Friendly rustic villages like tiny Luckenbach (postal back bar), Greune (barn-like pub at water tower), Bandera (wood-floored Arkey Blues and cowboy hangout 11th Street Bar), and Kerrville offered standard bottled Texas fare by Lone Star, Pearl, and Shiner, March ‘04.
But the diamond in the rough is nearby FREDERICKSBURG BREWPUB, a glass-fronted Main Street ale house with a friendly cafe-styled dining area, tidy biergarten, and second floor Bed And Brew hotel.
On this sunny spring afternoon, the crowded pub tendered award-winning red-fruited, bitter-hopped Harper Valley IPA, mocha-soft, oats-charred hop-roasted Oatmeal Stout, dry-bodied, coffee-nutty, black cherry-backed Pioneer Porter, tangy orange-soured, berry-shaded, wood-smoked Enchanted Rock Red Ale and sugary, soft-hopped, wheat-backed Pedernales Pilsner.
Rotating tap lineup changes frequently, so check listings.
Houston-based college pal, Bob Conley, served as guide for my jaunt across Lone Star plains March ‘04. In Houston, two Spec’s Liquor Stores had finest beer selection, including local finds by Shiner, Saint Arnold, Great Grains, and Yellow Rose (reviewed in Beer Index).
Day trip to San Antonio’s BLUE STAR BREWPUB (established 1996) uncovered preferable nut-browned wood-burnt coffee-embittered Irish-styled Stout, feisty fruity-hopped Pale Ale, grain-deepened yellow-fruited Golden Lager, red-fruited off-dry bitter King William Ale, fig-dried hop-fizzed Spring Bock and buttery sludge Apache Amber.
Outside Sun Devil Stadium promenade lies high-walled, red-bricked, patio-fronted, bar-centered FOUR PEAKS BREWERY, visited January ‘05. Glass-encased Elvis memorabilia and large brew tanks festoon commodious interior while pizzas, sandwiches, burgers, and Southwest cuisine dot the menu.
Mildly phenol Fools Gold, tangy peach-bruised wheat-sugared Arizona Peach, tame citric-hopped The Raj IPA, wispy grapefruit-apple-peach-soaped flagship Kiltlifter Scottish Ale, sour-fruited perfume-hopped 8th Street Ale, tart banana-fronted clove-centered Hefeweizen and cologne-draped red-fruited pine-resinous bitter Hop Knot American Ale paled next to chocolate-sweet mocha-mellowed vanilla coffee-creamed Oatmeal Stout.
Bottled versions of Kiltlifter and 8th Street Ale available locally.
In the heart of the city down the hill from Syracuse University lies SYRACUSE SUDS FACTORY, visited July ’05 (closed 2022). The first brewery in this college town since 1962 (others were forced to close due to after-effects of prohibition), this spacious saloon is situated in a rustic brick building.
Green-walled interior featured brew tanks at frontage, an outdoor side patio, leftside dining area, billiards section, and central bar (with multiple televisions and pastel saloon murals). Wood chairs, tables, and cozy booths line the bar zone where deli sandwiches, soup, salad, and championship gumbo are served alongside Norman Soine’s sturdy brew selection.
The most expressive brews included two contrasting fruit-based winners, the deeply embittered, currant-berry-fronted, orange peel-sharpened, birch-pined Pale Ale and mellow, oak-dried, cherry-soured, white grapeskin-tannic Black Cherry Lambic.
Fizzy-hopped buttery popcorn-like Honey Light Alewill appease amateurs, but syrupy honey-soured dry-spiced wheat-huskedIrish Red, maple-sapped walnut-dried apple-soured Brown Ale and dry coffee-beaned, chocolate-powdered, cherry-dabbedSweet Stout should please more informed thirsts.
January ’04 visitation to rural Penn State campus led me to two tiny specialty beer stores handily named Brewsky’s Bottle Shops (one at Days Inn). Zeno’s Restaurant on Allen Street offered wide selection of international finds and local faves. Cricklewood Drive’s American Ale House & Grill was deemed worthy.
April ’06, found OTTO’S PUB & BREWERY north of Penn State campus. Opened 2002, freestanding lodge-styled side-decked wood building had tucked-in left side bar with stool-table dining space plus additional frontal and right side eating areas.
Snacks, sandwiches, burgers, pasta, and nightly specials go well with stylishly diverse beer menu (enhanced by excellent seasonal selections).
Respected standard fare included sharply citric-faded, red-fruited, Centennial-Cascade-hopped, tea-honeyed Mt. Nittany Pale Ale, smooth, biscuit-buttered, banana nut-breaded, pastry-like Hefeweizen, woody-hopped grapefruit-centered wheat-dried Pilsner Lager and mildly orange peel-embittered, floral-hopped, nut-smitten, creamy-frothed Arthur’s Best Bitter.
Noteworthy seasonal brews quaffed were vibrant Chinook-hopped apple-peach-pear-orange-toned Double D IPA, nitro-injected Irish-styled hop-roasted nutty-bottomed coffee-tinged Black Mo Stout and elegant Bourbon-Aged Old Fugget Barleywine – a creamy whiskey-doused sureshot gathering overripe fig-banana-cherry fervor above herbal currant nuance.
Upon one-day April ’08 college tour junket, imbibed mandarin orange-fronted, herbal-spiced, peppery-hopped, cane-sugared, peach-grape-tinged Maibock and tangy apricot-lacquered, orange-juiced wheat-cracked Apricot Wheat.
During 2010, Otto’s moved down the street next to Fairfield Inn on North Atherton Street.
Though northerly neighbors Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire boast richer craft beer heritages, Connecticut doesn’t lag far behind, despite several unnamed brewpubs falling by the wayside during the formative ‘90s. SOUTHPORT BREWING COMPANY (with locations in Southport, Branford, Hamden, and Milford) still thrives. SBC Downtown in Stamford (closed due to landlord dispute summer ’24), with its blue-suited gorilla mascot, brick oven pizza and American cuisine, featured a decent array of compatible brews, September ‘04.
The intriguingly deviant Palace Pilsener, flaunting unusual beechwood-smoked Band-Aid frontage juxtaposing soured citrus finish, as well as the dry cherry coughdrop-induced mocha-licked Stam Porter, were most adventurous.
Wheat-husked green-hopped citron-like Big Head Blonde, buttery grass-dried lemon-souredRippowam Lager, red-fruited dry-spiced Stamford Red, mild-grained tea-like Big Head Brewnette Brown Ale, nectar-bruised pumpkin-induced seasonal Southoberfest and sedate dry maltedBull’s Head English Pale Ale provided adequate backup.
Finally revisited downtown Stamford bedrock, January ’13, on a brutally blustery winter’s night at supper time. My wife and I reinvestigated two upgraded SBC staples plus four previously untried libations over Cobb Salad and hummus.
Sitting by one of the side-windowed booths at the green-walled 12-stooled right side bar (with 5 TV’s), we opened the evening with the sessionable standard fare. Big Head Blonde gathered grassy-hopped lemon peel tartness, bark-dried hard wood astringency and wheat biscuit sweetness for a light-bodied trinket suitable for pilsner fans.
Big Head Brewnette, an amber-marooned English Brown Ale, garnered fig-spiced dried fruiting, distant dark nuttiness and perfumed hops.
Heartier thirsts will appreciate mild-mannered Porter, with its stove-burnt coffee roast and oats-charred black chocolate bittering picking up washed-out walnut and Brazil nut nuances.
Clay-like Helpline English Pale Ale allowed peat-grained minerality to influence yellow-fruited honeyed malts.
Better still: Big Chill Winter Warmer brought sugar-spiced dried fruiting to honey-glazed caramel malts, placing bruised banana sweetness ahead of candied fig, sugarplum and dark cherry notions.
For dessert, Mambo Bock proved truly essential with its sugared fig, sweet banana and bruised cherry conflux creating a sensational digestif on par with the best bottom-fermented strong lagers.
In a tan commercial building on Route 1, this foremost SOUTHPORT BREWING COMPANY crafts many of the same beers the other four SBC locations rely upon. A small outdoor deck and right side dining area compensate 20-seat left side bar with wood furnishings, exposed ducts, windowed brew tanks, and four televisions.
Brewer Frank Del Greco joined me as I sampled his suitable dry-bodied offerings, March ‘09.
Regulars regale grass-dried raw-grained honey-soured Bighead Blonde (first tried four years hence at Stamford SBC), dry tea-like fig-zipped caramel-centered Fairfield Red and light wood-bound hop-oiled white-breaded Czech-styled Mill Hill Pilsner.
Better were creamy cappuccino-fronted espresso-roasted cocoa-powdered grape-cherry-soured Black Rock Stout and meringue-like medium-bodied South Porter, with its brown chocolate-y burnt caramel sweetness and silken hazelnut restraint.
One mile from Delmar Raceway & Fairgrounds, the beautiful beach town of Solana Beach housed busy PIZZA PORT. A dive-y local hangout with “create your own” pizzas, hot wings, and Caesar salads, its cafeteria-style seating, fantastic jukebox, multiple televisions, arcade space, and aluminum brew tanks offered a magnificent assortment.
In fact, Pizza Port (with other locations in Carlsbad, Ocean Beach and San Clemente) was so crowded upon first April ’07 nighttime visitation, I sent wife and kids to eat tasty burgers at nearby pool joint, Tidewater Tavern, while I had shot glass samples of brewer Greg Peters’ fine offerings. Though Belgian-styled award winners such as Dubbel Overhead Abbey Ale, Auggie’s Grand Cru, and Mother Of All Beers Belgian Strong were unavailable, nine of the ten tapped brews I tried were on-the-money.
Upon lunchtime revisit, re-sampled sweet honeyed tea-spiced, apple-fig-soured, black coffee-lulled Shark Attack Imperial Red, raisin-ripe molasses-sapped floral-citric earthen-hopped Shark Bite Red (and the comparable California Honey), mossy fig-date-teased red-orange-fruited Rock Reed Rye Ale and fresh-watered floral-hopped cereal-grained caramel-chocolate-maltedDawn Patrol Dark English Brown.
Stylistically similar, but profoundly distinct, were piney-hopped, orange rind-embittered, peach-apple-brightened Yigas Revenge IPA, bitterly aggressive, grapefruit-orange rind-centered, honey-snipped, gin-soaked Swami’s IPA and the sweeter cherry-apricot-sweet, apple-cored, grapefruit rind-embittered, resinous pine-tarred The Hop 15.
Mild yet creamy Seaside Stout re-created Guinness with its lactic chocolate-y nut froth, sharp hop char, and burnt sierra-cedar backdrop, adding poignant black cherry sourness for great measure.
Horrific Das Boot Helles Lager had nasty lemon-bruised diacetyl plasticity only cheapskate malt liquor rowdies and hellent bikers could stand.
Over the railroad tracks a few blocks away, Minute Shop Liquors had newly-discovered Deschutes Inversion, Firehouse American Pale, Port Old Viscosity, and New Belgium 2 Below (reviewed in Beer Index).
Eastern Tennessee’s Appalachian Mountain range is home to Dollywood and Country & Western-influenced arts & craft resort town, Gatlinburg, visited August ‘08.
Just up the main road in Pigeon Forge at Old Town-styled mall, Waldens Landing, lies freestanding two-storied ivory-bricked sportsbar, SMOKY MOUNTAIN BREWERY (opened ’96 and Eastern Tennessee’s first craft brewer).
Peculiarly, neighboring eatery CALHOUN’S RIBHOUSE (with a second location at Knoxville’s riverfront a half-hour west) also sold middling craft brews from this mall post.
A green neon light leads customers into Smoky Mountain’s spacious high-ceilinged fortress, where huge beer mugs surround the central bar. Multiple TV’s adorn all sides as booths and tables crowd the right side. A rear stage area featured karaoke for proper party atmosphere.
Pizzas, burgers, and calzones went well with ineffectual light fare such as tart lemon-candied, yellow apple-sweet, light-grained Windy Gap Wheat, phenolic, soft-hopped, lemon-tinged Velas Helles Lager and musty, cooked veggie-fronted, corn oil-drenched, green apple-soured, lemon-molded Mountain Light Lager.
Peat-malted spice-hopped red-orange-fruited Cherokee Red Ale and robust black chocolate-roasted hop-charred licorice-lacedTuckaleechee Porter fared better.
Bottled selections of these and other Smoky Mountain beers are listed in Beer Index.
Initially visited countrified Susquehanna River-bordered town situated in the heart of Penn, November ’06. Located inside a stone Victorian-styled dwelling, SELIN’S GROVE BREWING’s right side cove-like entrance may be inconspicuous, but it’s literally a back door portal to a cozy l’il neighborhood oak bar with limited seating and outstanding brews. Back dining area with hearth provides suitable country comfort and light menu offered sandwiches-wraps-salads.
Caroused sweet corn-sugared wheat-honeyed Captain Selin’s Cream Ale, biscuit-y cereal-grained malt-smoked bark-dried twig-leafedScottish Style Ale and unassuming diacetyl-stricken lemon-tart banana-ripened Wilder’s Hefe Weizen with lunch.
Afterwards, downed superior piney red-fruitedHop Nouveau Pale Ale, brash grapefruit-peeled lemon-embittered peach-tangy mineral-grained earthen-backedIndia Pale Ale, mellow maple-sapped clover-honeyed cocoa-dried pecan-figged Organic Baltic Porter and lilting dry-hopped coffee-beaned espresso-frothed fruit-soured Shade Mountain Oatmeal Stout.
Best bet: banana Kahlua-creamed whiskey-malted orange-bruised alcohol-spiked Saint Fillin’s Barleywine.
On the way east from December ’08 West Virginia stint, revisited Selin’s Grove Brewing to try four more admirable selections at family brunch. Organic Pils had sweet-corned sugar-malted lemon-spiced frontage inducing dry bark-like hind.
Molasses-sapped cola-hazelnut-sweetened black coffee-embittered White Horse Porter sealed in sharp hop-charred blackberry-cherry fruiting.
Stealth Tripel retained viscous buttery quirk, candi-sugared subtlety, peppery coriander spicing, and cotton-candied banana sweetness above tertiary rum raisin, pineapple, mango and brandy illusions.
Best bet: Winter Solstice Dubbel, a warm honeyed cognac intimation lodging brown-sugared banana-bruised overtones, dawdling cinnamon-toasted apple mellifluence and vanilla-nutmeg-spiced fig-prune-raisin undercurrents.
Discovered picturesque red-rocked canyon refuge (backdrop for many Western movies) on way back from surreal three-night Grand Canyon retreat, January ‘05. At scenic Sedona’s Tlaquepaque Village, hit upscale OAK CREEK BREWERY & GRILL, located at second floor of adobe clay mini-mall.
Prominent copper kettle brew tanks built into bar area are viewable from windows backing patrons in comfy couch-lined dining booths. Outdoor seating available. Fine cuisine included rotisserie chicken, barbecue ribs, and fire-kissed pizza. Splendid red-peppered pesto-onion-lined Smoking Gun Pizza is recommended.
Slight noble-hopped American pilsner Micro Light and diacetyl dry-grained citrus-lacedForty-Niner Gold Lagersuit amateurs.
However, perky banana-splurged lemon-clovedHorseshoe Hefeweizen, praline-sugared almond-daubed chocolate-spicedVillage Nut Brown Ale, dark chocolate-y walnut-buttered Pullman Porter and sensational floral-spiced red-fruited lemon-soured Doc’s Pale Ale please heartier thirsts.
Bottled versions of Oak Creek Amber, Nut Brown, and Pale Ale listed in Beer Index.
Five miles from Barley Creek in northeast Pennsylvania village of Swiftwater, visited POCONO BREWING COMPANY (opened 1998 and affectionately known as PBC, but now closed), December ‘07. Though its ‘brewing’ allegation is a misleading misnomer (since windowed copper kettle remains dormant and original recipe brews get crafted by nearby microbrewer Lion Brewing), ski chalet sportsbar boasts 100 tapped-bottled beers and affordable pub grub.
A large fireplace warms central bar while cozy right side family dining area (with TV/ sports jerseys), game room, VIP balcony, sushi bar, and Poconuts comedy club provide vacationers with cornucopia of choices. Sampled simple barley-roasted grapefruit-quince-backed hop-tingled Ball & Chain Lager, lemon-limey grapefruit-embittered floral-tinged caramel-backed Old Bastard Ale, and coffee bean-soured chocolate-malted licorice-laced Black Ghost Porter.
