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

Sunday wasn't quite as ambitious as the previous day, but we still managed to get in three new breweries and make some other stops along the way. We kicked the day off at The Proper in downtown Quakertown. I must admit that I don't really recall much about this place, and I had to visit its website to jog my memory. "Oh yeah, that place!" I must have been excited to go to the Quakertown Flea Market... or the "Dirt Mall," as Andria called it. Well, there was a pretty awesome record store situated in there amongst the tchotchkes and other assorted bric-à-brac vendors. If anything, the people-watching here was delightful, and rivals one of my other favorite locales - The Tower City Carnival - where we saw a shirtless, skinny white kid with a tattoo across his stomach, which spelled out "Thug Life" in a pretty dope hip-hop font. Anyway, I found a stack of Little River Band albums for a buck each. Have you heard about the lonesome loser? Nope, because I win! 

Anyway... beer. Unfortunately, I couldn't really dig up more details about any of these beers other than their styles. Here's what I samples while visiting...

• I'm Walking Home - hazy IPA
• You Can't Fix Stupid - American IPA
• Rosario - Mexican Lager

I'd like to say that these were somewhat enjoyable, since I had a few half pours... but who knows? I'm usually not this forgetful so early in a particular day, so perhaps the beers were lackluster. I guess I'll need to visit again to make a fair assessment. 

We also swung by a place called Sage Alley for a one-and-done. I remember sitting at the bar here, and the place was screaming with assorted Memorial Day decorations and other patriotic flair. I do, however, remember enjoying my pint of Wise Crack, a West Coast IPA dry-hopped with Azacca, Simcoe, and Mosiac hops for a big citrusl and floral punch with a fair amount of that dry bitterness that's a signature of the style. I'm fairly confident this one produced some tasty hop burps, something I really miss in a world overrun by hazy IPAs. 

However, my favorite of the day was probably Yergey. I had a feeling that Yergey was someone's name, and I was correct in my assumption. Owner and head brewer Jim Yergey is in fact a retired chemist who decided to open a brewery in Emmaus, PA, back in 2016. We decided to sit outside for our first round because the main tasting room was pretty full. 

I rarely gravitate toward Scotch ales, but I couldn't resist Wee Love Scotch. Once I saw that it featured a touch of peat-smoked malt in the grain bill, I was sold. Big and malty, this tasty ale boasts notes of dark caramel, toffee, stone fruit and, of course, peat. 

I followed up the enjoyable Scotch ale with a West Coast IPA called Runners Reward . Wow, back-to-back westies at two breweries! Hop forward with tropical fruit and subtle cedar notes, this complex IPA also features splashes of coconut and a tinge of pine resins, then finishes dry and bitter, as it should.

After a pleasant visit to Yergey, it was time to head back to basecamp for additional drinking and other assorted festivities. (Saj knows what I'm talkin' about.) We spun some of our new vinyl acquisitions and got a few more rounds of karaoke in before hitting the sack. Stick a fork in another memorable Memorial Day weekend!

But that's not all, folks! 

On Monday, we realized we were pretty close to one of Freewill Brewing's tap rooms, but when we arrived we realized we'd miscalculated their hours and were over an hour early. D'oh! So we decided to head to nearby Round Guys, a brewery that's been around for close to a decade and we'd still hadn't visited. Back when they opened in 2013, one of the brewery's flagship beers was a Berliner Weisse (still is, actually). This was still a relatively unknown style to many beer-drinking folks. We'd stumbled upon this style a few years earlier while visiting Nodding Head in Philadelphia, a brewery generally credited to reviving the style in the U.S. Brewslut in particular immediately took a liking to this style and it has since become a favorite of hers, if not her absolute favorite beer style. We'd actually had Round Guys Berliner and, truth be told, we weren't too jazzed with it. With that said, we decided to test the waters with some other styles, so I opted for a flight of four beers across a broad spectrum of styles. Here's the lowdown:

• Desert Cruiser - German pilsner. Simple enough. 
• Professor Booty - NEIPA. Aaaaah, Professor... what's another word for pirate treasure? Four out of five professors say, "Well, I think it's booty!" 
• Rebirth of Cool - Collaboration with Back Yard Beans featuring Punch in the face Cold Brew Coffee blended with Round Guy's Russian Messenger Stout. "Messenger" stout? That's the first time I've heard of that descriptor for a stout. Must be some sort of Russian traitor. 
• Pagan Poetry - Quad aged in mead barrels. Rich, smooth, and dangerous. Hopefully that's a reference to the Bjork song of the same name. 

Nothing really stood out to me as above average, so we just stuck with our initial flights and hit the rocky road. Still, it was cool to get to Round Guys after so many years. Put another notch on my lipstick case, right? 

On the way home, we decided to hit up Collusion at its new site in Lititz. Easily my favorite brewery in York, PA, I'm glad they opened a new taproom half an hour closer to home. The new site is pretty bitchin'. While it doesn't have the same charm as the original site, I like the multi-level vibe of the Lititz spot. Plus it's got a stage in there, which I will hopefully grace with one of my various musical projects one of these days. 

Sniffing out some hops from down under, I opted first for a pour of Half Nelson, a pale ale with Nelson hops. Collusion generally does justice to hoppy beers, and this one didn't disappoint. I love the white wine fruitiness of this particular hop varietal, even though I'm a dry red wine guy all the way. Still, I think this flavor works well in the contest of beer more than wine, so hooray for Nelson. 

Up next was a hazy IPA called Been Jammin' that's hopped with Sabro incognito, HBC 586 and a touch of Eukanot and benefits from the addition of pineapple puree as well as toasted and also raw shredded coconut for a tropical twist. So, we've got lots going on with hops here, including the use of the newfangled "incognito" hops. If you're new to the blog, you might have missed my hop lesson during an earlier post. Essentially, it's an all-natural hop flavor product specifically designed to be used in the whirlpool. In other words, it delivers the impactful, variety-specific flavor outcomes brewers want, but without the process loss. So you lose unwanted vegetal flavors and gain the essential hoppy goodness of a particular hop variety. 

We finished up with a shared pour of a Lemon Lime Cheesecake iteration of Collusion's house DIPA, Homunculus. This was pretty God damned awesome, if you ask me. Even if you don't ask me, I'll tell you. I can't recall having too many "cheesecake" inspired beers in the past, but this one gets an A for effort... and flavor! Nicely done.

Well, that about wraps things up, doesn't it? All in all, it was a more-than-enjoyable long weekend in Lehigh Valley with some old friends, plenty of beer, and some other assorted shenanigans as well. We're already looking forward to another weekend at Joe and Andria's pad. Until next time...

"Maybe I can twist you arm..."

We had it all planned out. Brewslut and I were going to pick up Doug and Lynn at their house in Hershey, then head down to York for lunch and hit a few breweries and record stores. Then we showed up and Doug threw a wrench into our agenda by saying, "Maybe I can twist your arm and we can head down to Baltimore." The weather was certainly cooperating, and after a brief moment of thought, I realized that Baltimore was only about another 40 minutes from York. So it was settled. We're callin' audibles like champs! Unfortunately, we hadn't planned on making the day a full-on brewery day, so Pleeps was not in tow with us. Sad panda. 

We still kept true to our original intention of hitting up Collusion Tap Works for lunch. But first, we swung by Mothership, a great little record store on Mt. Rose Ave. in York. Things got off to a slow start for me, but once I hit the "M" section or thereabouts, I quickly had a pile of records that was going home with me. 

But we're here to talk beer, so let's get to that. 

Collusion is far and away my favorite brewery in York. Before I discovered a few cool record stores in town, I had no other reason to visit York aside from grabbing a few beers at Collusion. Open since September 2016, Collusion operates on a 7-bbl brewhouse as well as a 1-bbl pilot system to brew test batches. These guys came out of the gate swinging and haven't slowed down one bit, churning out stand-up versions of just about every possible beer style under the sun. IPAs, lagers, coffee stouts, fruit beers, Belgians, sours, traditional styles, and more. You name it, they've done it... and chances are they've done it well. I even had the pleasure of Collusion pouring beer at my last Ffej of July event in 2019. 

Since it was early in the day when we arrived - brunch time, perhaps - I felt it was appropriate to kick off my day with a maple French toast version of its coffee milk stout, Fresh Pots. I'd had a chocolate cherry variant a while back, and it was quite tasty. This particular version wasn't too sweet; instead, it offered wisps of vanilla, cinnamon and maple syrup flavor amid the roasty coffee goodness of the base beer. Also, you gotta love the name Fresh Pots. I can neither deny nor confirm its origins, but I'm fairly certain the name of this beer was inspired by an old video of Dave Grohl in the recording studio with Foo Fighters, which shows him running around and screaming "Fresh pots!" at the top of his lungs. Of course, he's looking for coffee and apparently needs an abundance of caffeine flowing through his veins to make musical magic. Fair enough. (The video is hilarious, buy the way.)

I followed this up with Welcome Back, a delicious take on a hazy IPA brewed with flaked oats and Verdant ale yeast. (We'll get to the hops in a minute, but first I've got a public service announcement about yeast.) Although its always been an important ingredient in the brewing process, yeast has routinely taken a back seat to hops and malt when people discuss flavor and aroma profiles in beer. However, beer drinkers are slowly beginning to take notice on how yeast can completely change the profile of a beer using the same base ingredients. Developed with England's Verdant Brewing Company, this particular yeast strain produces a soft and balanced malt profile with slightly more body than a typical American IPA yeast strain, coaxing notes of apricot, tropical fruit and citrus, flavors which merge seamlessly with the character of the hops. 

As for the hops, Welcome Back features some newfangled varieties including Citra and Mosaic Cryo hops (remember my lesson on those a few blogs ago?) and - prepare for yet another hop lesson - Citra Incognito. Incognito is an all-natural hop flavor product specifically designed to be used in the whirlpool. MORE DETAILS HERE!!!!!

I ended with a pour of Schwarzbier, a classic German-style dark lager. I've been digging this style as of late, probably when Deuane and I had one at Desperate Times in Carlisle a while back. I've been drinking a fair amount of lagers lately, and I will typically order a Schwarzbier if I see one on tap in my travels. This was a fine example of the style, with notes of cocoa, coffee and roast. And with that, it was time to visit the restroom then hit the rickety road - OK, the interstate - to Baltimore. 

Outside Baltimore's Nepenthe Brewing Company.

As we get down to Baltimore every once in a while, Nepenthe had been on my radar for a few months. I actually had it in the "notepad" section of my phone, and I remembered there was a brewery in Baltimore that somebody told me about or that I'd read about recently. A relative newcomer to the ever-growing Baltimore beer scene, Nepenthe actually started back in 2013 as a homebrew shop but eventually moved due to flooding. Built on a mission to become “a brewery with food, not a restaurant with beer," Nepenthe was born and finally moved into an expanded facility in January 2019 complete with a shiny new 10bbl brewhouse, on-site taproom, and its award-winning homebrew store. 

What's on tap at Nepenthe? Lots of IPAs, for starters!

Being our inaugural visit, I decided to dip my toes into its offerings with a sampler flight. Since the brewery is primarily known for its IPAs, I decided to go all-in with hops and ordered IPAs exclusively. Here's the run-down:

• Space Jellyfish - Brewed with barley, wheat, rye, oats, and honey malt, this IPA is hopped with Galaxy, Motueka and Simcoe, then double dry-hopped with the same blend. Soft yet dank with juicy notes of tropical fruit and papaya. 
• Odin's Bane - DIPA hopped with Riwaka, Nelson Sauvin, Vic Secret and Mosaic and rife with bubblegum, citrus, strawberry, and a hint of white grape.
• Pyromancer - crisp, dry West Coast-style DIPA featuring Citra and Simcoe at the forefront with supporting roles courtesy of old-schoolers Chinook, Cascade and Centennial. This one boasts earthy notes, pine resin, freshly cut grass, and citrus fruit with a fair amount of bitterness on the palate. 
• Dubbabeebweepa - DIPA based on an IPA called Beebweepa but amped up to 8.7% ABV. Built on the same malt base and hop bill, this hopped-up version cranks things up with extra Citra, Mosaic and Amarillo, then chucks some Galaxy into the mix for a blast of tropical citrus. This one is soft and creamy with just a hint of bitterness. 

Where my monkey at?!

I enjoyed all four beers quite a bit, and everyone in the group was digging their selections. During our session, I was fixated on some of the brewery's T-shirts, which were on display above the bar. Their artwork is colorful and screams outer space, with equal parts Star Trek and heavy metal. Some of the designs and color schemes reminded me of various Mastodon T-shirts I've seen throughout the years, some of which I own. I was torn between two equally bad-ass designs, one for its Pyromancer and the other for Space Jellyfish. I'll never buy a shirt with a beer label if I hadn't tried - and enjoyed - said beer. Luckily, I'd sampled both of these and enjoyed each equally. After some careful deliberation, I decided on the Space Jellyfish design, which I felt was a bit more colorful than the design for Pyromancer. So I guess I can add yet another brewery T-shirt to the pile. I look forward to a return visit to this fantastic up-and-coming brewery!

While we were at Nepenthe, I decided to try my luck and Google "record stores near me" for shits and giggles. Wouldn't you know it, there was a record store ripe for the picking just two doors down from the brewery. What are the chances? I suppose I've got good beer karma! Doug and I headed two doors down to Celebrated Summer for a bit of digging while the ladies held down the fort at Nepenthe and enjoyed another round. Unfortunately for Doug, the selection was vinyl only; not that he needs any more CDs, though. Doug is a CD guy whose collection is so massive it wallpapers his entire man cave. He helped me look for some stuff on my want list and I left with a healthy stack of wax. I also think I re-sparked his interest in records while sifting through the rows here. I could hear the spark of the kindling firing up. (Editor's note: Doug bought a mac-daddy turntable about two weeks after our little Baltimore excursion.) After a successful stroll down to Celebrated Summer, I returned to Nepenthe with my haul and we headed to our next stop... but not before purchasing a pretty bad-ass T-shirt. (I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the awesome artwork adorning Nepenthe's cans and merch. The shirt has since been in my regular rotation of T-shirts since this little trip.) 

Since Brewslut had yet to visit the new Union Craft Brewing space and Doug and Lynn hadn't been there either, I suggested it as our next stop. I really enjoyed our visit about two years ago for our Tröegs Field Trip, and their beers are great. With a simple motto of "Beer unites!" it's no wonder why Union is a hallmark of Baltimore's burgeoning beer scene. 

Union Craft Brewing (courtesy of unioncraftbrewing.com)

Situated within the Union Collective business hub in Baltimore's Medfield neighborhood, Union was founded in the fall of 2011 and officially opened its doors in the spring of 2012 with the installation of a 20-bbl brewhouse and the launch of its flagship beer, Duckpin Pale Ale. After five years in a tiny location just up the road from its current site, Union set up shop in its current digs - a 148,000 sq. ft. building that was formerly a warehouse for Sears department store. In addition to its sprawling tasting room and production facility, Union boasts a sizeable beer garden, which we got to enjoy during this particular visit. (Sadly, the inside was closed to the public except for take-out beer and for customers to visit the restrooms.) 

Once we were seated and I was able to peruse the beer menu, I settled on Skipjack Pils. But first a funny story...

Lynn and I were both trying to open tabs on some newfangled app utilized by Union that allows customers to order food right from the table. We still had to mosey over to the bar and order beers, but we needed to open a tab first. After struggling with the app for about 10 minutes, Lynn beat me to the punch and successfully opened a tab. I offered to go up and grab our beers. After a quick 20-second stroll, I was greeted by a guy around my age with pretty much the same look as me: long hair, glasses, and a fairly full graying goatee. I ordered our four beers from him and told him we had a tab open under... but before I could say Lynn's name, he said, "It doesn't matter. These are on the house!" Wait, what?! I didn't even tell him I worked at Tröegs or provided any additional information that might prompt him to comp four beers for our party. When I inquired about this, he said, "I like your look"... and not in some veiled gay way, either. Cool beans! Free beer. This guy must have some clout at Union! If you're reading this... I owe you a few beers!

OK, let's get back on topic. Skipjack, brewed with real Bohemian pilsner malt, is an exceptionally clean and crisp German-style pilsner featuring Mandarina Bavaria hops from Germany and Michigan-grown Zuper Saazer hops. 

OK, hit pause for a moment if you will. 

Ready for another lesson in hops? OK then, here we go! The classic Noble variety Saaz is widely known for its delicate blend of pleasant earthy, herbaceous, and spicy aromas. Traditional Saaz hops are very low in Alpha Acids and therefore primarily used as an aroma hop. It's long history dates back to more than 700 years ago with origins in the city of Zatec in - no surprise here - the Czech Republic. Brewers have been using this particular hop variety in Czech Pilsners, a favorite style of mine. The twist here is that these Zuper Saazer hops are much higher in Alpha Acids compared to plain old Saaz. Wait a minute... what the hell is an Alpha Acid? Well, it's a chemical compound found in the resin glands of hop flowers that also happens to be the source of hop bitterness. Needless to say this pilsner had an amped-up hop bite, which I enjoyed quite a bit. It was grassy and citrusy with a hint of earthy minerals... a refreshing easy drinker, just the way I like 'em!

OK, so remember the guy who was gracious enough to comp our beers? Well, he returned to our table 10 minutes later with a 750mL bottle of a limited bourbon barrel-aged stout... on the house! I'm actually on Union's mailing list and saw a blurb about a barrel-aged bottle release recently, and they sounded delicious! This particular beer, Dark Spot, is an Imperial Stout aged thirteen months and two weeks in 30-year-old French oak casks that previously held cognac and rye whiskey. Holy shit snacks! This black, viscous beauty poured with a thin veil of dark brown foam. Its aroma was rife with earthy oak, spicy rye, tobacco, molasses, and dark fruit. The velvety beer sat heavily on the palate and gave way to complex flavors of Belgian chocolate, coffee, and campfire notes (marshmallow and all), as well as hints of leather and roasted nuts with traces of the spirits previously occupying the barrels around the edges. If you at some point replied, "Wow!" to that description, then that's the reaction for which I was looking, because this sucker was deep, complex, rich, and decadent. What a treat! 

And with that, it was time to bid a fond adieu to Union, but not before stocking up on some Duckpin Pale Ale, one of Baltimore's most beloved beers. 

Ministry of Brewing opened its doors in early 2020 right before COVID-19 reared its ugly head (thanks 'Rona). Not the best timing, unfortunately. Actually, the brewery had its struggles prior to COVID, having experienced multiple delays to its grand opening while it waited for the City of Baltimore’s judgment on inspections and occupancy processes. Better late than never, right?

Occupying the former St. Michael’s Church in the Upper Fells Point/Washington Hill part of town, Ministry of Brewing has successfully revitalized a historic community gathering place and done it with the kind of reverence a place named The Ministry of Beer so richly deserves. I haven't been to a brewery like this since Church Brew Works in Pittsburgh, the quintessential brewery situated in an old church. This place has a very similar vibe: high cathedral ceilings, brewing equipment where the alter should be, and ornate décor with religious overtones (how could it not?). The "stations of the cross" had been removed (don't ask me what they are... I'm not Catholic). I'm glad they did, though, because it's kind of disturbing if I recall correctly from a Catholic wedding I attended several years ago. Nothing like looking at a scrawny, bleeding guy lugging a cross around while I'm trying to enjoy a beer or two. 

Interior of the Ministry of Brewing.

I kept things on the light side as I knew this was our final stop of the day and I'd be driving home shortly. The beern in question, Rebuilding Year, is a Bohemian lager brewed with pilsner malt and Saaz hops. Yup, it's that simple. This was pretty solid overall, but not quite as good as the Skipjack I'd just enjoyed at Union. Still, I'd like to get back to this place and spend a little more time when we have the luxury of overnight accommodations. (I'm kind of sad that we couldn't get to Diamondback, one of my favorite breweries in Baltimore). Still, it proved to be a fine day with the Shirks: beer, records, and just the right amount of spontaneity. 

That's all for now. Tune in next time for another installment of the Pour Travelers. Cheers!

Team D(r)INK Does York County

We were due for a day trip to York County, as we hadn't visited since August 2014. During our last visit, we hit Liquid Hero, Gunpowder Falls, South County, and a fourth one (I thought, anyway) but for some reason the name escapes me. I was on blog hiatus back then, and didn't feel like digging that far back into my Untappd check-in history, so let's just leave it at three places.

This time, I had planned on hitting four new-to-us places with Collusion as the centerpiece. I'd heard good things from a few people about Collusion, so I felt it was time to head down there. I had a free Saturday, so Brewslut and I - accompanied by Team D(r)INK members Nate and Swingle - headed in the CRV for a few hours in and around York.

Our first stop was intended to be Black Cap in Red Lion, PA, just a few miles on the far side of York. I figured we'd start off at the furthest location from home and backtrack through York. However, Nate suggested we check out Golden Crust Pizza, which was a short three blocks away. Good thing he suggested it, because the tap selection was quite impressive.

We all started out with pours of Alesmith's Mokasida Coffee Speedway Stout. What a way to kick things off, right? I'd had a few of the Speedway variations over the years, and this one lived up to most of the others. I think the Vietnamese Coffee version (sampled numerous times over the years) and Hawaiian (especially on tap during Drinksgiving '15 at Chicago's excellent Local Option) were two stand-outs. But this variation was certainly no slouch. Mokasida coffee originates in Ethiopia and features a berry-like flavor and aroma.

Get in line, Pleeps!

Lizard of Koz, a new Imperial Stout from Founders, might have been my favorite of the bunch. Founders still always manages to amaze me with its offerings. I've seldom met a Founders beer I didn't like. This rich, chewy Imperial Stout is brewed with vanilla, chocolate and Michigan-grown blueberries, then aged in bourbon barrels, because, you know... why not?! The blueberry presence was quite subtle until the finish, which played nicely with the huge chocolate character. I'd love to revisit a larger pour of this fine beer in the very near future!

Brewslut got a pour of Cup a Joe Coffee Crème Stout from Short's, which surprisingly was collectively our least favorite of the beers we sampled at Golden Crust. It had a somewhat chalky finish that was a little off-putting, but it certainly wasn't undrinkable. I love Short's but after having the Alesmith and Founders offerings prior to trying this, I must say it fell short (no pun intended).

Copy Paste IPA from Evil Twin was quite tasty and juicy. This one features a few of my favorite hop varietals including Nelson Sauvin, Galaxy, Citra, Motueka, and Mosaic. Wow!

Swingle tried Sour Blackberry Ale from La Brasserie Du Pays Flamand. The consensus on this one was two words: damn sour!

For my second 5-ouncer, I went with Double Barrel Big Bad Baptist from Epic Brewing. I'd had the standard Big Bad Baptist in the past and was impressed, so it was a no-brainer to get a pour of this bigger, rarer version. It didn't disappoint!

Erase & Rewind IPA #3, another from Evil Twin, was also nice. This one features an assortment of (mostly) unusual hops including Ella, Hallertau, Mosaic, Equinox, and Wakatu.

Mackaper, an "Australian" Pale Ale from Omnipollo, a Swedish brewery we encountered at our last visit to Hawthorne's in Philly, was up next. This was surprisingly quite fresh and invigorating, with a big citrusy note.

Black Cap Brewing Company was a short three-block walk down the street from Golden Crust, though I must admit we couldn't get there quickly enough given the 20 degree thermometer reading. Still, we trudged on and thankfully didn't get a nasty case of frostbite on our way.

The brewery and adjoining tasting room are situated in a historic 1935 building that previously housed Red Lion's post office (hence the names of some of Black Cap's beers, such as the Postmaster's Series). Inside, it is a very clean, organized space with plenty of room to throw back some beers and food while enjoying the aesthetics of the architecture.

We decided to share a full sampler flight, then get a pour of our favorite beer following the flight. Here's a quick recap of what we had:

• Cream Ale - an easy-drinking, pre-Prohibition style ale. 
• Saison De Gui - meaning "season of mistletoe," this strong holiday ale is brewed with fresh ginger root, orange peel, whole cloves, and honey.
• General Gates Porter - 18th century-style porter brewed with smoked malt and molasses.
• Imperial General Gates Porter - Imperial version of the standard offering brewed for Black Cap's 2nd anniversary.
• Cream Stout - dark, sweet stout brewed with lactose.
• Hop Scramble - Straight-up IPA featuring Cascade, Chinook, Columbus, and Nugget hops. 
• Postmaster's Series #6 - DIPA with healthy doses of Citra, Simcoe, and Cascade hops. This was easily my favorite of the bunch! 
• Wildflower - Belgian Blond brewed with locally sourced honey.

The beers were all well done with a few standouts, including the Imperial Porter and DIPA. After polishing off our flight, I ordered a full pour of the DIPA (I think we all may have). I must give Greg props and say that this was undoubtedly one of the best DIPAs I've seen come out of a small PA brewery in the last few years. It was juicy, well-balanced, hoppy, and kept the higher ABV well concealed. Greg, one of the co-owners and brewers, was nice enough to give us a quick tour of the modest 3-barrel brewhouse. He made a joke that Anheuser-Busch spills more grain on the floor in one day than he uses all year. He was quite talkative, knowledgeable and enthusiastic about his brewery, which has only been around for about two years.

Black Cap's modest brewhouse.

Swingle picked up the sampler flight and cheese plate tab, so I offered to make the epic 3-block UPHILL hike back to the car in 20-degree weather while they finished up their beers in the warm bosom of Black Cap's cozy tasting room. After my role-playing as an Uber driver, we were off to our next destination - Collusion Tap Works.

Inside Collusion Brew Works.

The word is out on Collusion, and I've had good reports from a few peeps who visited recently. I checked out the massive tap list on-line, and decided we had to visit that weekend. I mean, they had a smoked barleywine and imperial Berliner Weiss on tap. Sold!

When we arrived, I was surprised to find such a large, well-appointed tasting room surrounded by plenty of exposed brick and holiday decor. After getting our bearings, we perused the beer menu on the chalkboard. Within about a minute or two, we made an executive decision to bite the bullet and try EVERYTHING on the menu. And let me tell you, it was a big menu! See for yourself below...

What to try... how 'bout all of 'em?!

I'll spare you the complete list (if you want to check out everything we had, check out my Untappd or Twitter feed... it's all there). There was plenty of variety and really something for everyone. Even if you don't like beer, they had mead and cider available. While nothing really ripped my face off, there were a few standouts (and only two undrinkable messes, I'm afraid). Some standouts were the aforementioned imperial Berliner Weiss (a beer named Dole), Fuzzy Scrumpit (IPA brewed with fresh white peaches and pink guava), and What Gose Around (an apricot Gose). The latter was unanimously the favorite of the group and proved to be an exemplary interpretation with juicy apricot notes, tart under bite, and just a hint of salty goodness.

Just a portion of our extended sampler flight at Collusion.

Pleeps found his way into some of the samplers, and enjoyed a few too many, including some of the sours. He's more accustomed to porters and stouts. Luckily, my phone was handy so I could chronicle his descent into drunkenness.

  

Our final stop of the night (in York, anyway) was Holy Hound Taproom. Embarrassingly enough, I have never set foot in this place, which has been regarded as York's finest craft beer haven for quite some time. Oh well, there's a first time for everything, right?

Inside Holy Hound Taproom.

By this time, I was famished (no food at Collusion), so some fries and what not were in order. (The "what not" is... well, I don't remember; hence me referring to it as "what not." I do remember the food tasting mighty fine, so I suppose that's a good thing.) I was hoping to try something new since this was my first visit, and the tap selection didn't disappoint. I scanned the draft menu and came across a new-to-me brewery: Mispillion River. Based out of Milford, DE, the brewery opened in 2013 and produces five flagship beers, one of which is Reach Around IPA (great name!), the beer I enjoyed on this very night. I like a brewery that doesn't take itself too seriously, and by the names of some of their beers, it sounds like these guys have a good sense of humor. At only 6%, this was an easy drinker featuring a nice hop palate of Cascade, Columbus, and Nugget. Overall, a nice first impression. (Check out their web site, too. Their cans feature some pretty sweet artwork!)

That's all she wrote!

Up next was The Calling, a DIPA from the more familiar Boulevard Brewing Company, but I'll be damned if I can remember this sucker. I'm not sure if I bummed a few swigs from Brewslut or I actually ordered a pour of this. Good thing I was driving. Seriously though, I checked it in so there you go. Not much to say about that one, I guess. So, stick a fork in me... at least for now.

After leaving Holy Hound, we made our way up to Pizza Boy for a nightcap, where I enjoyed a pour of the newish Blackberry/Blueberry Sour Ale and The Stranger (another great name!), the latter a new American IPA weighing in at 7%. Both were solid as per usual. And that, my friends, wraps up our little Team D(r)INK excursion to the nether regions of York County. Ten years ago, this area was a veritable craft beer wasteland. However, now it seems to be rife with some quality places. We'll have to make sure our next visit is sooner than a year-and-a-half. Until next time...