The Memorial Day Weekend Trail: 2019 Edition - Part I

You guys know the drill by now. Every year for the last few years, my band herbie plays at a private festival out in the sticks somewhere betwixt the PA/NY border. Brewslut and I always do a loop of some favorite breweries and try to incorporate one or two new destinations as well. (Check all of them out if you're a new follower of our blog and feel so inclined: 2016, 2017 and 2018. The 2016 blog is the one that brought me out of retirement.) This year was no different. Our story begins as it typically does on a Friday evening after work. Ever since we had the ingenious idea of abandoning town on Friday night to avoid the dreaded Memorial Day parade that barrels down Main Street right in front of our house, that's been our MO.

Friday began with a quick detour off the usual I-81 N. trail to hit up a new-to-us brewery in the metropolis of Shickshinny, PA. Yes, that's the name of the town, people. As someone from a town called Shamokin, I can safely assert that this place definitely fits nicely in the description of "podunk Pennsyltucky." To be honest, the only reason I caught wind of this brewery is because my cousin (who lives in the general region of said brewery) got us a gift certificate for the brewery at a charity fundraiser he attended. The brewery in question is Five Mountain. This place is definitely off the beaten path, and at points I feared for my life as we traversed the 10-plus miles of crooked (sometimes gravely) back roads to get to Shickshinny.

Chalkboard at Five Mountain.

The place was kind of what I was expecting: a garage-turned-brewery with a few taps, a small bar, and some random seating. A display featuring mug clubber mugs adorned some of the walls. Other than that, the decor was pretty bare bones. That's not to say that I don't enjoy hanging out in a garage and drinking beer. I've had some memorable experiences in tiny hole-in-the-wall breweries over the last 15 years. One that comes immediately to mind is the original One Guy Brewing, which later became Berwick Brewing. Oh, the memories!

Five Mountain's taps.

While our gift certificate was good for a growler fill, I asked if we could get three different pours, as we wanted to stay for a bit. The bartender was fine with it (as she should have been; our drafts totaled $1 less than a growler fill and she got a better tip). The three beers we tried were as follows:

• Miffle Sipper - NE-style IPA 
• The Preferred Nomenclature - West Coast IPA. Brewslut actually pointed out the name to me, which is a reference to a line from my favorite movie, The Big Lebowski, spoken by Walter when the Dude refers to an Asian American as a "China-man." 
• Downhill in Neutral - vanilla maple porter

Unfortunately, I couldn't really find any information about any of the beers other than their styles. Sadly, all of these beers possessed classic textbook flaws and off-flavors that even the most unrefined palate should be able to detect. I wish I would have taken notes, but I definitely remember Hydrogen Sulfide (which elicits a sulfur-like aroma), diacetyl (classic buttered popcorn), and metallic (harsh, rusty, and blood-like). I hate trashing breweries, so I'll just kindly direct the brewer to this page, which includes 18 common off-flavors found in beer as well as how to detect and avoid them. Cheers!

The always cheerful Pleeps!

Thankfully, Brewslut took one for the team and consumed the lion's share of these three beers. After all, I was driving. 

After a rocky start, it was off to Wilkes-Barre for our third visit to Benny Brewing. When we arrived, there were maybe two available parking spots. This place was absolutely packed inside and out, so you can tell they're doing something right. Since we weren't eating there, we decided not to take up a table (valuable real estate to hungry patrons) and stand for a while. Lucky for us, there was an entertaining musical duo performing on the small elevated stage area during our visit. Turns out the bassist was a member of the legendary local band, Strawberry Jam, who used to play at the Coal Hole in Shamokin back when I was a kid. Every time we come here, the beers improve and there are more people. I guess NEPA-folk finally got on board with craft beer!

While we were there, we tried three beers from Benny's "Single Batch Series." These beers aren't part of its flagship or seasonal lineups and are brewed in smaller batches. First up was ‘Tis Noel Saison, an odd choice for me, especially as we were fast approaching the start of the summer season. This dark saison brewed with vanilla bean was concocted by homebrewer Patrick Granahan, and it took home The Crystal Lederhosen Champions Cup in 2018. I'm not sure if Benny took the recipe and brewed it themselves, or if it was a collaborative effort, or if this was the original homebrew batch. Either way, it was pretty damn tasty and had a nice mix of vanilla sweetness and spiciness courtesy of the yeast.

Benny taps (photo courtesy of Google Images).

Meanwhile, Brewslut was enjoying a pour of Reckless Endeavour, a triple dry-hopped DIPA with milk sugar. She's been hell bent for milk sugar IPAs lately and we both enjoyed this one as well. It boasted moderate viscosity with minimal chalkiness (a byproduct of lactose I sometimes find in lesser milkshake IPAs) and a bold hop profile. Nicely done!

Since we were batting 1000, we decided to go balls out and split a pour of 4 Day Weekend, an Imperial Cherry Stout aged for six months in bourbon barrels. After all, we were on a 4-day weekend. At 10% ABV, this one had some warmth and boozy bourbon presence, but it felt pretty tame thanks to the addition of cherries.

All in all, it was a fantastic visit to Benny and easily my favorite thus far. We enjoyed all of the beers and I was happy to get to soak in some live music for a change (since I'm usually the one on stage). It takes a lot to impress me, but these guys were solid musicians with fun personalities and amusing banter, which I love. I mean, clever microphone banter is an art form in and of itself and can really enhance any musical performance... which is why I love having a microphone when I perform!

Next up, we headed across town to nearby Breaker Brewing. We've been following Breaker since the beginning, which is 2009. Damn, I can't believe they've been around for a DECADE! We first had Breaker's beers at the infamous Elmer Sudds, a cool beer bar in Wilkes-Barre, many moons ago. After several years of trial and error and struggling to find its footing, I think Breaker has finally discovered its niche. These days, they crank out some pretty stellar fruit-infused sour/IPA hybrid beers like Lime Life, one of Brewslut's absolute favorite beers. (Editor's note: she recently visited Wilkes-Barre for a work-related class and made it a point to swing by just to pick up cans of this beer to bring home. She also drank a few while she was visiting.) They also do some pretty tasty milkshake IPAs.

Breaker Brewing Co. (photo courtesy of Google Images).

After checking out the beer list, Brewslut was eyeing up Grapefruit Bash, a NE-style IPA brewed in collaboration with Beer Tree (stay tuned for more on those guys in our next episode). Hopped with Michigan Copper hops from New York, a relatively new variety boasting fruity notes of cherry and fruit punch, and double dry hopped with Citra and Mosaic for additional citrus and tropical fruit goodness, the beer was then rested on gallons and gallons of juiced ruby red grapefruit and vanilla beans. You definitely get a huge smack of grapefruit in this bad boy with a lot of peppery rind and pith. The vanilla softened it a bit but this was fairly bitter. It was pretty solid but didn't live up to the beers we had during our last two visits.

I settled on a pour of an beer called Hey Man Nice Shoes since the beer I wanted had kicked (sorry, I don't remember what it was). Brewed with flaked and malted oats and raw white wheat for a soft mouthfeel, this IPA features Idaho 7 hops with backup of Citra, Warrior, and Azacca. You don't see Warrior too often in beers (though it is a key hop variety found in nugget Nectar). This one is also double dry hopped with Idaho7 and Citra Lupulin powder for notes of grapefruit, pineapple, and mango smoothie.

We typically eat at Breaker Brewing, and we chose not to deviate from the norm. The folks at Breaker serve up some slammin' panini sammies that are always enjoyable, and this time was no different. They change up their menu fairly often, or at least it seems like they do, as we only get up there about twice a year. My usual is The Simpson, a turkey panini with smoked gouda and house-made blackberry jalapeño jam. Can't go wrong with that combo, folks!

We closed out the evening with our requisite visit to Sabatini's, a place I often call the NE branch of Al's of Hampden. Pizza + beer = good, indeed! I was stoked to see a few offerings from New Trail, Billtown's newest craft beer player on the scene. We also had to get a pizza, and nothing quells my hunger pangs more than a chicken pizza. They have two great ones on the menu, but we opted for the Chicken Wing pizza this time, which is basically like wings on a pizza. Yum!

Back to the beer. I really enjoyed a one-off version of Hay Stacks IPA on cask conditioned on mango and peach. And again, we find your friendly neighborhood narrator salivating over the use of peach in a beer. I gotta say, I freakin' love peaches. Perhaps I'll move to the country... you know, so I can eat me a lot of peaches.

The other beer, Strawberry Haze, is a collaboration with Almanac Beer Co. Brewed with wheat and oats and "bluntly hopped with Sabro and a blend of some old favorites," the beer is then fermented atop "bundles of sticky icky strawberries and tangerines" for a blast of berry and citrus goodness. I hadn't heard of Sabro hops before, so I did a bit of Google exploring. Turns out the variety was developed by the Hop Breeding Company and released in 2018. An aroma hop, Sabro is notable for its complex fruity and citrus-forward character including a predominant tangerine note. It also imparts hints of coconut, tropical fruit, and stone fruit aromas, with traces of cedar, mint, and cream. So, lots going on there, right? (If you feel like geeking out a bit, check out this article about the history and lineage of Sabro hops.) While I enjoyed both of these beers quite a bit, I must give the nod to Hay Stacks. Because, you know... peaches.

And with that, the day had come to a close. Still, it was nice to leave a bit early and get to squeeze in a new brewery (even though it was only worth a visit so we could check it off our ever-growing list). Stay tuned for more Pour Travelers hijinx as we head into New York and hit up some old favorites as well as a new-to-us brewery that blew us away. Until next time...

Tröegs Field Trip 2019

Hey kids! Remember last year when I got to join my fellow Tröegs co-workers on a sweet field trip to the Martin guitar factory with a few breweries thrown in for good measure? Well, turns out it's kind of an annual thing now. Once again, my beer cohorts and I traveled (by chartered coach... not some shitty school bus) to the fine city of Baltimore for a day of fun, beer, and a little bit of art appreciation.

First up was a visit to Union Craft Brewing for a tour, some beers, and lunch. Brewslut and I had visited Union back in August of 2017 when we traveled to see Dweezil Zappa for the umpteenth time (refer to the What's New in Baltimore? blog for an account of that trip if you're new to us and feel so inclined). Back then, Union was still shacking up in its old digs and in the midst of celebrating its 5th anniversary. This time, however, they'd set up shop in a big-ass warehouse situated along the Jones Falls river in the historic Woodberry neighborhood of Baltimore. Once inside, I realized this was a far cry from its previous location, which could be described as garage-like compared to the sprawling layout of its current facility.

Trippy, colorful mural adorning the wall outside Union Craft.

Our tour guide was Kevin Blodger, one of the co-founders of the brewery. I'm happy to say that Union has grown considerably since our first visit. Kevin talked a bit about the history of the brewery, which was founded in 2011. It also employs "Adult Swim" hours, meaning no persons under the age of 21 are allowed inside the tap room after 6 p.m. Now we're talkin'! I wish more breweries would embrace this philosophy. Bring the kids in the afternoon and leave the evenings for the professionals. Just sayin'.

Inside, the tap room is eclectic and cozy. It kind of reminded me of Weasel Boy to an extent. They even have a full-size camper complete with a photo booth inside the tap room. See?

The tap room is quite spacious, so we were able to break off and explore the space at our own pace. The floor plan is open and inviting, and includes a small gift shop and a pretty rad game room complete with additional seating, skee-ball and more! They also use this space for private events. Good idea!

Game room at Union.

Once we got settled after our tour, I was excited to see a collaboration beer done with Ocelot, one of my favorite breweries in Virginia, called Grand Royale. The beer, an 8% double IPA, is hopped with Citra, Mosaic, and an experimental variety known as U1/108. This one was dank and juicy with a good bit of heft and some bristle (not uber-soft and silky like most NE-style IPAs). Overall, this one was exceptionally drinkable and quite flavorful with notes of tropical fruit and a smack of grapefruit.

 

Up next was something from Union's "Rough Drafts" series called Green Ghost IPA. Born through its R&D (research and development) brewhouse, this West Coast-style IPA features a new-to-me hop variety called Grüngeist (aka The Green Ghost). This one boasts peach, kiwi, and passionfruit in the nose followed by hints of lemon zest and wildflowers with moderate bitterness on the palate. A touch of pine resin weighs in through the finish. This was pretty solid overall, but I wish I would have started with this one and then moved onto the Grand Royale. OK, so it was a classic rookie mistake. I guess I got excited when I saw it was a collab with Ocelot.

Inside Union's expansive tap room.

While we were enjoying our beers, we enjoyed an assortment of food from Union's on-premise Well-Crafted Kitchen, including a variety of pizzas, pretzels and popcorn. Everyone must have been pretty hungry, because they were pumpin' out the food like it was feeding time at the zoo!

Even though it was unseasonably warm for early April, I decided to go with a pour of Snow Pants next. I must admit that I opted for this based on its clever name (a winter warmer, of course), so I was thrilled that it was really tasty. An Oatmeal Stout, this jet black, full-bodied beer weighs at 8% ABV. Boasting a gentle, creamy body due to the addition of oats, it's a sweet stout tempered with Cascade and Columbus hops, which offer a tinge of citrus and pine.

Another shot of Union's interior.

I rounded out our visit with a pour of Old Pro, a German-style wheat ale brewed with coriander and salt. I think by now everyone knows what a gose is. A dash of salt and a hint of tart, Old Pro is a slammin' straight-up gose. No fruit, no frills; just damn tasty and super refreshing.

I don't remember enjoying Union as much as during our initial visit as I did this time. Perhaps it was the new location and the hospitality. Either way, the beers were fantastic and the space was fun. Everyone was just really inviting and friendly, which always helps too. Can't wait to go back with the wife!

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Tröegs has enjoyed a wonderful relationship with the American Visionary Art Museum, one of Baltimore's most unique non-beer destinations I've ever visited. These folks are responsible for the utterly awesome Kinetic Sculpture Race, whereby dozens of handmade, man-powered works of art traverse the streets of the city across a 15-mile course of various terrain. Sadly, the event is always the day before the Sly Fox Goat Races, so I haven't been able to attend. One of these years I'm just going to have to suck it up and attend both, because this one looks hella-fun!  

Outside the American Visionary Art Museum.

The exhibits at AVAM during our visit focused on children and parenting, two subjects I know very little about. I'd probably do better on a Chemistry exam, in all honesty. Still, the place is quite a sight to behold. I had the opportunity to visit the museum about two years ago with our marketing team at Tröegs, which took place just prior to our involvement with one of AVAM's signature events, the Kinetic Sculpture Race. We've since participated in the event as a beer sponsor, and even constructed our own human-powered Troegenator float (dubbed the "Nator Racer") to traverse the 15-mile course through the streets - and other terrain - of Baltimore. Sadly, I've never had the opportunity to experience the race, as it is always held the day before the Sly Fox Bock Fest and Goat Races, which is an absolute MUST-ATTEND event for Brewslut and I. 

After a nice guided tour of some of the key exhibits, we strolled around on our own for a bit and visited the kitschy, eclectic gift shop, where last year I'd purchased a sock dog (like a sock monkey) and a pair of Bob Ross socks for Brewslut. This year, though, I went home empty handed, although I almost bought a "chicken hat" (use your imagination with that one). I was considering wearing it to our next stop on the itinerary, but even I don't need that much attention. Here are two fun photos I snapped while walking around and soaking in the exhibits:

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The headline act of the day was a visit to the amazing Guinness Open Gate Brewery & Barrel House. We'd had plans to visit last June after the Primus/Mastodon show we attended in Baltimore (which you can read about in our Less is never more, especially in Baltimore entry). Long story short, we were going to visit on Sunday, which was the day after the concert, but the hotel overbooked and we were forced to drive home late Saturday night. So I was excited to finally check out the facility. And let me tell you... it's pretty damn impressive!

I'd met Oliver, our guide for the day, when he contacted me to make plans to visit Tröegs. This was about a year before the Open Gate Brewery opened its doors. He was kind enough to give me a sweet Guinness T-shirt and some extra-special limited barrel-aged beer, which was really damn good! 

After our group received a thorough tour of the facility, we made our way back to the tasting room for some much-needed libations. I was anxious to dig in and see what Guinness was up to at this experimental brewery. A few things I picked up along the way: 

1. This facility brews all of the Guinness Blonde that is sold in the United States; 

2. It's the first Guinness brewery situated on American soil in over 63 years (Guinness briefly owned a brewery in Long Island City, New York, from 1949-1954); 

3. The Guinness Draught we all know and love didn't actually launch until 1959, when Michael Ash invented the "surge and settle" effect and thus the world's first nitrogen-dispensed beer, and; 

4. Arthur Guinness started the brewery in 1752 after receiving a 100£ inheritance. Pretty good return on investment, eh? 

Now onto the beer. I must say that Guinness is cranking out some pretty impressive beers here. After perusing the fairly lengthy draft list, I opted for the Nitro Coffee Stout brewed with Brazilian roasted coffee from Vent Coffee Roasters. Silky and smooth thanks to the patented Guinness "perfect pour," this was pretty solid albeit the coffee flavor was a bit subdued. I find this pretty typical for nitro stouts; you trade flavor for texture. Still, this was a stunning beer to soak in even if it wasn't as coffee-forward as I prefer for the style. 

While I worked on my coffee stout, everyone seemed to be going on and on about this Dry Hopped Kolsch. Turns out it was a favorite of many of my co-workers, and it also happened to be my favorite of the lot as well. Floral, light and refreshing, this one really hit the spot. I'm usually not terribly excited about the style, but this one was money! 

Another favorite of the group was the Imperial Stout. Weighing in at 8% ABV, this came across as a Euro-style stout with a big, chewy mouthfeel and minimal sweetness. Instead of chocolate and vanilla sweetness, this one boasted lots of dark stone fruit with a tinge of earth and accents of molasses, coffee, tobacco and leather. Roasty and complex, just the way I like 'em!

I thought we were ready to load up the bus by now, but everyone seemed to be having a great time, so I figured I'd have time for a few more. Enter the Northwest IPA, a copper-hued IPA brewed as an interpretation of a style made popular in the Northwestern part of the US. Malt-forward and medium bodied with rich caramel notes, some subtle pine and resin crept through, but not quite enough for my hoppy palate. Brewed with Mosaic, Citra and El Dorado, this IPA features muted notes of melon, orange, and dark fruit. 

Finally, I opted for a small pour of Belgian Ale, a classic Belgian-style Tripel with notes of light clove, sweet bubblegum, fruity esters and hint of pepper. And with that, it was time to hit the rocky road back to PA. 

OK kids, there's a lot to see here, so this is gonna be a photo-heavy blog. Plus I've been working on it for a while and I just haven't been feeling very verbose lately. I guess I'm still in FOJ mode. 

Gift shoppe (sounds more European, right?)

Nitro coffee stout.

The Guinness toucan was first introduced in 1935.

Me with the Guinness seal.

Randomonium.

Barrel-aging room.

More wood for y'all!

Well, that's all, folks! Tune in next time as we make our annual Memorial Day weekend trip to NEPA and upstate NY for Detfest weekend! Until next time...