Snoochie Brewchies: Dickin' Around Jersey

I'd recently made the comment to Brewslut that we were due for our annual trip to Philly and New Jersey. Looking back, it seems like we tend to visit that particular geographical vicinity in the dead of winter each year. So we consulted our calendar and - lo and behold! - we found an open weekend. In a quick change of events, we decided to call an audible and point our compass toward the Jersey Shore. It had been a few years since we last visited Kane (still my favorite brewery in NJ), and I was surprised to find that the craft beer bubble had expanded yet again. I reached out to our NJ sales rep at Tröegs, and he made a few recommendations. I then assembled a pretty thorough itinerary, which included a pair of new breweries on Friday evening, a full day of brewery hopping on Saturday, and taking the scenic road home (I-78 rather than the PA Turnpike).

Things got off to a great start on Friday evening. I skedaddled out of work a tad earlier than usual so we could get a head start on traffic. Since Jersey has a few weird beer laws of its own (one of which prohibits the sale of food at breweries), we wanted to try and squeeze in a pair of breweries before checking in to our hotel for the weekend. The first one, Screamin' Hill, was on the way. This small but rustic farmhouse brewery is nestled on a back road in the small town of Cream Ridge, which is about 30 miles west of Asbury Park. I was immediately struck by the simple charm of this place, which boasted a modest tasting room and an adjacent covered tent area for additional seating.

Farm fresh beer at Screamin' Hill.

I was pretty thirsty when we arrived and eager to jump right in, and I was pleased to spot a smoked beer on the board! So, the first beer of the weekend for me was Barn Burnin' Ale, an amber rye ale brewed with smoked applewood chips. This was really well done with a smokey-sweet flavor and touch of caramel apple in the finish. It was definitely an approachable smoked beer with a moderate smoky flavor amid sweet, malty notes typically found in an amber ale.

After a smoked beer, I always crave hops, even more so that I typically do. There were a few hoppy selections, so I asked for a recommendation. The owner suggested Wolfpack, a lower ABV pale ale hopped with Mosaic, Idaho 7 and Ekuanot. This was a really fresh-tasting, easy-drinking pale ale with a well-rounded hop character. I pulled out hints of melon, citrus, herbal tea and just a touch of cedar. It was bright and just what I was in the mood for at that precise moment. Nicely done, Screamin' Hill.

Note the "attack-mode" owls.

I liked their logo so much (a pissed off-looking owl in attack mode - I had to buy a T-shirt. Since I have a closet full of brewery shirts, I have to really like the beer and the design to buy a shirt these days. I'd really like to get back to try their foeder-aged beer, 1860, which I understand is a farmhouse ale fermented with saison yeast and Brett. In speaking with him for a while, I could tell that the owner was quite proud of this beer. If the quality of their other beers is any indicator, I think I'd enjoy this one as well.

10-bbl white oak foeder at Screamin' Hill.

Before heading to Jughandle, the next brewery on the list, we were lucky enough to come across a pizza joint in the same plaza. (See my previous "no food at NJ breweries" comments above.) This was a good time to re-feed and rock some tasty (and pretty substantial) hoagies. I was going to write "subs" but since I used the word substantial to describe them... well, you know.

While we waited for our subs to be made, we decided to peruse the shelves of the liquor store next door. After we left, Brewslut made a comment that she kind of likes state-run liquor stores like we have in PA versus the independent shops in neighboring New Jersey. One of the reasons is that nothing is priced accurately. At least this shop was guilty of it. There were several "ask at counter" about the price of liquor brands. We were told to "consult the price list" at the front of the store for specific pricing. I guess it's akin to when you encounter "market price" for the lobster on the menu at a swanky restaurant. So I'll go on record and agree with her. Plus the state stores in PA are much cleaner and the employees aren't nearly as sketchy. Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less from New Jersey. Live and learn, people. With that said, I still bought a bottle of Bulleit Rye because it was a few bucks cheaper than the state store near me. Go figure.

Behind the bar at Jughandle.

Let's get back to beer. We're at Jughandle now, folks. The place was bustling with a solid Friday night crowd of beer drinkers and locals bringing in outside food and playing board games. We snagged two seats at the far end of the bar (near a big pile of board games including Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots) and got down to business.

I started off with a half pour of Pacifically Speaking, a citrusy West Coast-style IPA with hint of pine and tropical notes. I think that's a great name for a West Coast IPA, don't you? Plus it was nice to see a West Coast IPA in the midst of so many of its hazy East Coast counterparts taking up precious tap handles. This was a pretty solid interpretation of arguably my very favorite beer style of all time, and it gave me the green light to proceed with a few other beers.

Wood, Jerry... WOOD.

Another evocatively named beer was up next: Breakdancing with the Czars, a caramel variation of Jughandle's Russian Imperial Stout. When Pleeps is in tow (and when is he not?), if we see a Russian Imperial Stout on tap, we're contractually obligated to order one for him. It's part of his rider (you know, instead of "no brown M&Ms," Pleeps has his RIS clause). Sometimes he can be a prima donna. He's still cooler than me, though. He knows he's a rock star... not like Chad Kroeger, though... like Roger Daltrey. (Side note: Why is it so much fun to poke jest at Nickelback?) This beer was straight-up salted caramel dipped in chocolate with an espresso bean in the middle. This was really well done and a joy to drink. Since we only had a 5-ounce pour to share, we definitely savored it. Pleeps had to get his fair share as well.

Two-fisted Pleeps.

The other beer that was calling my name was the Juggernaut Coconut Vanilla Porter, Jughandle's award-winning coconut vanilla porter brewed with freshly toasted coconut and Madagascar vanilla beans. While this was definitely tasty, I have to give the nod to the Breakdancing with the Czars. Side by side, the RIS just had more going on complexity-wise. Not that it surprised me. Despite being crammed in the back corner of the bar up against some adjacent high-top tables, we still had an enjoyable time. The servers were friendly and the beer was above average. Plus Pleeps got a little game time in addition to enjoying a really good RIS.

Pleeps... playing little games, as usual.

Since most breweries close at 9 p.m. or earlier and we wanted to explore a bit further on this particular Friday evening, we ventured to Asbury Festhalle & Biergarten, a German-style beer hall situated in nearby Asbury Park that the bartender at Jughandle recommended. Apparently, Asbury Park is so awesome that the town officials and parking authority feel inclined to enforce meters until... ready for this shit? 2 a.m.! I thought some areas of Philly were bad with charging until 9 or 10 p.m. I suppose since Jersey is known as the "Toll Booth State" they might as well also be known for ass-raping people to park. Begrudgingly, I threw a couple bucks into the meter as there was a member of the esteemed local parking authority camped out about fifty feet away in his luxury vehicle. I felt like shitting in my hands and chucking it at his windshield, but the thought of getting arrested for a criminal act so juvenile stopped me in my tracks. You know... ass-rape.

At any rate, we parked the car and went inside. It was pretty crowded and there was a live band playing. While the place was set up like a European beer hall, the clientele appeared to be a cross section of the typical meat market crowd and middle aged folks out on a date night with their significant other. Although the server at Jughandle mentioned this place had a good tap list, we both found it to be quite lacking. (Take a moment to utter your "jaded" comments before continuing). Luckily, we found a beer from Kane on tap, even though it was just a low ABV pale ale. Perhaps that was a good thing after being to a few places prior to this last stop of the evening. The beer was Sneakbox and it is a Citra-hopped pale ale. It was fine but a bit pedestrian compared to the typical Kane offerings. We grabbed a few seats at a community table, worked on our beers, and listened to the band, making comments throughout. I liked them better than Brewslut did (she's pretty harsh when it comes to bands). They played a fun mix of tunes - everything from The Beach Boys to Madonna - and had a solid female vocalist. They sprinkled in some Motown stuff and 80's rock too. Overally, their set was pretty eclectic, although it seemed like 95% of the customers didn't give any more than two shits about the band. Most of them looked like they wanted either Ariana Grande or Bruce Springsteen. (Editor's note: I had to Google "popular music 2019" to find a suitable name. Yeah, I'm that old.)

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On Saturday, our day began in Lakewood, NJ, at Icarus. I'd never heard of this brewery prior to this excursion, but it was another brewery on our NJ sales rep's list of "good places" to go. Upon arrival, we noticed a healthy crowd in the front room, so we ordered our beers and headed to the back "overflow" room where they predominantly fill crowlers and growlers. It was a standing bar, but I was happy to stand. I noticed a pretty decent vinyl collection out in the front room, and the stack of "up next" selections featured a cornucopia of 90's rock and grunge. "I can live with that," I thought. Nirvana's Nevermind was currently spinning when we settled in.

Good stuff awaits at Icarus.

The tap list was pretty ridiculous, so we both opted for flights. I mean, we're at a place named Icarus, folks. How could we not order flights? Aside from the obvious mythology behind the name, he fact that I'm a huge Iron Maiden fan also factored in on that decision. Check out this list of beer badassery:

• Apricot Wax Wings - Barrel fermented in Chardonnay barrels for 6 months. Before being conditioned on fresh apricots, this delicious concoction is fermented with a fruity French Saison yeast strain. 
• We Want the Gold! - NEIPA dry-hopped with El Dorado, Columbus, and Mosaic with guava, mango and orange notes.
• Fresh Tracksuit - Baltic Porter brewed with chocolate and coffee malts as well as fresh clover honey and lagered for a month. Sweet, roasty and chocolately.
• There's Always Money in the Bullnana Stand - Russian Imperial Stout brewed in collaboration with Bolero Snort Brewery featuring oats, barley, cocoa powder, cocoa nibs, and wildflower honey. This one was fermented using a blend of house yeast and a traditional German Hefeweizen yeast. Nice homage to Arrested Development.
• Vlad to Be Here - Another RIS, this one brewed with tons of coffee malt, oats, rye, wildflower honey, brown sugar and cinnamon, then conditioned on Mexican coffee and Madagascar vanilla beans. I preferred this one over the previous RIS.

Scream for me, Lakewood... the flight of Icarus!

The Apricot Wax Wings was easily my favorite of the bunch. They also had a raspberry variation available, but I think I made the right decision. Apricot straddles the line nicely between sweet, juicy citrus fruit and fleshy, nectar-like stone fruit, and what's not to love about that? 

Whenever we enjoy a great flight, we typically order a full pour of something else. Think of it as a dessert beer. I perused the beer board once again, and thought, "How can I not order a beer named Licking Toads? The NEIPA in my flight was pretty solid, so I decided on this one, a NE-style Pale Ale brewed with oats and spelt and hopped with Zeus and Mandarina Bavaria. It was further dry hopped with Lupulin Citra (lupulin powder is kind of like hops in cocaine form), Galaxy, and Experimental 06297 and fermented with Saccharomyces "Brux" Trois. Lots of cooks in the kitchen for this one! To add a bit of beer geekery into the equation, the Belgian yeast strain known as Saccharomyces "Bruxellensis" Trois is traditionally used for wild yeast fermentation. This strain produces a slightly tart flavor with mango and pineapple attributes. With the advent of beer styles such as "sour IPAs," this wild yeast has gained some serious momentum among American craft brewers looking to discover the next new brewing trend.

Pleeps like Licking Toads.

After flying high with Icarus for a bit, we were off to our next stop of the day. Last Wave in Point Pleasant Beach is a pretty chill spot, and I kind of felt like we were in San Diego for a brief minute. The vibe definitely felt Pizza Port-y with its surf culture atmosphere and beach bum theme. We ended up kicking back on a bench and hanging with this cool hare:

Our new friend, Sir Flops-a-lot.

Being a fan of prog rock, I was immediately drawn to a beer named 5/4. I love me some odd time signatures, and anything in five is always a good time. I also love coffee stouts, so I thought I'd give this one a shot. Roasty and chocolately notes give way to a velvety mouthfeel and coffee-forward finish. Not bad in the grand scheme of things, but I drink A LOT of coffee stouts, and therefore I've had some really amazing ones. This one fell somewhere squarely in the middle.

Drinkin' beers, beers, beers!

Meanwhile, Brewslut was working on a pour of a beer called Frothing Milkshake IPA: Mango.  The name "frothing" comes from the type of excitement a surfer experiences when catching a righteous wave. It basically means "amped up." Sounds like Last Wave is pretty excited about this beer. Soft and creamy due to a heavy amount of oats, honey malt and lactose, the addition of mango and vanilla amplify the tropical flavor tenfold. This was pretty over-the-top, actually. Overall, it was pretty solid but I oftentimes find some examples of this style to be chalky and a bit harsh in the finish. This one was a little bit of both, but it was still enjoyable and was enough to entice us to share another pour of something else.

That's where A-Frame come in. Yup, it's another hazy, murky IPA with candied tropical fruit notes and low bitterness. I recall digging this one a bit more than Brewslut's Frothing Milkshake. OK... that just sounded dirty, like some type of STD she contracted from a homeless guy behind a Dairy Queen. Overall, the beers here were good, and Brewslut liked the logo enough to purchase a shirt. She loves her tank tops!

Our next stop, Bradley Brew Project in Bradley Beach, NJ, was one of the stand-outs of the weekend. It seems as though the locals really enjoy this place as well, because they were pretty packed during our visit. I definitely picked up on a West Coast vibe here. I mean, the place is situated in a beach town. 

Brewslut was eyeing up a beer named Sí Monster, a Mexican-style lager brewed with sea salt, lime peel and agave. The name of the beer came to fruition by way of crowd sourcing, and fans later voted for their favorite. We thought it was a cool name, so mission accomplished! This was definitely a beach beer through and through. The use of lime-forward Wakatu hops really coaxed out zesty lime flavors in this one. I must say it was quite delicious and refreshing. Brewslut liked this one so much, she got a crowler to go.

Pleeps... close encounters of the beer kind.

I went with the whimsically named Unicorn Girls, an approachable American Pale Ale with floral, strawberry and melon notes. Hazy (though not in the sense of a true NE-style) and soft from oats, wheat, and lactose, this complex pale ale boasts a double dry-hop bill of Citra, Simcoe, Mosaic and Huell Melon and was fermented with a blend of unique yeast strains for additional depth of flavor.

Can o' Pleeps!

Despite the room being uncomfortably cramped, we were really enjoying the beer here so we decided to split a pour of an IPA called From Making Dreams. This double dry-hopped creation features Azacca and El Dorado (two favorites), resulting in a fruity, juicy and hazy NE-style IPA. It also features malted and flaked oats and wheat, two ingredients that contribute haze and a pillowy mouthfeel. Additionally, Citra, Simcoe, Mosaic and Columbus hops round out the hop bill, combining with the dry hops to provide a punch of peach, pineapple and cherry.

Bowl o' Pleeps!

Things over at Dark City in Asbury Park were surprisingly quiet. There were a few scattered customers about the place, and we pulled right up to the standing bar. In keeping with the "dark" theme, the place was pretty stark and dimly lit. The beer board looked pretty eclectic, so we opted for a sampler flight. Here's the low-down:

• Home Before Midnight - sour IPA with guava and pomegranate
• Second and Main - sour IPA with heavy-handed notes of pineapple and orange juice
• Mixed Use - barrel fermented farmhouse ale
• DCBC3 - anniversary blend of barrel aged strong ales including of DCBC2, BA Urban Decay, BA 1871, and Double Brownie.
• Campgrounds - A S'mores stout with hints of graham cracker, smoke, honey and caramel.

Taps at Dark City.

Overall, the beers were solid. I quite enjoyed the DCBC3 and found it to be tasty and complex. The sour IPAs were well-done also. Campgrounds offered a nice take on a S'mores stout with the addition of smoked malt to elicit those hints of burning embers. With that said, the vibe was kind of odd here. I can't quite put my finger on it. It just didn't feel like a brewery. With that said, the beers here were forward-thinking and definitely above average. Perhaps they were getting ready to close soon, but I just wasn't "feeling it" here. I like talking to people at breweries, but the uncomfortable silence of scattered patrons sometimes freaks me out. Maybe this was one of those times. I think Pleeps just hung out in Brewslut's backpack for the duration of our visit. At least the bathroom was colorful...

Cool painting on the bathroom wall at Dark City.

We had some additional time to kill at the tail end of the night, so we decided to make our way to Asbury Park Brewing. We were pretty hungry at this point, so I headed down the block to a nearby pizza joint to grab some slices. (Remember, breweries in NJ can't have food.) Turns out a local band was hosting a CD release party with a few opening bands in support. We arrived just as the first band was setting up. Always one to enjoy some good live music, I was curious about the bands. I asked the guy at the bar, and he said all the bands were "math rock." Sweet! I'm definitely pro odd time signature when it comes to music. Perhaps I'd hear a sweet 7/8 groove or some intricate alternating 11/8 and 5/4. Either way, I was down for at least one set.

Hey, look... a brewery! Asbury Park Brewery, that is.

Beer-wise, I settled on a pour of Sea Dragon, an unfiltered East Coast IPA boasting citrus and pine notes and a classic bitter finish. It went well with our pizza, and we just kicked back and enjoyed the music. I was focused on always keeping track of where "one" fell. If you're a drummer or music geek, you know what I'm talking about. This was a one-and-done stop for us. I wanted to stay and check out some of the other bands, as I don't often get a chance to see live music since I play a lot. However, convincing Brewslut to stay presents the challenge. I gave up pretty quickly and said we could leave after the first band. When we finished our pizza (which coincidentally was right around the time the first band finished its set), we decided to retire for the evening and continue drinking back at the hotel.

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On Sunday, we were excited to get back to Kane, the one brewery we'd been to before (and on several occasions, might I add). Kane has definitely earned the reputation as "NJ's craft brewery" and I think both Brewslut and I agree. We've yet to visit a brewery with as many impressive beers as Kane, especially in the stout category. It's always a pleasure to get back here and dig into their varied beer roster. Upon entering, we grabbed a sample in the front tasting room before we headed into the main room. I opted for Party Wave, and IPA brewed with Citra, Mosaic, Galaxy, and Simcoe. It was quite tasty and set the tone for the rest of our visit.

Once inside, I was happy to see everything from juicy IPAs to barrel-aged stouts represented on the chalkboard, with plenty of interesting stuff in between. Initially, we each settled on our own sampler flights. Mine included the following:

• Mexican Brunch - imperial milk porter
• Christian Patrick - 2017 vintage imperial stout
• Shell Game - A 13.8% rye imperial stout brewed in collaboration with Jackie O's brewed in September 2017. This sucker features brown sugar, hand-toasted almonds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, then aged in rye whiskey barrels for over a year. As if that wasn't enough, it was then conditioned on coconut and granola. Think rich, full bodied and complex with multiple layers of flavor.
• Picture in Reverse BBA - Another heavy hitter, this 13.2% bourbon barrel aged Old Ale features a simple malt bill of British Golden Promise. After fermentation with Kane's house ale yeast, the beer was aged for over a year in bourbon barrels to develop a dark color and malty character with notes of caramel, vanilla and dark fruit.

After finishing our flight, we decided to split a pour of Brighten the Corners, an imperial IPA brewed British peal malt, oat malt and oat milk. Simcoe and Mosaic in the kettle coax flavors of mango, melon and tree fruit, while dry-hopping with Vic Secret, Motueka and Mosaic blend to create a fragrant fruit-forward aroma. After all of those dark beers, this one quenched my hop craving quite nicely. With that said, I give the nod to Kane's dark beers - especially the barrel-aged stouts - over the hoppy ones any day of the week. While they're all good in their own right, Kane's dark offerings are the stuff of genius. They are easily my favorite brewery in New Jersey.

We decided on heading to Red Bank before hitting the trail back to PA for a few reasons. First was a quick pop-in at Jay & Silent Bob's Secret Stash. If you don't know who Jay and Silent Bob are... well, they're the Mac Daddies of Jersey, yo. I wore my Berserker shirt in anticipation. Brewslut grabbed a new T-shirt and we browsed through the comics and other geekery from the Kevin Smith world of humor. Across the street, we hit Jack's Music Shoppe, where I picked up a nice haul of reasonably priced vinyl. I always need to seek out at least one record store during our travels, and I was pretty pleased with what I picked up here.

Beer-wise, there's not much else going on in Red Bank proper other than Red Tank. This is a pretty clean, modern looking place that comes across as more of a tourist spot than a destination brewery, which is fine. The beers were pretty decent, plus they had Bob Ross on the TV directly in front of us above the bar. Check it!

Happy little beers.

I hadn't had much outside the realm of pale ales, IPAs and stouts this weekend, so I opted for a saison. Red Tank created Chateau Saison for the folks at Pleasantdale Chateau, a luxury wedding venue in New Jersey. The beer itself is a spin on the Belgian style farmhouse ale featuring hints of citrus and peppery spiciness courtesy of oranges grown right on the grounds of Pleasantdale Chateau.

Meanwhile, Brewslut was working on a pour of Hoptology, a pretty hefty IPA weighing in at 8.1% ABV. It seems like this one is a seasonal or rotating beer, as I couldn't really find anything about it on the interwebs. I was OK but came across as uninspired. I just wasn't too jazzed with it (or the saison, for that matter). That's not to say the beers were flawed in any way, they just both came across as pedestrian.

Taps at Red Tank.

Still, I didn't let to lackluster beers spoil our visit. We decided to share a pour of a third beer, a Pale Ale called Tempus Fugit (or as Mr. Lahey would say, "Tempus Fug It"). This one was pretty crisp with equal parts pine and citrus hop notes in the flavor and aroma. I liked it the best out of the three beers we tried, but ultimately Red Tank came across as more of a "Hey, you're in Red Bank! Stop in for a beer" rather than a "Hey, drive your ass to Red Bank for one of our amazing beers" kind of place. Not that there's anything wrong with that. As long as the beer is of good quality, I'm fine with places like Red Tank popping up in the scene to at least provide a decent place for tourists to grab a locally brewed beer. But since time flies, it was time to pack it in and begin the journey home.

We decided to take an alternate route home. We'd taken the PA Turnpike on the way down. For the trip home, we opted for I-78 so we could hit a few new places. After a 40-minute drive, we arrived at our next destination. From the moment we entered Demented in Middlesex, NJ, I knew I was going to love it. I mean, look at this logo:

Badassery courtesy of Demented Brewing.

Evil, right? Fuckin' A! We entered and grabbed a pair of seats at the bar just as another couple was leaving. I noticed an autographed Rob Halford framed 8x10 glossy on the wall, so that made me extra giddy. But how are the beers? Turns out they are fuckin' awesome!   

There was a lot to soak in, so we went with sampler flights. Check out this line-up:

• Fiend - traditional English Mild with coffee. 
• Gluttony - coffee stout finished with local cold press coffee from Benfatto Coffee in Hillsborough, NJ. 
• Prominence - Flanders red aged in Cabernet barrels. Fruity and tart!
• Osiris - bold and complex Barleywine with a big caramel and toffee character. 

While everything was on-point, I gravitated to the Flanders red and the barleywine. Both were complex and delicious, and left me craving more. Since I enjoyed Prominence (the barleywine) so much, I inevitably had to try its Rye Barrel-Aged counterpart. Spicier and boozier than the standard version, this was also a treat to drink. 

By now, I was really digging this place. The folks next to us even offered some popcorn, which was a welcomed gesture as we were starting to feel the pangs of hunger set in. With some additional carbs in my belly, I decided I had one more beer in me. Enter Sorath. What is Sorath, you ask? I'll let the folks at Demented explain everything:

It is said in English legend that when the devil was cast out of heaven, he fell to the earth and landed straight in a blackberry bush. Being pricked by it’s thorns, he cursed the fruit making them unsightly and sour. Fortunately for us, these tart little jewels make the perfect accompaniment to our sour brown ale. Fermented in oak for over a year, expect complex dark fruit layered over notes of caramel and sherry.

I'm a sucker for blackberries, and blackberry beers are no different. This beer was beautifully complex with a deep, sweet-tart blackberry character. It provided the perfect send-off. Overall, this place kind of reminded me of Draii Laag in Pittsburgh (recently re-branded as Strange Roots Experimental Ales) in its execution and beer line-up. I can't wait to return!

Every time we're in Jersey it seems we end up at Two Rivers in Easton, PA. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I love this place. They churn out some great, forward-thinking beers with unique ingredients without getting too weird or pretentious. Plus the food here is way above average for a brewery. They're also open 7 days a week, which is decidedly convenient for those of us who typically travel on Sundays or Mondays (days when a lot of breweries are closed).

Taps at Two Rivers.

Upon perusing the beer menu, two saisons jumped out at us. Since we couldn't decide which one we wanted, we decided to get one of each and share. Teamwork! The first, Wonderland Thai Saison, is a  multi-grain farmhouse ale brewed with rye, oats, wheat, rice, and rice noodles (whoa!), and spiced with galangal (a rhizome typically used in Asian cuisine), ginger, lemongrass, grains of paradise, and kaffir lime leaves. The beer is then aged in wine barrels for 5 months with wild yeast. OK, perhaps I spoke too soon about weird ingredients. Rice noodles? Galangal? At any rate, this beer was refreshing and none of the spices were overbearing, although I'd say ginger was the dominant flavor. Still, ginger can be quite potent and pungent, but this beer was well balanced despite its laundry list of Thai-inspired ingredients. One of the other things I like about Two Rivers is that it tends to name many of its beers after local people and places, and this beer is no different. Wonderland takes its name from a late 19th century burlesque theater and roller rink located at the corner of Larry Holmes Drive and Northampton Street in Easton (although it's now a vacant lot next to a business called Kaplan's Awnings).

The other beer, Belle's Ginger Mango Saison, is a barrel-aged saison aged on fresh ginger and mango puree. Firm acidity blend with oak tannins, ginger, and light mango essence. This one is named after Belle Archer, a well-known Easton-born actress from the late 1800s, who was known as the most photographed woman of her time. To be honest, I'm not sure which one I preferred, because both beers were rock solid with interesting layers of flavors and aromas. I continue to be impressed by Two Rivers and always look forward to stopping in for a beer or two. And as I pointed out earlier, the food here is always bangin', and tonight's dinner was no different: chicken burger and frites. This place does food right!

All in all, I'm glad we decided to check out this part of Jersey again. We hit plenty of great new breweries and got to visit Kane again. Stay tuned for more Pour Travelers adventures and follow us on recent trips to Boston, MA, and northern VA. Until next time...

 

Drinksgiving Goes to Eleven: Chapter V

By Sunday, we were starting to get a little burned out. We'd covered a lot of ground over the last few days. I was also happy to visit a lot more record stores than I typically would on a beer trip (although my wallet was a bit cranky as a result). For our last full day in Columbus, we decided to follow a more leisurely pace than we're used to.

First up was a visit to 16-Bit. Part arcade, part craft beer bar, and 100% nostalgia, this place boasts dozens of classic 80's arcade games, a well-curated craft beer menu, and lots of 80's flair. Similar to Barcade, 16-Bit takes things a step further by not charging customers to play the games (except pinball). The caveat? You have to be drinking a beer. In addition to all of the games, the place is decorated with tons of 80's memorabilia and murals of classic movie characters. To put the icing on the cake, the music of choice was none other than 80's hair metal and power ballads. I felt like I was transported back to 1985.

Inside 16-Bit. Throw in a record store and I'm in heaven!

While I could have stayed here much longer than we did, I opted for a one-and-done visit and returned to a favorite beer of the trip, Bodhi by Columbis Brewing Company. I'd had this a few days earlier and it was one of my favorite beers of the trip. I sipped this as a enjoyed playing some of my favorite games including Paperboy and Dig Dug. I was so stoked to see Spy Hunter (in my Top 5 classic games of all time) but unfortunately it was out of order. Still, there was plenty of fun to be had. Even Brewslut didn't mind playing a few games because it didn't cost her anything. And as we all know, girls aren't quite as agile with a joystick as their male counterparts. (Don't read too much into that, perverts.)

After spending about an hour at 16-Bit, it was off to Actual Brewing Company. Yes, that's actually the name of the brewery. When we pulled up, I thought it would be another start warehouse-turned-brewery like so many others we'd encountered traveling about the country. Turns out this place has a lot of character inside!

The facility features an on-site beverage analysis laboratory, which allows the brewers to experiment and obsess over the fine details. Yes, they are real-life "mad scientists," apparently. Aside from taking a scientific approach to its beers, there is an artistic side to the brewery as well. The folks at Actual take pride on designing their beer labels and tap handles, screen-printing T-shirts, sandblasting glass, painting murals, sculpting narwhals, and even erupt vinegar volcanoes.

Scene from the 3-seat bar.

The tasting room space was laid out kind of like a mobile home, in that there were a few rooms connected to each other. One of the spaces was a lounge area with furniture, a TV and video game system. There was a science lab. The bar itself was tiny and only accommodated three or four people. A tour was just about to start, but we decided to chill and just enjoy a few beers. The guy at the bar was really friendly, talkative, and eager to answer our questions. Beer-wise, they were pretty scant with the selection compared to other local places, but I was happy to see "real ale" listed on the beer board. Obviously, I knew what I was getting... initially, at least.

The beer was Oughtness, a cask-conditioned IPA brewed with lychee, a reddish, rough-textured fruit with sweet flesh and a big black seed on the inside. The fruit is prominently found in China and other countries in southeastern Asia. They are similar to rambutan fruit, another weird-looking, spiky fruit with a sweet, fleshy center that someone brought to last year's Ffej of July fest (yes, I have my own festival, people.) I enjoyed this sweet-tart IPA quite a bit.

The other two beers I sampled during our visit, Orthodox and Fat Julian, were enjoyable as well. Orthodox, a hearty winter ale, features roasted malt and musky hops that would make a great beer to sip aside the fireplace on a cold winter evening. Fat Julian is a bittersweet Imperial Stout reminiscent of (according to the folks at Actual) "leathery elephants dipped in dark chocolate." While I would never consume an elephant (they are right up there with goats and donkeys in my hierarchy of cool animals), I thought the description was fitting. Elephants are big and leathery, just like some imperial stouts. I really appreciate the complexity of leather, coffee, smoke, and tobacco notes in stouts a lot more than chocolate, vanilla, and fruit. Weighing in at 10% ABV - like they say at the brewery - "It barely fits in your mouth."

Pleeps with his gang of new chums.

We exchanged some Mad Elf and Scratch Beers for a mixed six-pack of assorted cans to take home and enjoy. All in all, it was a fine visit to this quirky brewery.

Pigskin, our next stop, came across as a bit wet behind the ears. Once we got settled in at the bar, we discovered that the brewpub was under new management. The people were super friendly, but the atmosphere was a little too "sports bar" and a little less "craft brewery." The decor was football themed, and almost all of the beer names made reference to the game in some fashion. The tap area evoked an old-school light-up scoreboard, which was kind of neat.

We settled on a flight of the following four beers:

• 12 Gauge - citrus-forward DIPA weighing in at 9.9% ABV
• Bourbon Barrel-Aged Autumn Wind - Russian Imperial Stout aged in Four Roses bourbon barrels
• Punt Return - maple pumpkin stout 
• Night Game - coffee IPA

Pigskin's starting lineup.

Nothing was really memorable in the grand scheme of things, but nothing was undrinkable either. I seem to recall enjoying the Night Game coffee IPA most. All in all, it was just another day at the office and yet another middle-of-the-road brewery to check off my laundry list of 7,000 breweries across the country. Pleeps always has a good time, though. Score!

Our final stop of the day Temperance Row. Before we left for the trip, I'd gotten in touch with friend and fellow Rush (and Solar Federation) fan, Christi, who lives in the Columbus area. Temperance Row turned out to be a fairly convenient place to meet based on our itinerary for the day. Although not a beer person, we had plenty to talk about. I mean, I could ramble on and on... and ON... about Rush. Turns out she can too, which made for some great conversation and changed up the pace a bit from beer, beer and more beer.

Taps at Temperance Row

The tap list was small but varied, and both of us went outside our wheelhouse during our visit. First up was the aptly named Christmas Ale, a spiced ale to be enjoyed during the holiday season. Since it was Thanksgiving weekend, this was an obvious choice. The other beer, Contradiction ESB, is inspired by the classic English ESB, Fuller's. Fermented with very similar yeast, this Americanized version of the style boasts a dark amber color and rich malt character.

Pleeps playing on pipes.

To be honest, I really wasn't paying too much attention to the beer because I was entrenched in Rush talk. Pleeps seemed to take more notice of the beers here. See?

Overall, the beers here were solid and done in the more traditional brewing realm. I fine with that, especially since so many places are trying to get on the map with a hazy IPA or beers brewed with Oreo cookies, Cocoa Puffs, or other weird adjuncts. The food was quite good as well. But as with the ends of most of our trips, this old man was ready to wind down and head home. Stick a fork in me, Columbus.

Postscript: Since we decided not to stop on our way out, we made sure to hit Buckeye Beer Engine for lunch on the way home. Always a favorite stop when we're passing through Ohio, the beer selection is tight and the lunch specials are economical and delicious. Plus their house Buckeye beers are almost always above average. I'd really enjoyed their Hippie IPA on previous visits. Sadly, it seemed as though the brewery operations had taken a backseat, and the Beer Engine had been reduced to a beer bar. One lone Buckeye beer graced the taps during our visit, and it was a leftover barleywine from a an anniversary party a few months earlier. I inquired about this, and the bartender told us that they hadn't brewed anything new in about four months. 

Editor's note: I'm ashamed that it's taken me until the middle of March to finish a Drinksgiving blog. I mean, the trip occurred back in November of last year. Sorry for the lack of detail with this one, but I really need to put this one to bed and start working on my next piece, called "Snoochie Boochies: Dicking Around Jersey." Stay tuned for that shit. Until next time...