A Weekend Fit for a President - Part I: Jaunting 'round Jersey

For the last several years, we always get an itching to visit Philadelphia and its neighbors across the river in New Jersey. We're typically able to find a good hotel deal in the Cherry Hill, NJ, area, and this year was no different. We settled on the long President's Day weekend for our annual brewery hopping jaunt. (Being a teacher, Brewslut already had the day off, while I had stockpiled a ton of PTO over the last year... thanks 'Rona!) 

We'd been lucky the past few years and enjoyed unseasonably warm weather during our trips. Unfortunately, this particular weekend turned out to be a bit dicey. The forecast had called for the possibility of snow and freezing rain, which is never welcome in our travel plans. However, we decided to take our chances and gamble with the possibility of inclement weather. It turns out we ended up dodging the bullet, as we didn't start to get precipitation until we were leaving our last stop of the trip and were only about an hour from home. Sometimes you just get lucky. 

But let's start at the beginning, shall we?

The initial stop on our agenda for Saturday took us to the first of many new-to-us breweries called King's Road. Founded in 2016 by a group of five friends, King's Road set up shop in Haddonfield, NJ, a town that had been dry since 1873. The name of the brewery refers to its address on historic King's Highway, which is touted as "America’s oldest road." (Fun fact: the 1,300-mile road was laid out in 1650 eventually built by order of Charles II of England, who directed his colonial governors to link Charleston, South Carolina, and Boston, Massachusetts. It was finally finished in 1735 and just happens to run through Haddonfield, NJ, hence the name of the brewery.) 

Our first of many flights this weekend.

The town of Haddonfield itself reminded me of a Lititz or New Hope in that the streets were bustling with people popping in and out of quaint little shops and boutiques. We were surprised to learn that parking in the municipal lots was free on the weekends. What?! That's unheard of, especially in Jersey (Asbury Park, for example, encorces meters until 2 a.m. Fuck that hoodwink!) Of course, we found on after we fed the meter fifty cents (still cheap by big city standards, I suppose). So we parked in one of the lots and made the short yet brisk two-block walk to the brewery, which is situated right on the main street. 

We managed to arrive shortly after opening time, so it was easy to find a seat. With COVID-19 still in full swing, we were layered up just in case we'd need to sit outside during our visit. I was even sporting my longjohns, thermal undershirt, winter hat and multiple layers including a hoodie and jacket. So we actually got to de-layer a bit as it was much warmer inside. For our first beers of the weekend, we opted for a flight of four house beers to test the waters. Here's the run-down:

• Winter Reign - New England-style Pale Ale with hints of raspberry jam, orange peel and pine, layered on a biscuity malt base. Soft and fruity with virtually no bitterness. 
• Galactic Vengeance - Galaxy-hopped version of Ample Vengeance IPA with a dominant passionfruit character as well as notes of citrus and peach. 
• Keepin' On - Double NEIPA hopped and dry-hopped with a combination of El Dorado, Hallertau Blanc and Simcoe to produce a fruit-forward character with notes of dried apricot, mango, and pear.
• Good Night - Imperial oatmeal stout brewed with Dutch chocolate and conditioned on Madagascar vanilla beans and cacao nibs. Rich and decadent with hints of vanilla and a combo of bittersweet, dark, and milk chocolate. 

Pleeps is just getting started!

While all of the beers were satisfactory, I must admit that I had a tough time discerning the very subtle nuances of the three hoppy beers based on their flavor profiles. They all seemed to flow into one another with very miniscule differences. Perhaps each beer utilizes the same malt base and yeast strain. With that said, I found all of the beers to be enjoyable, with the DIPA being my favorite of the lot. The server who took my order was impressed that I ordered the beers in the appropriate order in which they were to be sampled (i.e. least hoppy to hoppiest and ending with the stout). Gold star for me, I suppose. 

Interior of Berlin Brewing Company.

Things were pretty quiet at our next stop, Berlin Brewing. Established in 2014 and situated in an old cinderblock building in downtown Berlin, NJ, the brewery with its town's namesake captures the feel of pre-Prohibition baseball. The interior of the taproom is decorated appropriately with old memorabilia and equipment, and its walls adorn some baseball-inspired murals. Oh, and then there's this in the men's bathroom. Brace yourselves, ladies!

Baseball porn, anyone?

Man, that Pete Rose is a hairy sumbitch! But I digress. Berlin Brewing Company was started by two friends who shared a love of beer and baseball, so they decided to go all-in and open a small brewery in 2014. I'd checked out the website in advance (as I always do) and was delighted to find a series of beers names after gnomes. We have a small family of gnomes at home, and you may even remember Great Grandpa Thoughtweaver, whom we'd acquired during our inaugural trip to Liquid Shoes Brewing in Corning, NY. Needless to say, we were hoping one of these beers with the aforementioned "gnomenclature" would be available.

Vintage baseball memorabilia at Berlin Brewing.

We decided to share another sampler flight, as we had a pretty ambitious schedule to keep. I mean, when don't we have an ambitious itinerary? Here the skinny on our flight:

• Wooly Willy - Golden stout with a delicate blend of lactose, coffee, vanilla, and chocolate.  
• Gnomastè - NEIPA brewed with wheat and oats, then hopped and dry-hopped with a combination of Barbe Rouge, Styrian Cardinal, and Callista to elicit flavors of ripe grapefruit, passionfruit, tropical fruit and a hint of strawberry.
• Bitch with a Bat - OK, this one was really left of center. Berlin took its strong ale, Humble Bitch, and aged it over white ash planks. This one straddled the line of labyrinthine complexity and hodge podgedness (I think I just created a word there). Equal parts Belgian strong ale, Flanders Red, and West Coast IPA, this beer had lots going on with it. Then add the fact that it was aged over white ash planks - a first even for me! - to elicit complex charred wood and light smokey notes. While I'm not sure I could have downed an entire 16oz glass, this one just sounded too intriguing to pass it up. It definitely gets an "A" for effort!
• Down Goes Drago - I had to get this one just because of its name. I must break you! Named after the villian in Rocky IV (a movie I was obsessed with when I was a kid), this Russian Imperial Stout was aged in three different barrels: Jim Beam Bourbon, Rock Hill Distillery Rye Whiskey, and maple syrup. The barrels were then blended to concoct this 13.5% heavy-hitter. Trust me, if you drink an entire pour of this one... you will lose!

Pleeps is ready for the starting lineup at Berlin Brewing.

Overall, I found this to be a well-rounded representation of the various styles offered at Berlin. Aside from the unusual nature of Bitch with a Bat, my favorite offering was probably Wooly Willy. I've been enjoying golden stouts quite a bit these days, and typically gravitate to them over Irish or export stouts. Ironically, I drink my coffee black, and golden stouts usually incorporate vanilla or some other sort of ingredient to approximate "cream and sugar" in the beer's flavor. Go figure!

Pleeps is pinch-drinking at Berlin Brewing.

Our next stop in nearby Atco, NJ, was Brotherton Brewing, which turned out to be our favorite new find of the day. Incorporated in 2015, the brewing facility and taproom are currently situated in the historic Atco Firehouse, and the folks at Brotherton have taken pride in preserving the spirit of the building's heritage. However, the brewery's roots were established in nearby Shamong Township, where Eurpoean colonists in 1758 established the first Native American reservation on 3,000 acres of land that would come to be known as the Brotherton reservation. So there's another history lesson for you today!

Outside Brotherton Brewing Co. in Atco, NJ.

Inside, the taproom was fairly crowded. In addition to the actual seating area, there were additional tables set up in the brewing area to facilitate more customers. We snagged a table in the fermentation cellar area next to an old keg filler. Our table was a large wooden spool, which was quite resourceful. The beer menu was diverse and plentiful, so we each opted for our own flight this time. 

• Pine Barrens Pilsner - Traditional German-style Pilsner brewed with noble hops and German pils malt. Crisp and well-balanced with light floral notes.
• Green Earth - American Pale Ale brewed with rye, oats, and Munich malt and hopped with Citra and Simcoe for hints of pine resin, grapefruit, fresh-cut grass, and earthy orange rind.
• Swarthy Invader - Imperial Stout weighing in at 9.6% ABV
• When the Curtain Falls - Blonde farmhouse ale inspired by the rustic beers brewed in Northern France. Brewed with oats, wheat and rye, the mash is then boiled for three hours before undergoing a high-temperature fermentation. Malty, spicy and dry with notes of toasted marshmallow and wildflowers.

Pleeps is our personal Vanna White!

Overall, everything was executed very well, with my favorite being a tie between the pilsner and pale ale. The pale ale in particular, had quite a lot of character for a somewhat boring, antiquated beer style. This beer was fresh and exuberant with lots of hoppy flavor, some mild bitterness (which I always appreciate) and a sturdy malt backbone. I wouldn't hesitate to return to this place during our next visit to the area. 

Our next destination kept us in the town of Atco for the aptly named Atco Brewing. In doing some preliminary planning for our itinerary, I noticed that this brewery had released several variations of its Messenger Boy stout, which is a reference to the iconic confectioner Whitman's. If you've ever bought candy as a gift for your girlfriend, mom, grandma, aunt, etc. then you undoubtedly are familiar with this company's classic sampler box of chocolates. See?

"MC Pee Pants doesn't just want candy .... He needs it." - Meatwad

Whitman's is one of the largest and oldest brands of boxed chocolates in the country. Its confections have been produced since 1842, first by Stephen Whitman in Philadelphia and now by Russell Stover Candies. "Messenger Boy" refers to a mascot of sorts that was added to the box in 1915 and served as part of Whitman's adversing campaigns. Would you look at that? More fun with history!  

The Messenger Boy sampler flight included the following four beers:

• Chocolate - The original release in the series, this stout is brewed with lactose and conditioned on cacao nibs. 
• Chocolate Cherry Cordial - Next up, this variation include cacao nibs, lactose as well as Maraschino cherries.
• Orange Chocolate Cream - The third release in the series combines cacao nibs, lactose, and orange cream.
• Toasted Coconut Cream with Hazelnut - The fourth and final variant combines cacao nibs, lactose, toasted coconut, and hazelnut. 

Pleeps is anxious to dig into the Messenger Boy sampler!

The toasted coconut cream with hazelnut was far and away our favorite. It had just the right blend of toasty nuttiness with a complementary tropical flair courtesy of the coconut. I got more of a toasted coconut flavor rather than the chemical-y off-flavor found in some other coconut beers we've had in the past. Conversely, the cherry cordial version missed the mark a little bit and came across more akin to a Ludens cough drop. Still, it was cool to sample these variations side by side and compare them. I thought it was a cool concept as well, so kudos to that. 

Over in nearby Marlton, NJ, we hit up another new place called Zed's Beer. Also known as Bado Brewing (named after owner Geoff Bado), Zed's offers "approachable craft beer" in a variety of styles from in a cozy setting just off Marlton's main drag. Oddly enough, Bado got into brewing by accident after receiving a Mr. Beer kit as a gag gift. I suppose everyone has his or her origins. 

Pleeps is ready for some Z's... and not the sleepy kind!

Inside the taproom, we were greeted by an open floor plan with visible access to the brewing equipment. We were lucky enough to snag a comfortable little nook near the entrance with soft seating, pillows and our own coffee table. In keeping with our tradition of the day, we opted for another shared flight to try a variety of beers. Here's the scoop:

• West Coast IPA V9 - We went back to our favorite V9 and decreed it the reigning Champion. The hop blend is true to style with citrus and mango notes, and just the right punch to the palate.
• Beermosa - a Radler-style beer brewed to mimic everyone's favorite staple brunch beverage, the Mimosa. Light and citrusy. 
• Dunkel Lager - Our Dunkel features a strong, aromatic backbone of Munich caramel that lingers on the pallet. Made the right way--We lagered the beer for more than a month. 
• Mahaleb Sour - Sour ale brewed with Mahaleb spice to contribute notes of toasted almond, cherry and vanilla notes. A Philly Sour yeast strain introduced a tart, funky character. 

Nothing in the sampler really grabbed us or convinced us to stay for another round, which was fine, because I knew we'd be sticking around at our next stop for quite a while. With that said, Zed's was a cozy place with friendly people and solid beers... something that every town needs! 

One of our favorite breweries in the area (along with Spellbound, which we skipped this time due to the geographic layout of our itinerary) is Cherry Hill's Forgotten Boardwalk. Since 2014, this brewery found a way to blend the whimsy of the Jersey Shore (I mean, who didn't vacation there as a kid?) with consistent and slightly off-kilter beers, like its Funnel Cake cream ale. The small but charming taproom includes skee ball, funhouse mirrors and provides a Coney Island, carnival-like vibe. Add to all of that its evocative, clever artwork (its mascot is a three-eyed feline and tap handles are cat tails) and you've got yourself the makings of a fantastic brewery. Unfortunately, the skee ball machines had been removed to accommodate more seating due to the limited capacity restrictions. 

We'd been visiting Forgotten Boardwalk now for several years, and if we'd ever been on the fence about the legitimacy of this place, let me tell you... this visit would have evicerated any previous doubt we may have had. First off, the servers here are always amazing and knowledgeable. Last time, we actually spent a few hours with the marketing manager at the time as well as Jamie, the owner. They were gracious with sharing beers and even stuck around well after hours to continue our chat. 

The place seemed pretty packed when we arrived, and at first it was looking like we might not get in. It was already dark and extremely chilly outside (and icy!), and even though we were layered up, I was really hoping to sit inside. Thankfully, they have been using the brewing and fermentation area for additional seating during COVID-19, so we were able to at least get in and sit down. It was a bit chilly in the back, but it was better than being outside.  

There were a few beers (IPAs, actually) that sounded fantastic, so I asked our server and he instantly recommended a beer called Tower #4. This particular beer, DDH Tower No. 4 (Citra & Sabro) expands on the original Tower No. 4 IPA. While it uses the same base malts and kettle hops as the original, this version is double dry-hopped with two heavy-hitters: Citra and Sabro. Holy shit! I've had well over 30 different beers from this brewery, and in my opinion, this beer is its crowning achievement. Boasting a pillowy mouthfeel and complex flavors of tangerine, light mint, and tropical fruit, this delicious beer finishes with a hint of cedar wood and coconut cream. Man, I was giddy with this beer. While I've enjoyed almost all of the beers we've had here over the year, I don't recall having this type of reaction to one of its beers ever! There was no way I wasn't going home with a 4-pack of this beer. Yeah, um, scratch that... TWO 4-packs! 

Pleeps still going strong at Forgotten Boardwalk.

After being blown away by my first beer, I shifted gears and went with Last Brunch, a coffee porter brewed with cinnamon and vanilla. This was a solid porter with a moderate coffee aroma, which gave way to a hint of roast and smoky chocolate with a slightly sweet vanilla finish. I'd had this beer on one other occasion, and it was better than I'd remembered. Of course, I seldom meet a coffee beer I don't like. 

I decided to go big with my next beer. Angry Mike, an American style barleywine, features Vienna and caramel malts, a pinch of rye, and Cascade hops. This big, chewy beer is fermented warm with Omega Horindal Kviek yeast to elicit a fruity aroma and flavor reminiscent of stone fruit (apricot and peach) and a hint of tropical pineapple. I really dug this beer quite a bit. If I was Mike and had a tasty beer like this named after me, I'm not so sure I'd be too angry. Drinking it certainly didn't make me angry. 

As a postscript, I asked for a sample size pour of Morro Castle, a smoked beer. Inspired by the German rauchbier, this beer utilizes a grist of nearly 50% European beechwood smoked malt. Toasty, rich and chocolatey, its the beechwood character that stands front and center, lending a smooth and savory smokey character as well as hints of sweet tobacco leaves. I really can't say enough about this visit. I dropped off a nice selection of Tröegs beer for the staff and made sure to leave a bottle of BBA Nator behind for Jamie, who unfortunately wasn't working when we stopped by. 

We had time to swing by one last brewery for the day before calling it quits. Located less than 2 miles away from Forgotton Boardwalk in Mt. Laurel, 'Bout the Hops opened its doors in December 2019. Situated in an all-too-familiar industrial complex, this new brewery boasts a 1 bbl nano brewhouse as well as a larger 5 bbl system, which allows them to rotate up to 18 different taps at any given time. 

We agreed we each had one more beer in us, so we deviated from our typical game plan of the day and forewent a sampler flight in lieu of our own single pours. I settled on Cobbler Gobbler, a milkshake IPA brewed with lactose, peaches and graham crackers. Can you guess which incredient helped me make my decision? HINT: His name is Peaches! Yes folks, it's another peach beer for me, I'm afraid. I simply can't resist a beer with peaches in it. Meanwhile, Brewslut opted for the cleverly named  SpongeBob SourPants, a sour ale brewed with pineapple and passionfruit. I recall the beers here were tasty, but it was getting late and we were pretty drained by this point. I always feel bad for the last brewery of the day, because it's usually a quick one-and-done stop and seldom sticks in my memory compared to the other places we visit during the day. I suppose that's the effects of alcohol at work, right? 

Pleeps was ready to gobble up my Cobbler Gobbler!

And with that, it was time to head back to the hotel and get some rest. All in all, it was an extremely productive day for us, with a grand total of six new-to-us breweries to add to our ever-expanding list. Brewslut and I both agreed that Brotherton took top honors for the day, although I don't think we had what I'd call a "bad beer" all day. That's always a plus! 

Stay tuned for Part II of our President's Day beer weekend as we head back across the river for a day in the City of Brotherly Love. Until next time...

The Pour Travelers Take Delmarva: Part III

After a quick pre-game beer before heading out (an apt choice with Sun-Day-Feels, a sour ale brewed with Viognier grape juice, peaches, blood oranges, lemon, and lime), Sunday began on a high note with an impromptu tour of Dogfish Head's brewing facility in Milton. We didn't plan it that way; we were going to call ahead to make a reservation while en route to the brewery, but we got to talking and forgot to call. When we arrived, there was a solid 90-minute wait. Luckily, Taylor brought along his keyfob, which gave us VIP access to the entire brewery. Honestly, this was much cooler than sitting under a huge white tent and enjoying a beer.  

For the next two hours or so, we strolled casually around the brewery, sipping various beers as we stopped to check out specific areas of the impressive facility. Somewhere along the way, we sampled some Walking Run, a hazy, hoppy pale ale brewed with English pale ale malt, wheat malt and flaked oats. Soft and pillowy with a pleasant malt flavor, this pale ale finishes with tropican and citrus fruit notes. 

DFH is sportin' some serious wood!

Over in the barrel room, Taylor pointed out that DFH's barrel-aging space was slowly being snuffed out by the recent explosion of Truly, a series of hard seltzers that became part of DFH's repertoire upon merging with Sam Adams. Taylor mentioned that they employ temp workers virtually around the clock just to pack mix cases of this highly popular - for lack of a better term - alcoholic soft drink. I suppose one has got to pay the bills, right? 

Looks like some World Wide Stout right there.

While we milled around the barrel room, Taylor offered to crack open a Pour Travelers' choice. After perusing the many cork and cage bottles strewn about the packaging area, I settled on Ouvert Operation, an open-fermented saison aged in gin barrels. This one had me at "gin barrels." Although I'm not a huge fan of gin itself, I became quite enamored with gin barrel-aged beers a few years ago when we visited Oregon. It seems as though this trend kicked off out west and worked its way eastward over the subsequent months. While gin barrel-aged beers are hard to come by on the east coast, it didn't surprise me one bit that DFH had one available. I enjoyed this one quite a bit and it was one of the many highlights of our little VIP tour.

Pleeps wants a lesson in mixology.

Speaking of highlights, we also got to sample uber-fresh 90 Minute IPA from one of the brite tanks in the fermentation hall. Although most jaded beer geeks might brush off this iconic beer in favor of trendier hazies and juice bombs, Esquire Magazine has called 90 Minute "perhaps the best IPA in America." I must admit that even I take this one for granted despite it being an early favorite of mine back in my young Padawan days. I will say that this tasted very good; so good, in fact, that I had two pours from the brite tank! IPAs with an extreme hop character and supporting malt backbone seem to be a thing of the past these days. This one has such a distinct flavor profile that I could likely pick it out of a line-up of 10 different IPAs. 

Another highlight was drinking a can of our COVID-19 fridge beer, Slightly Mighty, while relaxing and chatting in the quality laboratory. Brewslut and I have tried a handful of these new "lo-cal" pale ales and IPAs, and have decided unanimously that this one is our favorite. Slightly Mighty boasts all the flavor and tropical aromas of typical full-flavored IPA, but with just 95 calories and 3.6 grams of carbs. While it's brewed with locally-grown barley, this beer's magic ingredient is monk fruit, which delivers body and complexity without the excessive carbs. This sucker is light, flavorful and crushable! It was a Club Mease favorite of ours during the summer months out at the pool for Minkie Ball. (I won't elaborate on this... just know it's hella-fun!) 

Taylor, our guide and innkeeper.

Although I work at a brewery, I still tend to geek out and get giddy when I visit a brewery I admire. DFH has such an amazing facility with so many different facets, and it was a joy having a great tour guide and free reign to explore. Many thanks to Taylor for the hospitality and great conversation!

We decided to make a quick stop at Brimming Horn Meadery, which we'd enjoyed quite a bit last time. Taylor wanted to drop off a few beers for the owner, who'd just had a death in the family. Unfortunately, he wasn't around during our visit. (I had fun chatting briefly about metal last time, as he's an all-around fan of the genre.) At any rate, we stuck around for a quick one in the heated tent around the back of the building. I opted for Shirley Temple, a mead brewed to mimic the non-alcoholic drink of the same name. The classic version is traditionally made with ginger ale and a splash of grenadine, then garnished with a maraschino cherry. This light and flavorful mead boasted the requisite notes of cherry and ginger and was quite enjoyable. This turned out to be a quick one-and-done stop, but we did pick up a few stovepipe cans of a few things (because, you know, 12% meads should come in 19.2oz. cans) and went on our merry way.

Outside Big Oyster Brewing in Lewes, DE.

One of the breweries I was most excited to revisit was Big Oyster. The 6,000-square-foot facility and brewpub is situated on King's Highway, just outside of Lewes, inside Fins Ale House & Raw Bar. Last year, we enjoyed lunch there but I only sampled one lone beer. That was about to change! 

Taylor and I both ordered Hammerhead, Big Oyster's flagship IPA. However, we were given pours of a much lighter beer, which we deduced was in fact Hammer Light, a low-calorie version of Hammerhead IPA. While it was solid, I wish the waitress would have informed us of this because we would have ordered something different. 

Meanwhile, Brewslut was enjoying one of the brewery's fruit beers called Triple Pineapple Dreamsicle, an amped-up version of Pineapple Dreamsicle featuring more lactose and oats. I had a few sips of this and was sufficiently blown away. Creamy vanilla and tropical fruit mingles to create a soft mouthfeel and initial sweetness, which gives way to a huge smack of tropical hops akin to - no surprise here - pineapple. This one was delicious and prompted us to purchase a pair of 4-packs to bring home. 

Pleeps says, "More pilsners, please!"

We happened to arrive at Big Oyster smack dab in the middle of its awesome Happy Hour, so we enjoyed discounted pints and lunch specials. Oh, and oysters! For my lunch beer, I opted for Public Pils, a fine Pilsner brewed with authentic German Weyermann Malt and classic Czech Saaz hops. This went well with the plate of oysters on the half shell we shared as well as my fish and chips. After a fantastic (and reasonably priced) lunch, we also picked up a good case-worth of beers to take home and enjoy. Our recent beer acquisitions wer starting to take up much of the back of the CRV. In addition to Triple Pineapple Dreamsicle, we also grabbed some Triple Delaware Dreamsicle (think dry-hopped Orange Julius) as well as Hammerhead IPA. More beer for our pile! With full bellies, we shipped off to our next stop of the day. 

We skipped over Crooked Hammock during our last visit, so I suggested we stop for a one-and-done. While Taylor promised we wouldn't be wowed with any of the beers, I will say that the vibe of this place absolutely captures the Delaware beach area to a "T" and probably had the coolest beach atmosphere of all the places we visited on this particular trip.  

It's a Jeep, it's a brewery... it's Crooked Hammock!

Like so many other folks who decide to open a brewery, Crooked Hammock's story isn't much different. Fed up with the daily 9 to 5 grind of his corporate gig in big city, owner Rich Garrahan decided he was ready to kick back and do something fun. He decided to ditch his shirt and tie in favor of flip-flops, and he moved to Rehoboth Beach to open Crooked Hammock, whose motto is likely "take it slow and live life easy."

Actually, I was quite pleased with my beer selection: Permanent Vacation. Brewed in collaboration with Brandywine Coffee Roasters and Mug & Spoon in Rehoboth Beach, this imperial coconut coffee stout proved a pleasant dessert beer after our recent lunch at Big Oyster. Boasting equal parts shaved coconut, fresh roasted coffee and rich chocolate malt, I was pleasantly surprised with this beer. However, this turned out to be a one-and-done stop for us, as I was eager to head over to our next stop and dig into a few beers. 

Pleeps is ready for his own permanent vacation!

Up next was Thompson Island, a relatively new place we'd visited last time around. The brewpub is the first of its kind opened by Delaware restaurant group, SoDel Concepts, which operates several successful restaurants in the area. The brewery takes its name from an island between Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach known as the Forgotten Mile, an area popular with hikers and birders. Since I work in marketing at Tröegs, this place had always been on my radar (SoDel Concepts served as consultants when Tröegs introduced its Snack Bar back in 2012). With Thompson Island, Tröegs reciprocated and lent a hand with recommending a state-of-the-art brewhouse designed specifically for the restaurant. The brewpub itself is modeled after popular SoDel activities like bonfires, kayaking, paddle-boarding, fishing, and general "salt life." 

Outside Thompson Island brewpub.

Since I only sampled one beer during last year's initial visit, I opted for a flight this time. Call it an effort to test the waters with a variety of beers. Here's the scoop:

• Impervious - West Coast IPA with notes of pine and grapefruit with a dry, resinous finish.
• The Shoals - Rich imperial stout conditioned on cocoa nibs and Guatemalan coffee from Swell Joe Coffee of Lewes, DE.
• Escapades - sour ale brewed with tons of peach and pineapple. You know my peach rule, kids!
• Cosmic Cow - Sweet stout with hints of milk chocolate, coffee, roasted malt and toffee.

Pleeps poses with my Thompson Island flight.

If memory serves me, I enjoyed all of these quite a bit, with my favorite being The Shoals. It's tough to compete with a tasty coffee stout in my book. This visit was in stark contrast to our previous visit, as the place was noisy and bustling with people. This time, we got to sit at a quiet table and enjoy some conversation with our beers. The beers also seemed to have improved over the last year. I'm glad to see this place doing well. 

Like last year, we couldn't leave without a second visit to Dewey Beer Company, and this year was no different. There's no need for me to go on about how much I love this place. Let's just leave it as this: Dewey is a two-visit brewery when we're in the area for more than two days. 

I decided to dive into the fruited sours this time around (as Brewslut did on Friday night). First up was Secret Machine - Strawberry Angel Food Cake. I had a swig of this one on Friday and it was quite delicious, so I felt obligated to enjoy a full pour of my own. This tastes like sweet strawberry shortcake with vanilla icing. Of course, it was brewed with more than 30 lbs. of angel food cake! 

There's no bread, let them eat (er, drink) cake!

Similar to its Secret Machine series, Thrills is another line of heavily fruited sour beers offered by Dewey that are equally as delicious. To be honest, I'm not even sure what the difference is between these two lines. Perhaps one of them uses lactose and the other doesn't. Whatever the case may be, this particular Thrills beer I samples, Strawberry, Mango, Orange was pretty damn impressive. Citrusy and tangy with a thick, fleshy mango character, this smoothie-like beer was delicious and surprisingly multi-dimensional. While the mango character was the dominant flavor, the orange and strawberry complemented the tropical-forward bent of this beer, making for an enjoyable quaff. End result? This stuff goes down waaaaaay to easliy! 

I couldn't leave without ordering something on the hoppy side of the spectrum. After the one-two fruit punch of the aforementioned beers, it was time for Victorious Secret, an IPA brewed hopped with Galaxy, Motueka and Vic Secret. This one features wheat flakes in the malt bill to elicit a fluffy mouthfeel. After the fruit overload I experienced from my previous two beers, it was nice to quell the sweetness with some serious hops, and this beer did not disappoint. And with that, it was time to retire for the evening and head back to Taylor's and wind down another enjoyable visit to Delmarva.

Pleeps knows the end of the trip is near.

Back to Taylor's, things definitely started going south. After drinking all day, we decided to crack open several more beers, including a relatively new DFH beer called Horkin' Heapload, a 9.1% ABV Imperial IPA. We also dug into more Marc Ribbilet videos on YouTube and carried on throughout the evening with plenty of laughing, drinking, and talking. After a while, this is what that looks like... 

Shots are seldom a good idea after drinking all day.

Post-script: We decided to just hightail it back home on Monday and grab some dinner at Tröegs. Breweries are seldom open on Mondays (consider it the "weekend" for bartenders and brewery staff), and the ones that are typically open around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. I was anxious to try our new Scratch release, Scratch #429 - Pale Bock. I feel one of our fortes as a brewery is making great lagers, and this one was solid. The combination of Vienna and Munich malt is coupled with a robust fermentation with our tried-and-true House Lager yeast. At 8% ABV, this one was quite quaffable and boasted notes of honey, saltine crackers and fresh baked biscuits. 

Well kids, that wraps things up for this adventure in Delmarva. Tune in next time for another installment of the Pour Travelers blog, which will take us to nearby Cherry Hill, NJ, and Philadelphia, PA, for our annual winter beer trek to one of our favorite nearby beer regions. Until next time...

The Pour Travelers Take Delmarva: Part II

After breakfast on Saturday morning, we suited up and were ocean-bound for our first stop of the day. Lucy, Taylor's dog, joined us for this outing, which kicked off with a nice 10-block walk up Ocean City's boardwalk to a familiar brewery, Backshore. We'd first visited last year and were excited to discover that head brewer Nate is a huge Rush fan. We bonded over that, and he'd actually brewed a beer for the recently departed Neil Peart, which he dubbed "The Professor." It was a fitting tribute to the legendary drummer, and Nate was kind enough to share his last crowler of the beer with us. Gotta love Rush fans!

Back at Backshore.

To refresh your memory, Backshore is located right on the boardwalk in Ocean City, MD. The small nano brewery opened its doors in 2012 with a meager six tap lines. Nate brews on a small 2-bbl system and offers a variety of styles with an ever-changing tap list including many one-off beers. 

It was an unseasonably mild January day, and people seemed to be taking advantage of the warmer-than-usual temperatures. When we arrived, there was a line of people waiting for beer, and many of the outside seats were already occupied. We finally made our way to the front of the line after about ten minutes and had the chance to peruse the small beer selection. All three of us decided to go with Joe Joe Power Rangers coffee stout, a fitting beer since it was still early in the day. Equal parts chocolate, roasted coffee and vanilla, this beer was pretty solid overall. We enjoyed a one-and-done beer outside, which meant Lucy could join in on the fun, too. Several other people had their dogs in tow as well (some more well-behaved than others).  

Before we left, we were able to chat with Nate for a few minutes, who was actually super busy preparing food for the large crowd that had decended upon Backshore on this beautiful winter afternoon. I made sure to bring a can of the recently procured Limelight (which we'd scored a week earlier in Frederick, MD, at Idiom Brewing). He mentioned that he loved the can and decorates the brewery's Christmas tree with empty beer cans, so I left the empty with him for next year. Maybe we'll make it back next year early enough to see the tree!

Prior to arriving at our next stop, Sinepuxent Brewing Company, Taylor mentioned that we'd be in for a surprise at "one of the breweries today." Once we learned it was a farm brewery, Brewslut quickly squashed my anticipation by correctly guessing that they had goats on the property. How do you make a cool brewery even cooler in my book? Add goats. It's as simple as that! I was glad to see that there were two goats, because every goat needs a buddy. With that said, meet Sammy and Maggie. 

Sammy, the agile one.

Maggie, the chill one.

Sinepuxent is nestled between Ocean City and Assateague Island along scenic Route 611. Its tasting room and brewery are located on a sprawling 17-acre farm, where Sinepuxent grows many ingredients such as hops and grains used in its beers. They also offer berry picking during in-season months, outdoor games, and even a smoothie bar featuring an all-natural, healthy menu. And, of course, goats. Let's not forget about the goats. 

Outside Sinepuxent's small tap room.

I decided to give the Pilsner Sin Brew a shot. As we've discovered throughout our travels, beers from farm breweries that grow their own ingredients can be a crap shoot, but not only was this a fine pilsner, it actually exceeded my expectations. I found this to be flavorful and crisp with a delicate malt character, dry finish and just a hint of that mineral-like yeast flavor that hits my palate's sweet spot. This beer embodies everything I love about the pilsner style. Chalk up another solid pilsner for this trip!

Enjoying Pilsner Sin Brew on a chilly January day.

I kind of nursed this beer since I knew it would be a long day, but I did try Brewslut's IPA and Taylor's Saison, which were both excellent as well. Beer aside, I also spent a little time getting acquainted with my new four-legged friends. By this time, Sammy was chowing down on some tasty pelletized goat food and Maggie was just chilling. The goats also took my mind away from the chilly, windy afternoon weather we were experiencing. Several folks had fires going strong at nearby firepits, but after about 30 minutes, we were starting to feel the bitterness in our bones. Kudos to the guy performing acoustic guitar for the dozens of folks braving the chilly conditions and hanging out in the great outdoors. In light of this, I felt obliged to throw a few sheckles into his tip jar. These are tough times for musicians, eh (again... thanks 'Rona). 

Sinepuxent's little on-site general store.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with Sinepuxent, and - even though it took me a dozen tries to remember the name of the brewery - I definitely want to spend a little more time here during our next visit and sample a few more beers. Nicely done, Sinepuxent! I just hope it's a little warmer outside next time we swing by. 

I'm not gonna lie to you. I was pretty damn excited to get back to Burley Oak again. By this time of the day, we were pretty hungry. Luckily, we had the wherewithall to order a pizza in advance so it would be ready around the time we were scheduled to arrive at the brewery. (There's a bitchin' pizza place right across the street called Burn Wood Fired Pizza.) 

Back at Burley Oak a year later.

I started off with a pair of beers from Burley's J.R.E.A.M. series. They always seem to be concocting some interesting fruit combinations with these beers, and this visit was no different. I picked out the two that sounded most appealing. First up was Flying J.R.E.A.M. - Blueberry, Coconut, Banana, a sour ale with lactose conditioned on blueberry, banana, and coconut. This one made me sad that we left Pleeps to "sleep in" back at Taylor's. He always gets excited when we encounter a beer with bananas in it. I knew he'd love this one. Thankfully, they had cans available to-go, so I did the right thing and grabbed a 4-pack so he could try it. Banana is a tough ingredient to brew with, and I'll admit that the coconut was the dominant flavor of the three. Blueberries offer a hint of earthiness and faint tartness, but otherwise this one struck me as tropical-forward. 

The other J.R.E.A.M. series beer I enjoyed was Strawberry, Cherry & Marshmallow Pie, a sour ale brewed with lactose and conditioned on strawberry, cherry, marshmallow, cinnamon, vanilla, and brown sugar. I'm going to go on record and predict that marshmallow is going to be one of the trendy new ingredients used in beers for 2021. To be honest, I'm OK with that. I mean, if we're talking about the pantheon of candy, Marshmallow Peeps are at the top of the totem pole in my eyes. I've already encountered several beers boasting marshmallow as an ingredient this year. These beers range from IPAs to fruited sours. I must admit, this one was pretty damn delicious and may have been my favorite of all the beers I tried at Burley Oak during this particular visit. Scratch that. It definitely was my favorite! Cherry was the dominant flavor, although there was a faint berry sweetness and fluffy texture, perhaps thanks to the addition of marshmallow. 

Up next, I decided to try something from the newish "CocktAles Series," a series of barrel-aged, cocktail-inspired sour ales. Old Fashioned is an imperial sour ale inspired by the cocktail of the same name. This dark, tart, and slightly sweet ale is conditioned on cherries and orange zest to add a bright citrus note, which  mimics the classic Old Fashioned cocktail. I'm glad I didn't get a full pour of this one. I appreciated it for what it is, but its flavor was quite piquant. This one is best kept in small doses. 

I decided to end with The Brackish, a huge, chewy imperial stout aged in rum barrels brewed in collaboration with Dark Seas Division. I was unfamiliar with Dark Seas, so a quick perusal of Google revealed it to be not a brewery, but rather a retail company whose products are inspired by coastal explorers and their lifestyle. Seems in-line with the geography of Burley Oak to me. This one was available in 750mL bottles, so I'm guessing the label was created by the folks at Dark Seas. Regardless, this one was pretty enjoyable but not as much as the much-hyped (for a reason) J.R.E.A.M. series beers. The body and texture of this beer were both on par for the style, but I found it to be a tad briney with a muted rum experience. I'll also go on record and say that I prefer bourbon barrel aging over rum on most days (unless we're talking Oil of Aphrodite or Marshal Zhukov’s... then it's up for debate). Still, this one was enjoyable, although for my money it's Burley's fruit beers that take the cake.

Our next stop of the day took us to Parsonsburg, MD, to Tall Tales. Founded in 2011, this small brewery is situated on 22 acres boasting an outdoor bar and plenty of seating to enjoy the picturesque landscape. Since it was rather frigid outside, we opted to sit inside (at the bar, no less... something we hadn't done in a while). The food here looked amazing, but unfortunately we had just scarfed down a pie during our visit to Burley Oak. The menu features a variety of dishes prepared with whole ingredients in wood-fired Italian ovens. 

Tap handles at Tall Tales.

The beer list was pretty extensive, so I opted for a flight of five beers. Here's the lowdown:

• Delmarva Dank - Double NEIPA (couldn't find any additional details on this one, unfortunately)
• Liquid Denial: That Blue Milk - light sour ale blended with fresh blueberry and peach purée
• Liquid Denial: Wildberry - similar to That Blue Milk but with a tart mixed berry character
• Galactic Black - Black IPA boasting citrus and pine notes with a hint of roasted malt flavor 
• Secret Stache - Neapolitan Ice Cream stout brewed with cacao beans, vanilla beans and strawberry puree

Something's missing from this photo. Where my monkey at?!

Overall, while nothing stood out as amazing, nothing offended me either. The beers were all pretty enjoyable and on par with the majority of the small breweries we visit. If I had to pick a favorite, it was probably the black IPA. This style seems to be making a resurgence over the past year or two, as I see more and more of them popping up at breweries we visit. I'm not sure why black IPAs disappeared for a while, because I've always enjoyed them. Perhaps the hazy IPA craze is slowly starting to fade a bit and IPA drinkers are searching for alternate flavors. Either way, I'm definitely pro-black IPA. Coffee IPA? Even better! 

Our visit to Tall Tales must have coincided with that weird part of the day when there's an apparent lull and you're just going through the motions. By this time, we seemed to have been a bit disengaged. Perhaps it's because Pleeps wasn't in tow. Either way, it was off to another brewery and I was ready for my second wind to kick in!

When Taylor asked if we wanted to swing by Evolution Craft Brewing Company, I thought about a few things silently. First, I thought, "Of course I do!" Next, I pondered why hadn't I thought about it in the first place. Lastly, I wondered why we hadn't ever been there before. I'd long been a fan of this Salisbury, MD-based brewery since first enjoying a pair of its IPAs - Lot No. 3 and Lot No. 6 - many moons ago. This fantastic brewery has been churning out great beers for almost a decade, so it was a nice surprise to finally get to this brewery, which I've enjoyed pretty much since the beginning. 

This is the only pic I snapped at Evolution for some reason.

Apparently I was on a pilsner kick of sorts for this trip, because I opted for Delmarva Pure Pils. Perhaps because I was driving and needed something light. Either way, I don't need an excuse to enjoy a crisp, refreshing pilsner. This golden, citrusy lager is Evo's take on the Czech-style pilsner. Floral and citrus zest notes abound, courtesy of German Saphir and Opal hops. This was another winner for me and a fine addition to the growing list of quality pilsners I enjoyed during this trip. 

We also got to sit at the bar at Evolution. However, it felt more like a neighborhood bar than a craft brewery. Apparently, there were several seating options at Evolution. When I visited the restroom, I noticed a bar at the other end of the building. Sandwiched between them is a barrel room with additional seating. We must have chosen the "college bar" area, as a group of boisterous twenty-somethings with baseball caps and polo shirts were gathered at a nearby table. They were all drinking some bright blue liquid that looked like Windex (there's no accounting for taste, I suppose). After witnessing this annoying display, I'm quite content being in my mid-to-late forties at the moment. God knows what kind of music these cretins listen to if they're content with drinking Windex. I reckon them chemicals done messed up their brain compartments! 

So that about wraps up Saturday, folks. We had wanted to make it to Loakal Branch, an off-shoot of Burley Oak, but they have limited hours and it ultimately wasn't in our cards. Also, it was a bittersweet, somewhat stressful day, as we thought we may had misplaced Pleeps (which is why you haven't seen any pictures of him in this blog post).  However, when we arrived back at Taylor's house, he was still lying snug in his little bed. He must have had too much fun on Friday night and slept in. Usually he's up before any of us, champing at the bit in anticipation of our first brewery visit of the day. Sorry, Pleeps. It happens every once in a while. Until next time...