atmosphere.
“Those were strictly drinking bars,” Lodi native Rogers explains as I down a tapped version of Port Brewing’s delectable Mongo Double IPA. “I’m getting older and I wanted to do more food – a gastropub type establishment. When we’re done serving dinner here, if there’s a bar crowd, we stay open. Otherwise, we close by 11 or 12 on weeknights. But weekends, people are here drinking ‘til 1:30 AM.”
Silent partner, George Kantakis, owner of Rochelle Park’s thriving Associated Wholesale Florist, had the same feel for a beer-centric eatery, so he was brought onboard to help. Then, Rogers approached his good friend, Al Scazafave, to become head chef. A Johnson & Wales alumnus whose love of beer pairing is no secret, Scazafave worked at nearby South City Grill, where Rogers would often stop by for dinner. Both agreed on formulating a creative menu.
The exquisitely prepared food items include pasta dishes and pub classics, but the wood-fired pizzas are just as recommended. Lamb’s Shepherd Pie (with cheddar potato crust) and Mustard Horseradish Crusted Salmon sound great, but on my first visit, I settle on the colossal Tavern Custom Blend Burger (with bacon and Irish cheddar). My pal, Fred, decides to nibble on the mouthwatering Lobster Grilled Cheese after we share the equally fine parmesan-cheesed Carolina Hot Crab Dip with toasted baguettes.
On this cold Monday afternoon in March, the exalted tapped beer selection includes a small but representative group going from Lagunitas Czech Pils and Stoudt’s Pilsner on the lighter end to Great Divide Yeti Stout and Defiant O’Defiant Stout on the dark side. Ballast Point Sculpin IPA, Stone Arrogant Bastard and Goose Island Matilda elevate the strong ale sector. Every day the beer selection changes, but a frequent best seller is Allagash White Ale.
“I’d never been a big beer person, but I’m growing. I’ve got Dogfish Head’s 120 Minute IPA, Worldwide Stout and Barleywine in the walk-in box downstairs,” Rogers confirms. “Certain beers I think are interesting to hold to. I’ve still got Troegs Mad Elf Christmas Beer.”
An upscale vino selection from smaller wineries that get ‘closer to the grape’ (as Twisted Elm sommelier Bianca Miraglia claims) saddles a detailed spirits assortment comprising high end whiskeys, vodkas and cognacs.
Rogers admits, “I wanted a relaxing place you could come to once a month where there was simple food with a little twist to go with good beer as well.”
I return the next day for a late Tuesday afternoon ‘pop’ and get to hang out with bartender Aldo during a quieter session. The just-tapped Sixpoint Crisp Pils, with its yellow-fruited pungency, dank-grained mustiness and bread-crusted backbone, retains a stylistically robust nature that semi-counters Ballast Point Sculpin’s dry-wooded hop musk and harsher grapefruit astringency.
Before heading out, Rogers says, “We’re gonna do a Stone Brewing beer dinner, April 24th, for $55. It’ll be a five-course affair with a beer to match each course. And we’ll use a nice stout and some ice cream for a fountain-glassed beer float. I think it should be fun.”
Two days later on a sunny Thursday I venture back around 4PM just as the bar is filling up with local teachers looking to blow off some steam. This time, I dig into the mussels in white wine sauce, dipping Italian bread smothered in awesome garlic-herbed butter into the broth. A woman across the bar recommends the Beer Brewed Corn Beef on marble rye with grain mustard. And several customers in the lounge area have ordered more than a few Allagash White’s.
Meanwhile, I decide to contrast the two draught stouts on hand. Today, the just-tapped Yard’s Love Stout brings soy-milked dark chocolate roasting and black coffee bittering to toffee sweetness. The dryer O’Defiant Stout stays mellow and smooth, placing creamed coffee mildness over dark chocolate and wispy nuttiness.
As I leave Twisted Elm to get some rest before leaving on a three-day Virginia-Maryland brewpub tour the following morning, there’s no doubt in my mind that word will continue to spread about this cool new craft beer hangout.
Effective collaboration with Hunger Mountain Coop truly exemplifies dichotomous IPA/stout merger. Sweet chocolate-covered cherry frontage picks up piney hop-charred bittering as tan head diminishes. Black cherry, black grape, pineapple and grapefruit crowd Cordial-liquored vigor above dark-roasted caramel malting. Heavy cocoa powdering reinforces mocha side. Ashen wood splurge deepens bitter conviction.
On tap at Twisted Elm, delightful citric-centered West Coast IPA outstandingly balances the bitter with the sweet. Pungent hop-oiled pining and lemony grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering contrast tropical pineapple-tangerine-mango-papaya-melon panoply to floral potpourri backdrop. Sugary crystal malting elevates sweet fruitiness. Stylishly perfect.