We're only immortal for a limited time: Part II

Welcome to the conclusion of our weekend jaunt to Harpers Ferry, WV. When we last left you, we'd just enjoyed our visit to Dirt Farm Brewing and were on our way to another brewery just three miles up the country roads.

Situated in the historic hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, B Chord opened its doors near the end of 2017 and is as much of a farm brewery as it is a music venue. Sticking with its music bent, the name of the brewery refers to an old Bluegrass slang term meaning “the best of its kind”. The space itself is pretty much a large pole barn with a bar at one end, a stage at the other, and some tables and other eclectic seating around the perimeter. We decided to set up show in the corner among some cozy chairs and sofas. Like some of the other breweries in the area, B Chord is dog-friendly. As a matter of fact, we befriended a little mutt named Toby, who kept coming over to us to beg for morsels of our giant soft pretzel we'd since ordered.

As for the beer, I decided to stick with something simple and sessionable, so I opted for Quail Ridge Pale Ale. Unfortunately, a distracting, off-flavor vegetal character really turned this into a disappointing beer. I tried some of the group's beers, and they seemed fine. Something had definitely gone awry during the brewing process. Oh well... sometimes you get stuck with a clunker. Usually it's Brewslut; this time, it was me.

We were on our way to Adroit Theory when we drove past Dragon Hops. Deuane had mentioned it mere minutes before we stumbled upon it, as it was a relatively new brewery on the local scene. Veteran owned and operated, Dragon Hops opened its doors in May of 2018 but had already been growing organic hops and maintaining their a hop farm in the picturesque rolling hills of Loudoun County. With so many "farm breweries" in the region, Dragon Hops established a mobile hop processing facility, which serves as a valuable resource to other local hop growers, allowing them to rent equipment to use on their own farms. What a great concept!

Dragon Hops the brewpub features a full food menu to complement its traditional-inspired beers and host a variety of live music. Oddly enough, I overheard a table full of people next to us mention "Rush tribute band." My head snapped around quickly and soon enough we were talking about my favorite band. Turns out there was a Rush tribute band called Caressing Steel performing there in a few weeks. I made sure to plug my own band and, later, gave them some Mad Elf after I found out that they all loved Tröegs beer. They were great people and it was cool to run into some fellow Rush fans during a delicate time for us all. 

After checking out the tap list, my love for peaches trumped my disdain for NEIPAs and I went with a beer called Sunova Peach. At 8% ABV, this was a refreshing, juicy peach-forward IPA not too heavy on the haze. This was quite enjoyable and exceeded my expectations. Unfortunately, this was a quick one-and-done stop, as we still had to get to Adroit Theory. Still, I'm glad we had enough time to swing by and check things out. Overall, it's a cool place with solid beer and a comfortable, casual setting. Plus any venue that hosts a Rush tribute band is alright in my book! 

Adroit Theory is about as metal as it gets as far as breweries go. Situated in Purcellville, VA, the brewery offers "esoteric and style challenging beers" with an emphasis on hazy IPAs, fruited sours, pastry stouts, and barrel-aging projects. Adroit Theory opened in 2013 and quickly emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the Virginia craft beer scene. We first visited the brewery in late May of 2015 during an overnight trip to the area to see Rush perform in Bristow, VA, on the R40 tour. Back then, the brewery was relatively new and I'd only found out about it after consulting my handy brewery map website. We were pretty blown away, and I'm glad to say that our opinion has not changed after almost five years away from this place.

When we arrived, the outside speakers were blaring some aggressive death metal. Well, it wasn't blasting like the music at, say, Three Floyds. It was, as Milton would say, at a reasonable volume. I mean, we could converse over it without being bludgeoned by blast beats. Turns out the weather was still cooperating nicely, so we sat outside for a while and had a nice chat with one of the locals.

Once we went inside, we realized that they totally changed the layout of the place. What used to be an "L" shaped room is now kind of a medium-sized rectangle. The space seemed smaller to all of us, but it had been a few years since our last visit so our minds were perhaps a bit hazy. As usual, the beer list was rife with unusual barrel-aged concoctions, all of which I needed to try. Sadly, two of the ones I really wanted to try had kicked. Still, there was plenty to be had. Androit Theory makes some legit beers, so it's no wonder why they're exclusive members of the "One Dollar Club" (i.e. breweries who charge basically $1 an ounce for beers). Ok, so we made that up. Not that I'm complaining, either; I'm happy to pay $4 for a sample-size glass. I'd rather pay a premium for a beer that's pretty much guaranteed to be good versus $7 or $8 for a pint from some local yokel brewery that might suck ass. (Believe me, it's happened on multiple occasions!) Case in point, check out these beers I was lucky enough to sample:

• B/A/Y/S (Ghost 811) - bourbon-barrel aged stout with Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, hazelnuts, toasted coconut,  and honey. Absolutely delicious!
• Therapy Sessions (Ghost 796) - apple brandy barrel-aged stout with toasted coconut, Belizian cacao nibs, and Tahitian vanilla. Love me some apple brandy barrel-aged beers, and this one was no exception.
• AAMEUL (Ghost 808) - imperial stout with black currants, black sugar and squid ink. Yes, you read correctly... SQUID INK! This one was earthy and a tad briny with a burnt sugar and dark fruit character. 
• All I See Is Carrion (Ghost 804) - Belgian-style Quad, heavy on the malt with a dark sugar character and fruity Belgian-style esters.

As anticipated, my favorite was the B/A/Y/S. Can't go wrong with a bourbon barrel-aged stout with coffee. The hazelnuts, coconut and honey were just added bonuses. Therapy Sessions was also quite delicious, with a tangy, apple brandy-soaked tropical quality followed by a wash of lush vanilla and dark chocolate in the finish.  

Group pic!

By this time in the evening, I think we were all getting a bit sloppy, so it was time to stick a fork in the night and return back to Highacre for a nightcap. Deuane and I stayed up until 2:30 a.m. talking about, well, everything... and the beer kept on flowing... and flowing... and flowing. Needless to say, I was yawning pretty hard come Sunday morning.

However, I wasn't too tired to help finish puzzle number two, a colorful selection of various birds perched on a wooden fence among tall grass and flowers. Beer and birds. I can't believe Deuane didn't get more involved with these. He did help out by finding one or two pieces we needed, so I guess that constitutes "helping."

After breakfast, we got everything packed up and hit the road. But the trip was far from over. Each time we travel to this neck of the woods, we always make a point to explore the ever-growing landscape of breweries in nearby Frederick, MD. First on the agenda was a brand new place called Idiom, which had just celebrated its first anniversary on Black Friday 2019. Before we arrived, Brewslut wondered if the names of their beers would all be idioms. Turns out they pretty much were! The impetus of the brewery occurred during a trip to Oregon to visit some friends. In addition to exploring the amazing craft beer landscape of Oregon, they were invited to join in a homebrew day and were immediately hooked. That inaugural stove-top batch of an Irish Red ale spawned countless recipe ideas and eventually led to Idiom Brewing Company.

Inside the spacious Idiom Brewing Company.

I loved everything about this place. It just felt so comfortable and inviting there. Our server was friendly. The atmosphere was perfect. But what about the beer? Dare I say it was my favorite of the trip? It very likely was. The beer I ordered, a 9% ABV beer called Just Desserts, was described as a "Rocky Road dessert stout with pecans and marshmallows." This beer tasted even better than I'd imagined! The marshmallow provided a hint of fluffy sweetness and the toasted nuttiness from the pecans worked well within the context of a thick, rich stout. This was a special beer for sure. So special, I believe it was my favorite beer of the trip. Not bad for a brewery with only one year under its belt.

Rocky... rooooooooaaaaad?!

Meanwhile, Brewslut was equally enamoured with her selection, a lemon meringue milkshake IPA called Shake on It. As a matter of fact, she enjoyed it so much that she ordered two full pours during our visit and took home a 4-pack of pounder cans to savor at home. Now that's saying something about Idiom's beers... the Brewslut stamp of approval.

We ended up scoring a free pour of Raise Your Eyebrow, a rye IPA brewed with Citra, Cascade and Simcoe Cryo hops that had just been the focus of a photo shoot a few moments prior. I was curious about "Simcoe Cryo" hops, which were listed as part of the beer's description. Of course I'm familiar with Simcoe hops, but what's this "Cryo" business? Turns out Cryo Hops® essentially eliminates astringency in beers. Extremely high in alpha acids, they produce intense flavors and aromas without the unwanted vegetal byproducts that traditional hop cones and pellets contain. This was a delicious beer with a juicy hop character and hint of dry spiciness courtesy of the rye. The mouthfeel was full and luscious, making it all the more enjoyable.

In the essence of time, we had planned to skip Attaboy because we needed to be back home around 4 p.m. to get ready for my monthly rock music trivia night. But Deuane said Attaboy was in walking distance (like a one-minute walk) of Idiom, so we decided to swing in for a beer. We'd been to Attaboy a handful of times in the last few years and have never been disappointed. The small, starkly decorated taproom features about eight taps, which run the gamut of a variety of IPAs to saisons and sours to oddball styles like Biere de Gardes and Grisettes.

I opted for a "light hopped saison" called Blanche, named after the feisty, sexually promiscuous cougar (or should I say GILF?) from the Golden Girls. The beer came across as quite floral with a hint of delicate summer melon and a touch of vanilla. It was enjoyable and provided a nice diversion from the types of beers I'd been enjoying thus far over the weekend. I'm usually good for a saison or two when we travel, and this one hit the spot. I should have nabbed something from the food truck, Boxcar Burgers, as we've enjoyed their food a few times in the past. But this was a quickie, and I was still able to enjoy an afternoon delight with Blanche.

Our final destination was another new-to-us brewery called Midnight Run. I'd actually been in contact with the owner, Brent, who recently had taken a group tour with his staff at Troegs, and I helped facilitate his visit by introducing him to our tour manager. I was hoping to meet him when we stopped in, but unfortunately he wasn't around. I did drop off a few cans of Double Blizzard for him and our bartender to enjoy, though.

I'll have the soup of the day, please!

Midnight Run began life in a garage more than a decade ago when two friends and homebrewers dreamed of one day opening a brewery. With degrees in both culinary arts and mechanical engineering, long-time friends Rich and Brent joined forces to start the brewery of their dreams. Taking a free-thinking approach to brewing, the duo's beers tend to throw out the style playbook. Using science and art, they strive to create unconventional beers for both jaded beer geeks and craft beer noobs.

View from my barstool at Midnight Run.

Since it was our last stop, I decided to go big. I was surprised to see not one but two barleywines on tap. I couldn't decided which one to get, so I got small pours of each, because... why not? The first,
Royal Gold, is a rye barrel-aged English-style barleywine weighing in at 8% ABV. This is surprisingly pretty light on the barleywine scale, and quite sweet too, with notes of caramel squares, toffee, brown sugar, and maple syrup.

Time Machine, on the other hand, is a 9% ABV barrel-aged American-style barleywine. American-style barleywines tend to be considerably hoppier and aggressive than their counterparts from across the pond. With that said, Time Machine does have a bit more gusto and hop presence than Royal Gold. Again, it was on the sweeter side of the spectrum but also boasted an orange candy hop character with hints of caramel and vanilla. I was expecting more of a resiny hop bite; instead, it was heavy on the orange. Of the two, I preferred Royal Gold a bit more, although both were enjoyable.

Despite the circumstances, we still enjoyed a pleasant weekend of checking out some new breweries. The surroundings were beautiful and the weather was pretty amazing for this time of year. Since we travel so much, I couldn't help but reflect on a few lines of lyrics from the Rush song, "Dreamline":

We travel on the road to adventure

On a desert highway straight to the heart of the sun

Like lovers and heroes, and the restless part of everyone

We're only at home when we're on the run

On the run

Our beer travels have taken us many places over the years. We're fuelled by adventure and, almost innately, follow our own restless hearts to wherever they might lead us. Whether its near or far, hither or thither, yonder or close, sometimes you just have to appreciate the moment and the people with whom you spend it... because we're only immortal for a limited time. 

Until next time...

We're only immortal for a limited time: Part I

I'd like to begin this blog post by dedicating it to perhaps the single-most influential person of my life whom I'd never had the opportunity to meet: Neil Peart. I learned of his untimely passing while we'd just begun our drive to Harpers Ferry, WV, for a quiet weekend of brewery hopping with D&C. Anyone who knows me is obviously familiar with my love of the band Rush. In addition to being my favorite drummer of all time, Neil was also my favorite writer; not just rock lyrics, though. His words altered the course of what rock songs could - and should - embrace. His lyrics provided a welcome change of pace and spoke loudly and clearly to this wanna-be poet-turned-English major. Ultimately,  it was his travel writings that inspired me to return to beer blogging after a two-and-a-half year hiatus. I always anticipated reading about his travels via motorcycle between Rush shows to national parks and other more remote destinations. The world lost a true original artist and - dare I say it - poet on Tuesday, January 7 when Neil succumbed to brain cancer after a valiant three-and-a-half year battle. His words and music - which have provided the soundtrack to my life thus far - will continue to resonate with me until I join him. Rest easy, Ghost Rider.

Sorry for the somewhat maudlin opening paragraph, but it had to be done. Sadly, the ghost of Neil haunted me for the entire weekend, and still continues to sit uneasily with me. Coincidentally, our destination for this weekend is steeped in "ghostlore." Local ghost tours are popular, and given the violent past of the region - especially during the Civil War - ghost stories loom large in the legend of Harpers Ferry. Although we skipped the ghost tours this time, we did get to experience a unique piece of this historic town by way of an old 19th Century house called Highacre. 

Our accommodations for the weekend.

Highacre happened to provide our accommodations for the weekend. D&C are members of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC), which is kind of like a timeshare for cabin aficionados, hikers, and outdoors folk. Overlooking the Potomac River, this Victorian cottage-style home was erected in 1887 and later donated to PATC in 1962, which is how D&C came to acquire this unique lodging for the weekend. Here's another fun fact about the location: On October 25, 1783, Thomas Jefferson visited Harpers Ferry, where he viewed "the passage of the Potomac through the Blue Ridge" from a rock that is now named after him. Dubbed "Jefferson Rock," the site is actually mere steps from the back of High Acre. 

Our view from the porch.

We were blessed with unseasonably warm weather all weekend. At times, it felt as if it were too warm. However, I'll take 68 degrees in mid-January over a foot of snow any day of the week. Despite some sporadic light rain, we made good use of outside seating at some of the breweries we visited. 

I was really excited to finally return to Abolitionist Ale Works, which ended up on my Top 10 New Breweries Visited in 2018 list. In lieu of worn-out, pedestrian beer styles, Abolitionist offers a handful of varied farmhouse and wild ales, Belgian styles, sour IPAs, and burly barrel-aged concoctions. We decided to sit in the dining room area, which I didn't even know existed. They have a small menu featuring a few appetizers as well as a wide variety of artisan pizzas served on naan bread. Turns out they also have an outside patio area too. I'd perused the tap list in advance, and I was particularly interested in some of the Dirty Beard variants currently available. Once we arrived and settled in, I decided a flight was in order. Here's the low-down:

• Dirty Beard (Chocolate & Coffee) - Imperial Stout conditioned with chocolate and coffee
• Dirty Beard (Rum Raisin) - Rum barrel-aged Imperial Stout conditioned with raisins and loads of vanilla
• Dirty Beard (Mezcal Hot Chocolate) - Mezcal barrel-aged Imperial Stout conditioned w/ cinnamon sticks and habaneros
• Opequon Kriek (Chocolate Cinnamon) - Barrel-aged sour brown ale conditioned with tart cherries, chocolate and cinnamon sticks

All three of the Dirty Beard variants were totally unique, offering different flavors and aromas despite coming from the same base beer. The Chocolate & Coffee variant was probably my favorite, because... well, coffee, of course! The Mezcal Hot Chocolate version was probably the most complex of the three, with a good bit of sweet heat. The Kriek was quite unlike any other I'd encountered. The cherry flavor was obviously apparent, but the slight spicy kick of cinnamon and hint of chocolate really pushed it over the edge. Its slumber in barrels added to the complexity, coaxing notes of vanilla and toasted coconut. All in all, a stellar line-up! 

Pleeps gettin' down in West Funkin' Virginia!

Food-wise, Brewslut and I shared an order of boneless wings and two pizzas: the Blue Buffalo (with chicken, blue cheese and buffalo wing sauce) and the Funky Olive (with olives, grape tomatoes, goat cheese, feta and red sauce). The food was great and filled us up more than adequately. I love naan bread!

After we finished our dinner, we carried on with a few full pours of some other beers. First up was
West Funkin' Virginia, a barrel-aged wild ale fermented with wild local yeast and Brettanomyces, and dry-hopped with Mosaic. Complex and funky, this was like a liquid version of the Blue Ridge Mountains in a glass. I love the subtleties that regional wild yeast and Brett can impart to the flavor of a particular beer. Berry tartness mingled with tropical fruit notes, barnyard funk, oak, vanilla, and stone fruit. Man, this was a totally unique beer and I'm glad I was able to sample it!

Almost funkin' heaven...

By this time a jazz trio started playing and provided some groovy background music. I was hoping for maybe a little YYZ tease as a nod to Neil, but it never happened. Jazz at a brewery is great because it's seldom loud and you can still hold a conversation while listening to all the notes. The music was chill and well executed, so we decided we had one more in us before we moved on. I ended our visit with a pour of Hoppy Saison, a farmhouse-style ale dry-hopped with Mosaic. I'd enjoyed a few saisons during our inaugural visit and thought I'd check out a few others this time around. This one was pretty straightforward with tropical notes amid a somewhat earthy, grassy backdrop. After I finished up this beer, it was time to bid a fond farewell to Abolitionist. Hopefully we'll be back later in 2020 or early 2021.

While we were driving to our second and final brewery of the evening, Harpers Ferry Brewing, Brewslut and I found ourselves in three different states within the matter of three minutes. Despite having GPS, we missed a sharp turn and had to backtrack a bit to find the brewery. But we quickly recovered and reached our destination after a slight delay. Located in Virginia along the banks of the Potomac River with views of West Virginia and Maryland, Harpers Ferry Brewing only recently opened its doors around September 2018. I'll admit that I was definitely more than half in the bag when we arrived, so I had about one beer left in me before we headed back to Highacre.

The owners of another brewery we'd visited some time ago, Old 690, opened Harpers Ferry Brewing back in the fall of 2018. The brewery, which took more than a year to build, is situated on 68 acres surrounded by mountains and views of the Potomac river. It features a lodge-style theme, with several outdoor seating areas and bars and picnic tables to enjoy the views and live music. Of course, it was dark out when we arrived and therefore we didn't get to experience the views or outdoor seating. Instead, we headed inside, ordered some beers, and plopped down at the nearest table we could find.

I decided to try my luck with a West Coast IPA called The Needles. I thought it was a pretty cool name for a West Coast IPA, given that most have a distinct pine resin character. Perhaps intended as a double meaning, the beer itself is also named after one of the Potomac River's famed rapids. Hopped with three classic varietals - Centennial, Warrior and Cascade - this beer definitely blends citrus and piney notes together and finishes up on the bitter side.

Honestly, I wasn't too jazzed about having our beer served in plastic cups. The only time this is acceptable is when you're at a packed bar and they run out of glassware. However, that definitely wasn't the case here, as it wasn't too crowded and everyone - ourselves includes - were drinking out of plastic cups. Even the sampler flight Carolyn ordered was served in plastic. The cupcake tin was a neat touch, but if you're charging $7.50 for a 4.2% sour ale and $8.50 for a DIPA, then you might want to rethink presentation of your beers. Pleeps agrees...

Facepalm!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We finished the first of two puzzles on Saturday morning. I'd forgotten how much fun assembling a puzzle can be. It's definitely more amusing when it's a team effort, too. Oddly enough, one of the puzzles was beer-themed. We worked on it for a while on Friday night while enjoying some beers we brought to share. The girls stayed up for a bit after I hit the sack and completed a good chunk of it. On Saturday morning, the first thing I did when I got downstairs was grab a cup of coffee and see if I could finish it before they awoke. Deuane was already up (as per usual), but he doesn't "do puzzles." Carolyn soon emerged and the two of us finished it up before Brewslut lumbered downstairs.

Our first stop of the day took place at Hillsborough Vineyards & Brewery, a unique co-existing farm winery/brewery with libations served out of a single tasting room overlooking grapes grown right on the sprawling property. Hillsborough is owned by two brothers; one oversees the wine making and the other the brewing operations. The overall vibe of the place screams winery, so I'd imagine that most of its business comes from the wine side of the operation. I wasn't sure what to expect here, because we'd been to a few wineries that also "make beer," and have been disappointed in the majority of them. Deuane didn't have high expectations, but we ultimately decided to swing by just so we could "cross it off the list."

I decided to start off with a half pour of Hillsbräu, a light and refreshing German-style pilsner brewed exclusively with German malt and French Mistral hops. The nose was quite floral, and the flavor hinted at delicate melon and light grassy notes. It wasn't super-crisp or carbonated, but it was enjoyable in its simplicity.

This led me to try something darker on for size, so I opted for another half pour... this time of a beer called Ol' Bessie. This brown ale features a variety of American malts and Willamette hops to elicit classic flavors of chocolate, caramel, and roasted nuts. While a brown ale isn't a go-to style for me, I'll order one occasionally just for something different. This one was pretty solid overall.

The bartender here was extremely friendly, and she noticed my Tröegs jacket and expressed how much she liked the brewery. We chatted a bit about my job and some upcoming beers we've got in the pipeline, and she seemed genuinely interested in talking shop. I was happy to share some Mad Elf with her, which she'd never had before. Overall, we were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the beers here. While nothing to write home about, the beers are simple, approachable, and flavorful.

When we arrived at Bear Chase, I could sense an impending shitshow of epic proportions. As we parked the car and made our way to the entrance of the brewery, I could hear the strains of an overcrowded space beginning to hover into my periphery. When we entered the space, we were greeted by a cacophony of screaming children, yelping dogs, sub par music through a loud, slightly distorted PA system, and boisterous, slightly inebriated football fans; in my book, not a winning combination by any stretch of the imagination. The tragedy here is that this place has everything else going for it.

Nestled in the rolling, wooded hills west of Loudoun, Bear Chase is one of the newer craft breweries in the area to join the party. Boasting a newly remodeled “Brew Barn” with a 10-bbl brewhouse on one side and a smaller 3.5bbl system on the other, Bear Chase strives to produce perennial favorites as well as limited small-batch releases of experimental beers.

Like many of the other breweries in the region, Bear Chase operates as a "farm brewery." With this in mind, they've re-purposed several parts of the property for the brewery, including the original barn itself for the production brewery. They've also cleverly utilized reclaimed timber in the taproom. For example, the tap handles are all custom-carved from different species of trees found on the property. Bear Chase also plans to plant its own orchard of fruit trees and use the various fruits in its beers. What's not to like about that?

Here's another thing I appreciated about Bear Chase: they had two lines for beer orders. One for "decisive beer drinkers" and another for "indecisive beer drinkers." Deuane and I fall under the former, while - much to the chagrin of myself and the rest of our group - many fair weather beer drinkers fall under the latter. While we stood in line, I regaled Deuane with my story about a group of sixty-something ladies at the small Pelican taproom in Tilamook, OR, during one of our big summer trips. They definitely fell under the latter. I won't get into the full story, but if you feel so inclined you can revisit my little rant by checking out our past blog entry, Adventures in Portlandia: Day 5 - Up the Coast to Tillamook. It's a pretty cool rant if you dig my rants. Just sayin'.

Move bitch... get out the way!

Oooh, can I try a splash of the IPA? I never had an IPA before!

I guess this is as good of a segue as any to the next part of the story. Amidst all the chaos and rigmarole of our surroundings, I glanced outside and noticed a large, decorative rock in the distance. Carolyn noticed there was a sign affixed to it, so I decided to investigate. Here's a close-up shot of the rock and the sign:

Self-explanatory, right?

I walked back up the hill to the group, revealed my findings, and by the time I got back to my table, the rugrats were at it. Notice the clueless parents in the background:

This photograph depicts, in a nutshell, what I loathe about society. Really, people? STAY THE FUCK OFF THE ROCK, SHITBAGS! They didn't put the sign there because it looks nice. Jesus Christ! I was really hoping that one of these little mongrels would fall and break his arm. Then, of course, the parents would probably sue the brewery. I just can't grasp how people are so oblivious and self-absorbed that they can't even keep their little fucking broods of failure from doing something they're not supposed to do. End rant. 

Let's get on to the beer. There were plenty of beers available, and I ultimately settled on the oddly named Cherry, the Ruptured Duck. Described as a dark ale brewed with cherries, it was kind of like a schwarzbier with cherry pie filling.  It was neither sweet nor tart and fell somewhere in between the two. It was a bit thin and under-carbonated, but it tasted decent.

We had a similar experience with our next beer, Thunder Ridge, a chocolate cherry stout. It tasted pretty good, but again it was on the thin side and low on carbonation. I'm fine with lower carbonation when it comes to porters and stouts, but I gotta have that thick, robust body and creamy mouthfeel. It certainly was chocolatey and had a fair bit of cherry sweetness, but it could definitely use a boost in the malt department. Even though the deafening noise had settled to a dull roar, we finished our final beers rather quickly and hit the rocky road. Sometimes the people around you ruin the experience, like our last visit to Vanish. Even though the beers were middle-of-the-road, the place itself was pretty amazing.

A few miles down some quaint country roads from Chase is Dirt Farm, a farm brewery situated on 100 acres in Loudoun County, VA. Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains just a stone's throw away from the village of Bluemont, what once was a quaint weekend retreat built in the 1940’s is now the rustic home of Dirt Farm's tasting room. The farm itself occupies a sprawling 400-acre piece of land that's been family-owned for more than 40 years. The brewery itself opened its doors in 2012, and has become a natural extension of the farm itself with its hop yard, barley fields, a proprietary yeast strain, and fruits and vegetables grown on-site.

I immediately noticed a bourbon barrel-aged barleywine on tap, and I was about to order it... that is, until Brewslut pointed out that a 3-year vertical flight of BBA barleywines was available for just $1 more. Um, yes please! The flight featured 2017, 2018 and 2019 versions of its 13% ABV American-style Barleywine. Each variation was aged in bourbon barrels for 10 months. Both the 2017 and 2018 versions were aged in Buffalo Trace barrels, while the latest 2019 version was aged in a subsidiary distillery in Indiana (the name escapes me) also for 10 months. My order of preference was thus: 2017, 2019, 2018. Surprisingly, the 2018 was quite a bit sweeter than the others, and the 2019 was obviously the booziest. The 2017 was subtle and complex blend of dark caramel, oak, vanilla, and dark fruit.

The place was pretty crowded when we arrived, but we managed to snag a tiny two-person table, so we took turns standing while we enjoyed our drinks. They also had a taco truck on-site, but we decided to eat a bit later, even though Carolyn's tacos looked great.

While I worked on the barleywine flight, I also enjoyed some of Brewslut's and Deuane's Tart 31 Cherry Ale. One of Dirt Farm's signature beers, this fruit-forward brew is packed with farm-fresh Montmorency cherries. The beer itself boasts a beautiful ruby red color and our pour yielded two fingers worth of creamy foam with a pinkish hue. It really was a lovely-looking beer. It tasted pretty damn good, too! Not sour by any means, even the underlying tartness was very delicate and understated. However, the cherry flavor was quite elegant. I really enjoyed this beer a lot and wish I would have had my own pint to enjoy. But alas, we had other breweries to visit.

So I suppose this is as good a place as any to take a breather. We'll continue our story and we close out Saturday with a few more brewery visits followed by our return to PA with several pit-stops in Frederick, MD, including two new places and an old favorite. Until next time...

Dela... where? - Part 2

We actually got rolling pretty early on Sunday morning and made it to our first stop, Stitch House, for brunch. This part of town seemed extremely quiet at this time of day, which I reckon was somewhere around 10:15 a.m. Brewslut suggested that it was likely due to the nearby University of Delaware still being on holiday break. Perhaps everyone was at church. Either way, the streets were relatively calm and collected.

Our view at Stitch House.

It was still a little early, so rather than a beer we opted for coffee with our brunch. We hadn't had any yet, and we're typically two cups in before we get to our first brewery of the day. The brunch menu was small and heavy on carnivore-friendly dishes, so we decided to go pescatarian with smoked salmon bagel sandwiches and breakfast potatoes. The food was damn tasty, and gave us a nice base on top of which to pour a few beers.

I was excited to see a Rauchbier on tap named Dumpster Fire. What a great name for a smoked beer! This one turned out to be light-bodied and very approachable for the style with a nice balance of smoke and sweet. I won't continue to bore you with musings about smoked beers. Either you love 'em or you hate 'em. I'm definitely in the minority... kind of like a non-stoned fan at a Phish concert. So one beer in and we were off to a good start!

Up next, I decided to take a chance with Coconut Pete's Porter . In my experiences, beers brewed with coconut have been all over the map. I also really have to be in the mood for a coconut beer. Well, this morning I was in fact craving a dark, silky beer with chocolate, coffee and/or coconut. Turns out it was a sound decision because this might be one of the best coconut beers I've had. Seriously, this one kind of surprised me. I wasn't expecting it to be that good. I mean, it wasn't mind-blowing in its complexity; it was just an extremely well-executed beer. The toasted coconut flavor was on-point and didn't overpower the beer. It also didn't have that fake, medicinal coconut flavor you find in some beers that take shortcuts and use extract. The bartender said that despite all of the work they did preparing and toasting the coconut, the flavor was extremely subtle. Well, subtle to me equals perfect. This one was just perfectly balanced with a creamy mouthfeel that I always want to encounter with a porter. Beautifully done, Stitch House!

Pleeps' new friend, Coconut Pete!

We decided to share a pour of the appropriately named Russian Imperial Stout, Drago. Not only is this an amazing name for a RIS, but it also had a subtitle of "I Must Break You," which is like one of about 4 lines spoken by the antagonist, Ivan Drago, in the movie Rocky IV. I was obsessed with the Rocky franchise after seeing the first two movies broadcast on television when I was a kid, and went to see III and IV in the theater. The original Rocky is still one of my favorite movies of all time, and I can't get through the final scene without crying like a little bitch. Yes it's true... I'm a sensitive guy. I know, right?! 

To be honest, I can't believe this place was virtually empty while we were there. When we arrived, there were maybe 3 people in there, and when we left there was one guy at the bar besides us. Our brunch was excellent, our server was one of the best we've encountered in recent memory, and the beers were all fantastic. So this was a bit of a head-scratcher for me, I'm afraid. I couldn't find anything wrong with this place. Stitch House is definitely worth a visit if you find yourself in Wilmington.

Next up was Wilmington Brew Works, the first production brewery in Delaware’s largest city since 1955. The brewery is situated in a 100-year-old building in the 9th Ward section of town, which originally housed a laboratory. I thought it looked like an old train station. The brewery takes pride in keeping the spirit of the building’s origins alive by creating innovative beers and ciders. The long, narrow taproom offers plenty of indoor seating, and there is also an adjacent outdoor patio and an events space, dubbed The Alamo Room, in the back. As a matter of fact, they were hosting some kind of private engagement party or baby shower while we were there.

The brewery has built a reputation among local beer drinkers with its NE-style IPAs, which are fermented with a cultivated wild yeast strain. They also have a penchant for fruited sours, which we'll delve into in a moment. Additionally, Wilmington Brew Works is the only brewery operating in the Delaware with an "alternating premise license." This allows them to also operate as a cidery and offer a line of hard ciders through the moniker Urban Orchard Works.

Speaking of fruited sours, we both landed on one after a quick perusal of the available offerings. I went with Par Avion - Raspberry Peach Bellini, a beer inspired by the Italian Bellini cocktail. This deep pinkish sour ale features peaches and raspberry puree to elicit a sweet but juicy tartness. I was enjoying it quite a bit, that is until I raised Brewslut's glass of  Par Avion - Pineapple Cream up to my nostrils. Yowza! I was about to embark on a trip on the Pineapple Express. This was Brewslut's beer of the trip, and I must admit it was pretty damn amazing. Loads of pineapple puree and hints of vanilla and coconut create a pina colada experience that will take you to the tropics. This beer was off-the-charts good!

Pleeps with a pair of Par Avions.

These two beers set the tone and enticed us to further explore its offerings, which were plentiful. I opted for a short pour of a beer called Teutonic Metaphysics. Described as a "Northeast Rye IPA," this hoppy beer incorporates German rye malt and pairs it with two unlikely hops varieties: Hüll Melon and Madarina Bavaria. Flavor-wise, this beer incorporates spicy floral notes with a touch of citrus and a distinct gritty, peppery rye malt finish. The beer is fermented with a house wild ale yeast strain to add further funky dimension to this complex beer.

By this time, we were enjoying our visit quite a bit, so I suggested sharing one final pour. After a pair of fruity sours and an IPA, it was time for something sweeter. Enter Nocturnal Indiscretion, the "Midnight Snacks - Chocolate Peanut Butter" edition. Turns out this beer is a chocolate peanut butter variant of the brewery's Belgian Rye Stout intended to capture the flavors of a favorite vending machine snack: chocolate peanut butter cups. I'm usually not one for peanut butter in my stout, but for some reason this one was calling to me. Perhaps the thirteen-year-old part of my brain (which accounts for a pretty big chunk of mine) likened this beer's name to "nocturnal emissions." Either way, I ordered a short pour for us to share. Pleeps loves peanut butter almost as much as he loves bananas, so sometimes we have to bow to his demands. Gotta keep the talent happy, right?

All in all, it was a great visit to Wilmington Brew Works. We were hoping to hit Twin Lakes afterward, but they were closed when we arrived despite getting there within the designated hours of operation. We even double-checked their actual web site and Facebook page, because we've gotten burned in the past relying on Google for up-to-date hours. So, another audible would soon come into play... but more on that in a bit.

Since Twin Lakes was a no-show, we headed over to the next stop on our itinerary, Bellefonte. Part of Wilmington's beer scene for the last three years, Bellefonte is named after the neighborhood of Wilmington in which the brewery resides. The small garage-like, dog-friendly taproom offers sixteen regular production beers. We were able to secure two seats at the tiny bar and set up shop for about an hour or so. Much of the wall space is adorned with colorful, modern character-type paintings of pop culture icons. I immediately noticed the Trailer Park Boys painting near the men's bathroom, so bonus points for that!

View from our vantage point at Bellefonte.

After checking out the available beers, I decided to place my bet on Pacific Pines, a West Coast IPA. Honey-golden with notes of citrus and pine, it certainly looked and smelled the part. Overall, it fell a little short, but only because I've had so many West Coast IPAs. I tend to weigh the little local guys up to benchmarks like all of the old-school California heavy-hitters such as Stone, Green Flash, Lagunitas, etc. Perhaps that's not a totally fair rule of thumb, but it's the way my palate works sometimes.

At no surprise to me, Brewslut opted for The Way She Gose Key Lime, part of Bellefonte's fruited gose series. Style aside, the name of the beer hearkens back to one of our favorite Trailer Park Boys episodes, "The Fuckin' Way She Goes," when Ray loses all of their strip club money at the VLTs (video lottery terminals) while meanwhile Ricky accidentally burns down Ray's trailer after leaving French fries cooking on the stove. This one boasted much of the classic goes flavors of wheat bread, lactic acid and salt, while the key lime flavor was present but not dominant. Not too bad was our consensus.

While we were there, we sampled a few others but nothing really jumped out and enticed us to dig deeper. Still, this is a cool, rough-and-tumble neighborhood brewery with a lot of character and cool people to boot.

With some extra time due to the Twin Lakes faux pas, we decided to pay a visit to West Chester's Levante, a brewery we'd first visited back in June 2018. Levante opened its doors in August 2015, and has earned its place among the burgeoning Philly-area craft beer scene. The Italian word "levante" translates to ‘to rise,’ which seems to echo the brewery's purpose of elevating the local community and craft beer experience via its beer. With 20 available taps, the small tasting room offers a variety of forward-thinking beers sure to please just about any palate. Though its primarily known for hazy IPAs and fruit-soaked sours, Levante also dabbles in barrel-aged creations and even has a line of hard seltzers branded under the "ReVibe" label. They even partner with local coffee roasters to develop collaborative blends through its "Rise to Roar" coffee project.

Once we settled in, it was time for a beer. As soon as I saw the description for Gran Gianduiotto, I was hooked. This 2018 vintage 11% ABV imperial stout features Ghirardelli cacao powder, lactose milk sugar, hazelnut, vanilla, and more than 70 pounds of Italian espresso from Gran Caffe L'Aquila, an Italian restaurant in Philadelphia. This was a great sipping beer while we just chilled out at the bar and reflected back on the weekend and some of our favorite beers. This was definitely one of the most memorable ones!

Pleeps is always ready to dive right in!

Meanwhile, Brewslut worked on a pour of Ambient Solstice, a sour IPA ripe with blackberry, blueberry, sweet and tart cherries, and plums as well as vanilla and almond. A variety of fruit-heavy hops complement the juicy yet tart flavors of the fruit additions. This one definitely teetered closer to the "sour" side of the spectrum rather than the "IPA" side. although I will say that this was one of the more unique and complex beers I've yet to experience that falls under this hybrid style, which is becoming a fast favorite of ours.

We also hit up the food truck for some vegetarian dumplings, egg rolls and fish tacos, courtesy of KOI on the Go. The food was hot, tasty, and reasonably priced, and the service was great, so no complaints there. We debated hitting up another brewery, but ultimately decided to set the controls for home and get in some couch time.

At the end of the day, it was a pleasant romp around Delaware, and we can add another nine places to our ever-expanding list of breweries we've visited. Until next time...

Dela...where? - Part 1

Looks like we're coming out of the gate swinging as we commence with 2020! The first weekend of the year, and we're already headed down the ol' Pour Travelers trail. After a quick three-day detox from a beer-and-liquor-soaked New Year's Eve (and Brewslut's birthday party), we're back at it, doin' what we do. We had originally planned to check out some new places in Philadelphia on this particular weekend, but we decided to switch gears and try Delaware on for size. Despite being one of the nation's smallest states and next door neighbors to PA, we hadn't spent much time in "The First State." Save for a few visits to the Dogfish Head brewpub in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware was largely uncharted waters for us Pour Travelers. So it was settled. We were off to Delaware.

I got up bright and early on Saturday morning after a good night's sleep and prepared a healthy breakfast of scrambled eggs, home fries, and turkey bacon. I always find its good to have a full belly prior to a day of drinking. It sounds like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised how quickly you can get f'd up on an empty stomach.

Outside Dew Point in Yorklyn, DE.

Our first stop of the day was Dew Point, a three-year-old brewery situated in Yorklyn, DE. We arrived about twenty minutes prior to opening time, so we decided to take a quick stroll around the perimeter. Turns out the brewery inhabits one of the buildings of an old, historic snuff (i.e. chewin' tobacco) factory called Garrett Snuff Mill that operated until 1954. The complex includes fourteen contributing (mostly brick) buildings built between 1846 and 1901. It served as a cool, scenic backdrop for the brewery itself.

The Tasting Room is situated on the second floor of the building, above the brewing facility. Dew Point also boasts a sprawling beer garden area with outdoor stage for live entertainment as well as cornhole boards, a horseshoe pit, disc golf, and more.

It was refreshing to start off the day at a brewery whose beer menu wasn't comprised of 75% IPAs. Obviously, we were the first patrons of the day since we rolled in right at opening time (actually, we were a minute early). Fran, the bartender, was super-friendly and talkative, and didn't hesitate to tell us about the history of the brewery and its story (which you can read all about at Dew Point's web site).

The environment was cool - lots of wood including a bar constructed of pinewood and built by Fran himself, as well as original floorboards and ceiling beams. Even the music was awesome, also apparently curated by Fran (care of his iPod). While we were there, I heard old school Metallica, Zappa, Blue Oyster Cult, and even one of my personal favorites, the criminally underrated King's X. Even the view from the tasting room overlooks the dilapidated buildings of the old snuff factory, which adds to the ambiance. Turns out the beer here is great too!

We opted for our own sampler flights, each featuring four different beers.

• Sippin' on a SIPA 2 - saison/IPA hybrid hopped and dry-hooped with multiple hop varieties to elicit tropical, citrus, and passionfruit flavors and aromas. This one came across as almost a sour IPA, with lots of spicy, earthy notes from the saison yeast to complement the citrus-forward hop profile.  
• Rubick's 3 - Bière de Garde with honey, peaches, and apricots. My favorite of the lot! The honey really stands out in this beer, sweetening the pot quite a bit as well as propping up the juiciness of the fruit. Gotta love them peaches! 
• Mexican Standoff - Brewed with cacao nibs, vanilla beans, and cinnamon sticks, this stout offers a Mexican standoff between the three ingredients as well as traditional notes of roast and coffee. Surprisingly, the base beer was a < 5% ABV dry Irish-type stout. Typically, these "Mexican" stouts are quite a bit beefier and boozier. Despite being a tad thin, the flavors were well-balanced. 
• Old Spinster - Two-year aged English barleywine features complex malt richness and vinous character with hints of dark fruit, caramel, and toffee. Very smooth for a beer teetering at almost 10% ABV. It was a bit on the sweet side, but it also had ample viscosity and a nice underlying dark caramel note. 

All in all, this was a great way to kick off our little overnight adventure. This little place is churning out some well-executed, thoughtful beers that aren't just run-of-the-mill offerings. I loved everything about this place, and we look forward to a return visit sooner than later. 

Pleeps tangled up in a Mexican Standoff.

Our first stop in Newark proper was Argilla, a small brewpub attached to Pietro's Pizza. Located in the Meadowood II shopping plaza, Argilla hosts a variety of live music regularly as well as comedy and bingo nights. As soon as we walked in, I noticed a small corner stage complete with PA gear and even a nice Yamaha house drum kit. Some little rugrat got away from his mom during our visit and decided to entertain the patrons with a "drum solo." The mom thought it would make a nice Kodak photo moment until she noticed several grimaces on the faces of multiple customers, ourselves included, at which time she dutifully pulled him out from behind the drum throne.

OK. Onto the beer. For whatever reason, I wasn't in an IPA mood. After a quick perusal of the beer menu, one selection jumped out at me not only for its name, Mr. Owl, but also for its description: a kettle-soured black ale conditioned on red raspberries before a second fermentation in oak barrels on our house sour mix for about 4 months. Sold. This turned out to be one of those rare beers on which Brewslut and I didn't see eye to eye. As a matter of fact, we were on completely different ends of the spectrum with this beer. I really enjoyed it for its moderate tartness and flavors of raspberry jam, tobacco, and oak. The finish was kind of funky, but not too crazy or overly complex. Let's call it a hint of barnyard. Brewslut, on the other hand, wasn't diggin' it. She felt something was off in the flavor, and might have even commented something along the lines of "magic marker," which drew me back to one of my favorite early blogs, The Anomalous Olfactory Anecdotes of Brewslut. Honestly, I was quite surprised she didn't like it. To me, it straddled the line of a Flanders Red and oak-aged dark Belgian sour. I was pretty impressed.

Pleeps with Mr. Owl.

Meanwhile, Brewslut ordered a beer called Lemon Berry Blue, a tart wheat beer conditioned on raspberries, blueberries, lemon zest and fresh-squeezed lemonade. It wasn't terrible, but unfortunately it came across as a flat shandy. We weren't too jazzed about this one. Overall, it was a little too sweet and lacking complexity. More enjoyable was the plate of fresh-cut fries with beer cheese we noshed on to hold us over until dinner. Can't go wrong with loading up on additional carbs whilst imbibing!

We decided to try a third beer, so I suggested something dark and malty. Brown Sugar Beerunch Stout is a variation of Argilla's Beerunch Stout with the addition of brown sugar and Sumatran coffee beans. This one sounded a little more appealing on paper. It wasn't bad per se, but the body was considerably thinner than I like for the style, and the brown sugar dominated the coffee flavor, unfortunately. Still, it was a decent attempt at something a little off-kilter, which I can appreciate. The clear winner for me here was Mr. Owl, and it was one of the more memorable beers of the trip for me. Brewslut disagrees, and she is unanimous in that decision.

The next two breweries on the itinerary were situated in the same industrial park about a block and a half from each other. First on the list was Autumn Arch, a small-batch, experimental brewery "specializing in deep flavor profiles, edgy bitterness, and complex relationships" (their words, not mine). The tap list featured a wide variety of fairly straightforward beer styles including a few IPAs, a Wee Heavy, an altbier, pilsner, and a few others.

I settled on Newark State of Mind Redux, a slight variation of its flagship imperial IPA. Super-dry with a slight hazy flare, the beers features a hazy IPA yeast from Mere Tenacity to add the mysterious "special sauce" as it were. Brewslut opted for - and I knew she'd order this based solely on its name - Incredulous Stare. This one is a West Coast-style IPA brewed exclusively with Idaho Gem hops, which linger on the palate with a spicy, citrusy flavor profile. We decided to share and compare notes. I was definitely digging the Newark State of Mind a bit more. Since we've spent a lot of time drinking in San Diego, I'm pretty jaded when it comes to West Coast IPAs. Incredulous Stare, while decent in its own right, had left me unconvinced. We decided to go the route of one-and-done for the next few places, as we still had several to hit.

Just up the street is Midnight Oil, a young brewery that won't celebrate its 2nd anniversary until February. I was hoping for a beer named "Beds are Burning" or a bald bartender with a weird Australian accent, but no such luck. Though not quite as many beers on tap as its neighbor a few doors down, there was still plenty of variety in the eight offerings on the board. After weighing our options, I went with Lucid Dream, a Dortmunder Lager, while the lady opted for Vampire Sunburn, a Gose with guava puree. I was surprised she didn't go for the cherry Berliner Weisse. After all, it's her favorite beer style.

Also referred to as "Export" lager, Dortmunders hail from Dortmund, Germany, and take inspiration from pilsners. I find them a tad bit grittier and earthier than pilsners, which come across as considerably more crisp. At least that's how this one struck me. I hadn't had one in quite a while (to my recollection, anyway), and this one fell somewhere in the middle. The wife's gose was a little more interesting (and tasty, too). Speaking of her gose, it seems as though the use of guavas in brewing has picked up considerably with the preponderance of tart fruit beers in the last few years. A common tropical fruit in Mexico and Central America, guavas elicit a lemony fragrance and bring together tropical flavors of papaya, banana and light pineapple. 

The tasting room is dog friendly, and there was a little black lab-looking cutie bopping around whose name was Charlie. He was wearing a little bandana around his neck. However, he was very tentative and shy around most of the people. I was lured toward the end of the bar area opposite where we were sitting by the sight of a Galaga arcade game. Turns out it was a free play multi-game cabinet with lots of old, classic favorites! I snuck in a game of Frogger (one of my best games in a while, too), while Brewslut caught up with some reading on her phone. 

The beers here pretty solid, but we decided to stick to our one-and-done routine again. After a quick time check, I realized we were way ahead of schedule, so I decided to consult my trusty Brewery Maps web site. Turns out we were mere miles away from not only PA, but also Maryland, and - lo and behold - there was a brewery located in nearby Elkton, MD. Audible! To quote Hannibal, "I love it when a plan comes together."

So it was off to Valhalla, Elkton's first microbrewery. We decided to also eat there since the food sounded good and it was getting to be dinner time. The name of the brewery is derived from Norse mythology. Valhalla is a majestic hall inhabited by slain warriors who live there blissfully under the leadership of Odin, the god of... well, lots of stuff, including wisdom, poetry, death, divination, and magic. Odin seems to have a lot on his plate, eh? In mythology, Valhalla is depicted as a splendid palace, where warriors drink liquor from the udders of - you guessed it - goats! Now we're talkin'!

Unfortunately, our beers didn't quite measure up to the same awesomeness as the majestic hall after which the brewery borrows its name. My beer, Flannel Szn, is a Winter Lager brewed with winter spices, orange peel, honey, and cranberries. The first sip revealed dreaded off-flavors of slight sulfur and sewer pipes. It was definitely one of the off-flavors I learned about during quality control and sensory panel training at the brewery. Thankfully, the spices did their best to mask the underlying flaw of this beer, which I'm fairly certain was Hydrogen Sulfide. It was either that or Mercaptan (i.e. ethanethiol), which I actually had difficulty detecting during the training. Some palates simply can't detect Mercaptan... and that's a good thing, because it elicits flavors of rotten vegetables, dirty drain water, sulfur, and rotting garbage. With descriptors like that, I can't believe that anyone's tastebuds would be impervious to Mercaptan. The first sip was definitely a shock, but the winter spices emerged a bit more as it warmed up, rendering it at least drinkable.

Brewslut's Mimosa Sour also did little to impress us. It was flat, lifeless, and didn't come across like a mimosa at all. It was extremely under-carbonated, and I'm honestly surprised they were even serving it. I had one sip and that was about enough for me. A sour has got to have a bit of prickly carbonation to bolster the tart notes. Plus its appearance was murky and unappealing. This one just wasn't cutting it.

View from our barstools at Valhalla.

The food was good enough, though. We enjoyed smoked chicken wraps with smashed avocado and a side of fries. But the beers didn't entice us to stick around for further exploration, I'm afraid. We did, however, get tangled up in a few football conversations with some patrons. We were actually in pro-football moods on this particular evening, and enjoyed watching the Bills play the Texans... or as I still call them, the Oilers.

Our final brewery stop of the day was Stewart's Brewing Company. Established in 1995 - during the Mesozoic era of craft brewing - Stewart’s is New Castle County’s first brewpub. It's located in a shopping plaza at Governor Place in Bear, DE. When we pulled into the parking lot, I sensed it had the potential of being packed. We quickly shuffled in, as it was raining outside, and I discovered my instincts were correct. Alas, there was a pigskin-tossing-and-kicking contest on the television that had them out in droves.

Inside, the spacious brewpub offers a 150-seat full service restaurant with a large, wrap-around 30-seat bar. Stewart's also has secured ten GABF medals between 2001 and 2013, which adorn its walls. We were fortunate to snag two seats way in the back at the very end of the bar near the kitchen entrance. I was actually surprised to see so many people out at an old-school brewpub on a Saturday night.  I suspected the TVs were probably helping bolster attendance. After all, the team everyone loves to hate, The Patriots, were playing the Titans. Despite checking out the tap list in advance, I'll admit that I didn't have high hopes for this place. We'd been to a number of 90's-era brewpubs in our travels, and most of them simply stop trying (or caring), instead opting to bank on die-hard, long-time customers or tourists looking for a place to enjoy a beer while on vacation. Turns out I was pleasantly surprised.

Pleeps patiently waiting for a beer.

As soon as I eyeballed a Smoked Porter on the draft list, I'd made up my mind. The fact that this beer was also a two-time GABF medalist helped seal the deal. An English-style porter brewed with beechwood smoked malt, this robust dark, malty beer features smokey highlights and a roasty malt backbone with traces of coffee and tobacco. Nicely done, Stewart's!  

Upon further inspection of the tap list, I noticed a Barrel-Aged Winter Warmer . The term "barrel-aged" caught my attention, but it was the "aged in Bulleit Rye Barrels" that ultimately sucked me into the vortex. I'd recently been getting really into bourbon and rye over the last two years, and Bulleit Rye is one of my regular go-tos. This particular winter warmer ale was aged for nearly a year in a Bulleit Rye Barrel. This one boasted a dominant boozy rye presence with a hint of vanilla sweetness and a touch of spice.

By this time, we were having a fun conversation and watching all of the football fans react to the game, so we decided to share something. I inquired about the cask selection, and it turned out to be an IPA called The Line of Muggability. This American IPA, brewed especially for Stewart's mug clubbers, is dry hopped with Mosaic and Columbus for a dominant citrus fruit character with grapefruit at the forefront. Once I saw it was on cask - and served in a 20oz imperial British pint glass - it had to be done. Some of my favorite IPA experiences of all time have been beer engine pours (Town Hall's Masala Mama and Selin's Grove's Olde Frosty immediately come to mind). The first time I had Nugget Nectar dispensed from a hand-pulled beer engine, it was a religious experience. So yeah, I have some history with cask-conditioned beers. My top bucket list trip of all time is to travel to the English countryside, rent a car for two weeks, drive around and visit as many small pubs as possible and indulge in some serious "real ale." This beer went down all too easily, and with that it was time to bid farewell to Stewart's and retire for the evening. 

But the night wasn't over quite yet. Rather than have one more beer at Stewart's, we decided to head back to the hotel and check out the bar. Although the tap selection consisted of just three beers, they all were craft. I went with Body & Soul from Delaware's Blue Earl Brewing. I'd only just learned of this brewery earlier in the day during our visit to Dew Point. Fran mentioned it was a newer place that brewed some good stuff. I didn't care what style this beer turned out to be; I was ordering it anyway. Turns out it's a Scotch Ale. Scotch Ales are strong ales, also known as Also known as "Wee Heavy," Scotch ales traditionally go through a long boil in the kettle, which caramelized the wort, producing a deep copper or brown coloration. The beer shares its name with the 1930's jazz standard, and the brewery itself is steeped in the blues and early American music such as jazz, our country's contribution to musical genres. At 9% ABV, this was a smooth, malty treat to put a cap on a fine day of Pour Traveling.

Stay tuned for the conclusion of our weekend in Delaware as we head to nearby Wilmington to hit a few more new-to-us places. Until next time...