A Day of Tomfrippery

It's rare that I get a weekend all to myself. Brewslut was recently invited to go on an extended "girls' weekend" to the beach with some friends, which left me alone to my own devices. With a few days to myself, I decided to round up Darin and Doug (see The Point of Bro Return for a refresher) and head to the fabled Princeton Record Exchange, an iconic record store in New Jersey. Upon looking at my trusty brewery map, I discovered a plethora of craft breweries both on the way and in the general vicinity of Princeton. I scoped out some familiar - and unfamiliar - names and came up with a short list of places to hit after digging for records for about an hour and a half. Turns out I'd wanted to visit these places for quite some time, and now the opportunity had presented itself.

After mining for plastic for about an hour and a half, it was time to celebrate our hauls with a few cold ones. First on the agenda was a visit to Vault Brewing in nearby Yardley, PA. I'd first come into contact with Vault's beers during my frequent visits to the good ol' Corvette Bar & Grille in my adopted hometown of Annville, PA. Turns out that Travis, one of the Vette's long-time bartenders, is friends with one of the owners of Vault... at least that's how I remember it. So I'd had a few of their beers in recent years and have generally enjoyed them quite a bit. One that comes to mind is the Full City Coffee Stout, which I recall was quite good. At any rate, it was good to finally visit the source after having enjoyed some of their beers for about three years or so.

Outside Vault Brewing Co. (photo courtesy of patch.com)

With the 'Rona still in full force, Vault (like many other small breweries) has adopted a makeshift beer garden area for outside seating. I'd perused the food menu in advance and decided it would serve as a suitable spot for lunch. The beer garden is set up in the adjacent parking lot, complete with a large pop-tent affair... the kind that cost like $1000 to rent for a wedding. The shade was definitely welcome - although I always prefer inside seating with air conditioning - and despite being around 92 degrees outside, it was fairly comfortable at our table.

I started the day off with a pour of a NE-style Pale Ale called Of Hops and Clouds. We joked that it sounded like the name of a prog rock album title. Brewed with a hop combo of Mosaic, Citra, and Amarillo, this fruity ale boasts a juicy smack of pineapple and citrus with tropical notes of guava and  mango. I enjoyed this one quite a bit.

For lunch, the waffle grilled cheese sandwich sounded too damn good to pass up, so I opted for carb overload... always a good decision when drinking all day! This was essentially a grilled cheese sandwich with homemade waffles standing in for plain old bread. I believe there was also smoked gouda in the mix, but I could be wrong. At any rate, this was bangin' and provided a solid base on which to lay lots of beer.

Speaking of beer, my second beer was one Darin had just had called Chasing Nickels. This NE-style session IPA is hopped with Idaho Gem and Mosaic for bright aromas of sweet citrus, grapefruit, and a hint of pine. I got more of a tropical fruit vibe with a twist of  lemon meringue pie. This was quite enjoyable albeit a tad muted after my initial hoppier beer. I did get inside for a bit to use the restroom, and the place is bigger than I'd anticipated. It kind of reminded me of Iron Hill, with lots of dark, smooth wood and a similar layout. I'd love to visit again when we're able to sit inside. Plus Brewslut needs to get to this place. I imagine we'll be back within the next year. 

Up next on the agenda was Huntindon Valley's Naked Brewing. This brewery has been around for the better part of the last decade, and I'd wanted to visit for quite some time. Naked debuted its beers at the Newtown Beer Fest (I performed there once with herbie) in 2011. After receiving a positive response from attendees, the brewery decided to go full time and was officially licensed on April Fool’s Day 2012. Within just a few months, Naked moved from a tiny garage to its present location. Again, we were forced to sit outside in the heat (thanks, 'Rona!), but like so many other small breweries, Naked had erected a pop-up beer garden and employed a food truck to keep its customers hydrated (or should I say libated?) and nourished. As you can see from the photo below, the beer garden was nothing fancy; a few scattered picnic tables and a covered bar with about eight seats. We grabbed a few seats at the bar as there was only one guy occupying a stool when we arrived. 

Naked's pop-up beer garden (courtesy of Trip Advisor)

After enjoying two IPAs at Vault, I decided to switch things up a bit at Naked. I spotted a beer called Ground Effects on the menu that sounded tasty described as a cream ale brewed with coffee roasted at Calm Waters Coffee Roasters. I'll typically order one of these whenever they appear on a beer list, and I've typically enjoyed these more often than not. This one features a nice balance of vanilla and light coffee with an almost blondie (blonde brownie) vibe going on.  

I decided to stay on the lighter side, and once I saw a beer name referencing Motorhead bass god, Lemmy, the decision was made. Lemmy Czech is a crisp Czech-style Pilsner brewed with the classic German noble hop Saaz for a grassy, citrusy bite in the finish. This was pretty solid overall, though not as super crisp as other examples of the style I've had. Still, it's refreshing to see more lagers being brewed by small breweries these days. I'd drink it again. Plus... Lemmy! \m/ However, I think that any beer named after Lemmy should taste like cigarettes and whiskey. Maybe a smoked beer next time? 

All in all, this was a pleasant first-time visit... even with the heat. The three of us always engage in lots of silly music geek humor (i.e. Tomfrippery, a term taken from our self-penned Prog Rock Dictionary, which includes 40 different entries thus far). Also, I did get to meander inside for a peek while waiting for the bathroom to become vacant. The brewery and adjoining tasting room definitely has a dimly lit warehouse vibe, which is totally fine with me. I tend to like my breweries to straddle the line between utilitarian and one-of-a-kind. I enjoy a space has its own unique character and doesn't employ a generic cookie-cutter design thats typically of a chain restaurant. I'd rather have no-frills than no personality. I'm looking forward to getting back here in the post-Rona world as well. 

In researching breweries for this little jaunt, I was surprised to find that Conshohocken Brewing Company has five different locations. The location in closest proximity to us was situated in Bridgeport, PA, so we set the GPS for Puddlers Kitchen & Tap, one of Conshohocken's satellite tap rooms. With PA liquor laws constantly changing (fortunately for the better), small breweries can now operate multiple tap rooms under a single license, which means other nearby communities can share the wealth while the brewery spreads awareness of its brand. This building is pretty damn cool too. Check it...

Conshohocken's Puddlers site (courtesy of plymouthnbeyond.com)

When we arrived, all of the tables under umbrellas were already reserved, so we had to sweat it out in the sun. We found a partially shaded table, but I'm prone to burst into flames during especially hot summer days, so I made a quick bathroom visit and popped back to the car to grab my own umbrella to provide a bit of shade. Brewslut and I had visited the original Conshohocken site shortly after it opened back in 2014 and were somewhat impressed. We weren't necessarily wowed but we also weren't underwhelmed. At any rate, it had been a while since I had the opportunity to dig in for a second run, so I was glad to be back to see what they'd been up to. I mean, they have five locations, so they must be doing something right, eh?    

Beer Garden at Puddlers site (courtesy of Facebook)

After perusing the beer list, I settled on Type A, a 7% ABV west coast-style IPA hopped with a blend of Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe against a backbone of pale and pilsner malts. This one boasts a full hop aroma with flavors of citrus and pine as well as that textbook dry finish that defines the style. It turned out to be a good choice. This one a one-and-done stop for me, as I was driving. 

Not sure what else to do since we had more time, we ultimately decided to end the evening at one of our collective favorites, St. Boniface. One of my regular quarantine libations has been SB's coffee IPA, recently matriculated from the Offering Series to a bona fide beer now named Whiff Roasters. The beer borrows its name from the Lititz, PA-based company that provides the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe beans for its recipe. Seriously, folks... this beer is bangin'! It may very well be the best coffee IPA I've had in my travels thus far. I simply can't get enough of it. As a matter of fact, we're heading down to check out the newly opened Tied House, SBC's new Lititz, PA taproom. Here's to hoping it's on tap this evening! I'm glad to see them thriving, as they've been one of my favorite central PA breweries since the get-go. 

Well kids, that's all for now. Brewslut and I recently made a weekend jaunt up to Penn's Creek Campground (not too far from our beloved chalet... RIP) to hit some new breweries and a few old favorites. Stay tuned for an account of that weekend, coming soon to The Pour Travelers blog. Until next time...