Into the Valley of Lehigh rode the Pour Travelers: Part I

During the bulk of my COVID-19 lockdown, I reconnected with two old friends I hadn't spent much time with for the past decade. It's a peculiar conundrum one experiences as one gets older, whereby the passage of time seems to churn in blocks of 10 years rather than a single year. For the most part, the 2000s have been a complete blur. To me, the years between 1989 and 1999 seem far more elastic than 2000 to the present. Sorry to get all philosophical in the midst of a new beer blog, but I felt I had to bring that up. 

With that said, it had certainly been a while since I spent a considerable chunk of time with two of my oldest friends. Joe, whom I'd known since 9th grade, had been a close friend during high school, college, and that odd early twenties phase where we hang out in his tiny apartment and drank a lot. He also played guitar in my first original band, Blather's Kite (I still love that name), and is currently living in the Lehigh Valley while making a living as a professional musician. 

I met Saj my freshman year of college while attending Penn State Berks Campus. I walked past him in the library when I was wearing a one-of-a-kind handmade Rush T-shirt and the rest is history. The story of our friendship is just one example of many throughout my life that is a direct result of being a Rush fan. Saj has also been getting into craft beer lately, though he's one of those guys that just buys a bunch of crazy shit on Drizly, whereas I prefer visiting breweries. So this may have been his first legitimate "brewery tour" or whatever you care to call it. 

So, how did we reconnect with each other? Back in the early onset of COVID, Joe invited me to participate in a Zoom call with a bunch of old friends and acquaintances from our hometown of Shamokin. Saj (though not from Shamokin) was also on the call, and we enjoyed playing Joe's warped version of Hollywood Squares. Aside from that, we just cracked a few beers and caught up and reminisced about old times. So if there's a silver lining among all of this COVID nonsense, it was re-establishing a friendship with these two moes. Thanks 'Rona... except I'm serious this time. 

Without going into too much detail, I'll just leave it at this: We had all gotten into beer at some point during our lives, and we decided to form a band called Sea Donkey. (The story behind that would require its own lengthy blog post.) Saj thought the name was so funny that he got shirts made for us all to wear with pride. Since we already had merch, we figured the next logical step was to try and write a few songs. Our goal was to put together a set to perform at my annual Ffej of July music and beer backyard extravaganza. So, we felt a weekend hang was in order. Joe and his wife Andria graciously offered to have us spend the long Memorial Day weekend at their lovely 18th Century farmhouse in Lehigh Valley. In the time leading up to our visit, I put together a list of possible breweries to visit and conferred with Joe and Andria on the geography of it all. 

We arrived on Friday and decided that we'd do dinner at the house, then set up and jam, leaving Saturday and Sunday open for brewery hopping and other adventures. (In the essence of time, I'll leave out most of our extracurricular activities, which included visits to antique shops, music stores, a "dirt mall," karaoke, awesome burritos, jam sessions, etc. and just stick to beer.)

First up on Saturday was a stop at McCall Collective. For now, it was the four of us minus Andria, who had to catch up on some work. A fairly small brewery, this place reminded me of a corner deli for some reason. It just had that particular vibe. But instead of hoagies, they have beer. I was excited to see a schwarzbier on tap, so I kicked off the day with LV Gehts. By now I'm sure you know that "schwarzbier" translates to "black lager" in German. A traditional style with notes of chocolate and coffee, it comes across as crisp and clean due to being lagered for over 4 weeks.

I decided a second beer was in order, and something called Bee Kind piqued my curiosity. Brewed to pay homage to "our fuzzy, flying friends," this beer boasts 60 pounds of locally sourced honey as well as honey malt in the grain bill. Belgian farmhouse ale yeast ties in a layer of bubblegum and clove,  while Nelson Sauvin hops add traces of white wine and mango. I rarely pass over a beer featuring Nelson hops, and this one was pretty solid all around. 

Our next stop took us to Nazareth, home of Martin Guitars, for a stop at Birthright. Opened in March 2018 at the old Nazareth Run Inn building, Birthright offers a constantly rotating tap list of fresh beer with a complementary menu featuring wood-fired pizzas and more in a space that is equal parts rustic and industrial. Decorated with lots of natural wood, concrete floors, metal accents - including mammoth saw blades sourced from a Kutztown mill used as communal tabletops - this place felt like a pizza parlor with a brewery. Pizza and beer... two of my favorite things! 

If I had to pick a favorite brewery from this weekend, I'd most likely put this place at the top of the list. Joe and Saj had a quick one before heading down the street to a guitar shop to ogle over some vintage axes, while Brewslut and I stuck around to dig into Birthright's tap selection.

I kicked off our session with Natural Mystic, a New England IPA. I couldn't really find any specific details on this beer, but I do know it was named after a Bob Marley song. I remember this one being quite good, so given the Bob Marley reference I'm sure this one was rife with plenty of dank cannabis and tropical notes with a hint of island reggae. Jammin'! 

Although I don't eat pork anymore, my one caveat is that when I see a beer brewed with bacon, I allow myself to partake in the festivities. Birthright has one such beer, and it's called The Aftermath . Dubbed a "Bacon Breakfast Stout," this smoky, malty, coffee-forward treat is aged in Social Still bourbon barrels. According to Birthright's Instagram channel, they actually used pork belly rather than bacon. The beer itself is smoky, meaty and chewy, but not as think as you'd imaging. Clocking in at under 7% ABV, it's not your typical viscous imperial stout. It's smooth like a traditional oatmeal stout with hints of caramel, coffee, chocolate and smoked meat. 

I finished up with a pour of Multiple Personalities, a double dry-hopped DIPA with Mosaic, Citra and El Dorado. Aptly named given its versatile hop combo, this beer was heavy on tropical notes but soft and pillowy, and certainly easy to drink. 

While I didn't have this beer until later, Brewslut was raving about Da Bomb Pop, a Berliner Weisse brewed with cherry, lemon and blue raspberries. If Kool-Aid was beer, this would probably be it (although I prefer Hi-C). Oh yeah?! Oh yeah! This was definitely her favorite beer of the trip, and she bought a crowler of this to enjoy at home, which is how I had it. I agree... it was, indeed, da bomb!

Lost Tavern is another place we enjoyed very much and had ample time to dig into its beers and enjoy the atmosphere. A local musician was playing a variety of popular songs on solo acoustic guitar, which provided an enjoyable setting and background ambiance. While the brewery's vibe is rustic and steeped in tradition, the beers are fresh and forward-thinking. 

The brewery's motto is: "Honor the Past. Craft the Future." Its story begins in Hellertown, PA, when in the 1740s Dutch settlers arrived and established a small community, with one of its first buildings being a tavern. It was common for colonists to brew beer, and taverns were generally at the epicenter of these small colonies. Over the course of time, the exact location of Hellertown's tavern had been forgotten and its details of its whereabouts is somewhat ambiguous; hence the name of this small, colonial-inspired brewery. Gone is the original tavern but not the importance of sharing a beer with a fellow neighbor. That's where this brewery fits into Hellertown's story. 

The beer list offered quite a variety of styles and flavors, so we opted for several half pours. First up was 6:10 AMber, a coffee-infused amber ale brewed with locally sourced coffee. The rich coffee notes complement the toasty malt flavors and subtle fruitiness, akin to a cup of morning coffee with some toast and jam on the side. 

Brewslut decided on Adult Coloring Can, a big-bodied sour ale meant to mimic a dessert cobbler. Brewed with milk sugar and conditioned on blueberry, blackberry and a touch of lemon, this flavorful and nuanced ale also includes cinnamon, vanilla and brown sugar to sweeten the pot. 

Of course, I had to try one of its IPAs, so in comes Not a Game, New England-style Triple IPA dry hopped with Galaxy, Sultana, and Citra for intense notes of candied peach rings and tropical fruit cocktail.

We ended with one of our favorite styles, a Mexican Stout called Fiesta Mole. Touted as an Imperial Mexican Hot Chocolate-inspired Dessert Stout, this rich, frothy treat was brewed with a grain bill of midnight wheat, caramel malt and flaked oats. Cold-conditioned on chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon and ancho chili peppers, this intense beer offers sweet notes of hot cocoa, cinnamon spice and mild chili heat, finishing with a cool wash of smooth vanilla. All in all, no complaints here. I enjoyed our visit here very much.

Our next stop, Bonn Place, is one of Joe and Andria's local favorites. After visiting, I definitely concur. Every town needs a place like this. Inside, it was bustling with happy patrons throwing down a few pints. The vibe was part roadhouse, part saloon and part arts-and-crafts workshop (you can't help but notice the large chalkboard mural that adorns a large chunk of one of the walls). The time of our visit coincided with the highpoint of the day for me, meaning I was in a perfect frame of mind and my liver was adequately lubricated. The ambiance at Bonn Place is conducive to kicking back with a few beers and enjoying some great conversation with friends. In terms of the latter, you never know what you're gonna get when you put Saj, Joe and I in a room together. I'll just leave it to the imagination. Case in point... Sea Donkey.

First up at Bonn Place was a pale lager with a twist. A Helles Mosaic features two-row pale malt and Mosaic hops exclusively. Think of it as a SMASH lager. I love me a good Helles, and this one straddles the line between crisp lager and hoppy ale. Overall, this beer provided a solid first impression. Sign me up for a second beer! 

Joe and Andria said that I couldn't leave without trying Mooey, a light, easy-drinking pub ale that is Bonn's flagship of sorts. The beer promises notes of biscuit, toffee, and sexual desires. Now that's a winning combination! This was kind of like a craft version of Boddington's with a slightly elevated flavor profile and the same smooth nitro finish... you know how we do!

We ended our Saturday brewery hop with a stop at Hop Hill, a small brewery that's been around since 2017. There was a pretty awesome musical duo performing on this particular night, and a quick scan of Hop Hill's Facebook page confirmed that it was Skylar Love, a female acoustic guitarist/vocalist accompanied by a dude playing electronic drums. While the beer here was solid (from what I can remember), I think I was more into the music. By this time of day (night), I was feeling good vibes and was drawn more to the tunes than the beer. 

But beer is why were here, and I opted for a pour of a fruited ale called Beach Bum. Featuring the winning combination of pineapple and coconut, this beer was enjoyable and transported me to a small tropical island somewhere in the Pacific. 

I followed this up with the awesomely named Skadoosh, a West Coast hazy IPA hopped with Galaxy, Mosaic, and Azacca. Wait, what?! West Coast and hazy don't belong in the same sentence, unless you're saying something to the effect of, "West Coast IPAs are far superior to hazy IPAs." Then it's OK. Seriously, by now it was a good time to head back to the homestead for more shenanigans, as Brewslut and I particularly were well lubricated and feeling no pain. 

But wait! There's more to come. Join us next time for the conclusion of our jaunt to Lehigh Valley. Until next time...