The Pour Travelers Take Delmarva: Part II

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

Back at Backshore.

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

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

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

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

Sammy, the agile one.

Maggie, the chill one.

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

Outside Sinepuxent's small tap room.

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

Enjoying Pilsner Sin Brew on a chilly January day.

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

Sinepuxent's little on-site general store.

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

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

Back at Burley Oak a year later.

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

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

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

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

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

Tap handles at Tall Tales.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Pour Travelers Take Delmarva: Part I

I think I speak for everyone when I say it's time to start getting things back to some semblance of normalcy. That doesn't necessarily mean chucking my mask in the trash and throwing caution to the wind, but enough is enough. It's time to start living life again. Whatever that means to you, I hope it at least means more than going to the store and stocking up on a month's worth of groceries and toilet paper. For us, well... we'd love nothing more than to just belly up to a random bar at a brewery we'd never visited before and start talking to a friendly bartender, a brewer, or even a pair of complete strangers. While we're still not there yet, we were able to recently pick up and head southward to coastal Delaware to spend a few days with our friend, Taylor, for some leisurely brewery hopping. You may remember Taylor from our "Cape Crusader trilogy" (links to parts 1, 2 and 3 for your reference) back just before COVID-19 reared its ugly head and threw up a roadblock so massive that it dwarfed Trump's sad little border wall. 

So, we set aside a long holiday weekend to traverse some familiar terrain and hit a few newbies in the process. The trip began on a Friday afternoon. With both of us working from home, we were able to shove off a few hours early and get a head start on traffic. The plan was to meet Taylor at Dogfish Head's Rehoboth Beach pub for dinner at 5 p.m. and head over to Dewey Beer Co. on the way back to his house. We arrived at 5 o'clock on the dot. We were both rather hungry, so I was glad to be seated immediately. 

The Pour Travelers are no strangers to Dogfish Head Brews & Eats. My band, herbie, used to play there often. However, it was during last year's visit when we witnessed the newly expanded brewpub in all its magnificent glory. First off, the stage for live music quadrupled! Anyone who has been to the original location knows how diminutive the stage was. The new spot was made for live music. (I'd love to book Solar Federation there, but they do original bands only, which I can respect.) 

Taylor deserved a hug rather than a COVID-sanctioned elbow bump. I mean, we'd be staying with him for a few days, so... With that, we took our seats and perused the beer menu, which was rife with exclusive beers a la Scratch Beers at Tröegs. I was pleased to see a favorite from last year's visit, Covered in Nuggs, on tap. I swiftly ordered a pint. Originally brewed for IPA Day, this old school style IPA is dank, piney and citrusy - just the way I like 'em! Citra, Simcoe, Amarillo and Centennial hops lend a hop-forward aroma and a sticky, resiny West Coast character with hints of grapefruit and pine. This beer reminds me of Nugget Nectar, although it's a tad less malty. 

After noshing on a pile of tasty fried pickles as an appetizer, it was time for dinner. Brewslut and I both ordered the same thing: ramen soup with chicken, mushrooms and a killer Thai-like broth. It was the dinner special of the day. Our server informed us that they typically don't offer specials, but mentioned that the kitchen staff was likely bored due to the lighter-than-usual crowds (thanks again, 'Rona). So they - as much as I hate this phrase - decided to make lemonade out of lemons. It was delicious and filling. 

Pleeps asks, "Do you want fries with that?"

I followed up my meal with some liquid dessert, courtesy of Porter Pounder. (Great name, by the way!) A robust porter, this one benefits from additions of lactose, vanilla, cocoa powder and - here's a first - pistachio flour. DFH claims this to be "the ideal beer to pair with a burger" and likens it to a gourmet milkshake. No burger for me (unless it's made with black beans or pea protein), but I'll definitely have the beer, thank you very much! This was pretty damn tasty to boot.

After dinner, we stopped in next door at the DFH general store and picked up some beer to-go (thanks for the employee discount, Taylor!) and headed to nearby Dewey Beach for our first of two visits over the weekend to probably our favorite small brewery in the area. 

Of course, I'm referring to Dewey Beer Company. When we arrived, we parked around back in a small dirt lot (parking is kind of tricky, as there are a lot of houses and driveways around), and met up with Taylor's DFH brewer friend and co-worker, Brandon, who had just arrived in his mammoth, monster-sized truck... or at least it appeared that way to my Pontiac Vibe-drivin' ass. After the obligatory greetings (I was identified as the "guy with the amazing backyard party," we headed inside for a few beers. 

There was a pretty healthy crowd at Dewey (at least by COVID standards) when we arrived, but we managed to snag a high top table close to the bar. I love the vibe of this place, which has the look of old repurposed wood. We enjoyed the beers and service so much last year that we visited twice. (Well, it would feel like deja vu again this year, but more on that later!) 

I was planning on really digging in to some fruited sours, but after scanning the beer menu, I noticed a DIPA brewed with one of my favorite hop varieties, Nelson Sauvin, so I switched gears and ordered a pour. The beer in question, Nelson Laugh (Haha!) features the aforementioned Nelson Sauvin as well as Galaxy and Motueka Hops. Nelson tends to introduce a very distinct white grape character, almost like a Riesling wine. However, the addition of Galaxy and Motueka (Australian and New Zealand varieties, respectively) added some bright citrus and tropical notes. This one was quite delicious!

Meanwhile, Brewslut worked on a pour of one of Dewey's Secret Machine series, this one the Blueberry, Blackberry, Raspberry variation. I really enjoyed sampling some of these during our previous visit, and this time was no exception either. Brewed with lactose, these fruit-infused, smoothie-like beers are soft, creamy and bursting with fruit flavor, in this case ripe berries. 

Pleeps has a Secret... Machine, of course!

I kept things light for my next beer and decided to try a lager, so I ordered a beer called Brewers in the Wild. When you're an avid craft beer drinker for as many years as someone like me, you eventually base camp. Inevitably, you are bitten by the hop bug. Once you get the taste of those green, sticky cones on your palate, there's no turning back. So, you work your way down the winding halls of hoppy beers, passing through phases of pale ales and eventually moving on to IPAs and, finally, West Coast hop bombs. After expunging all of your "hoptions" and graduating from Triple IPAs, you might begin exploring darker beers, starting with porters and ending atop the zenith of the extreme beer mountain, which in my opinion would be bourbon barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stouts. Then perhaps you familiarize yourself with sours, first getting into a light sour wheat such as a Gose or (in our case) Berliner Weisse, which inevitably beckons you to the cellars of Belgium where you soon discover the sacred, succulent nectar of breweries like Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen. When all of your styles options have been expunged, though, the circle of life returns back to where it all likely began for you: lagers. I don't mean the "lite" American macro swill that you may have imbibed when you were in college, or even Yuengling (although referring to that beer "swill" is definitely up for debate in my classroom). But there comes a time in every serious beer drinker's lifeline where he or she, at the end of the day, just wants a crisp, clean, no-frills lager. 

So with that I say, "Gimme some Saaz and Tettnanger!" I'm glad to see a trendy brewery such as Dewey making a fine lager. This beer is floral and slightly citrusy. Cozy and familiar. The thing I absolutely love about lagers is that they are so nuanced in their simplicity. It's the merger of four basic ingredients - malt, hops, yeast and water - all coming together eloquently. You can't hide behind anything. You can't throw in 7 pounds of hops per barrel. You can't dry-hop the shit out of it. You can't throw it in a barrel and "hope for the best." At the end of the day, you must be an exceptional brewer to craft a world-class pilsner. The moral of this story: Don't take lagers for granted. 

While I worked on my lager, everyone else was enjoying pours of Hot Wax, so I joined the party. Brewed with wheat flakes and Pilsen malt and hopped with Vic Secret and Galaxy, this 8.5% NEIPA boasted lots of tropical notes with a dank pineapple character that's rounded out by a hint of citrus. By now, you surely have come to know my relationship with NEIPAs, but I'm happy to report that this one was well-executed and enjoyable. 

After our session at Dewey, we stocked up on beer to-go (something in which we've been partaking much more often since the 'Rona) including several four packs of Secret Machine and Thrills variants. We can't wait to start digging into these in the very near future! 

Before retiring for the evening, we had to stop in at Taylor's favorite local dive bar for a few $2 cans of Natty Bo. Scotty's Bayside Tavern is a typical dive bar complete with pool tables, stale cigarette smoke dangling in the air and - most of all - plenty of colorful regular customers. Apparently, some of the patrons of a lighter complexion were heard making veiled (albeit disparaging) comments about some folks with noticeably darker complexions. ("Man, it's gettin' dark in here now" was overheard as a few black customers came in.) Kudos to the racists, though, for not being so blatant about it, right? New rule for 2021: If you're going to practice racism, keep it subtle. 

How 'bout some Natty Bo, yo!

Anyhoo, after pounding a pair of Natty Bo cans, we headed back to Taylor's pad for more beers. I was also introduced to the genius that is Marc Rebillet. (Unless you want to do down a 2+ hours YouTube rabbit hole, don't click this link right now... save it for another time when you're insomnia-plagued brain is staring blankly into your computer screen at 2:30 a.m.) Taylor broke out some DFH treats, including the brand spankin' new Hazy-O, a NEIPA brewed with oats... tons of oats. We're talkin' malted oats, rolled oats, naked oats, and oat milk, all of which combine to produce a pillowy, easy drinking IPA that's smooth and refreshing. I know we cracked open a bunch of other stuff, but I must have been on a brief Untappd hiatus, as this was the only beer I checked in that night after Natty Bo. We must have been having too much fun cruising for YouTube videos. 

We're just getting started, kids! Stay tuned for our second of three installments of our road trip to southern Delaware including a full day in neighboring Maryland. Until next time...

Frederick Overnighter

Aside from the possibility of inclement weather (which is highly likely in Central PA around this time of year), we like to embark on quick little overnight or weekend jaunts to nearby beer destinations during wintertime. We've actually experienced some unseasonably warm temperatures the last few years during January and February trips. While it was pretty chilly this last weekend, the cabin fever was starting to get to us. Plus we like to get off to a good start at the beginning of a new year. While Frederick, MD, is well-traversed ground for us, we were actually able to hit two new breweries and a brand new sister location of one of our favorites in the process. We made a last-minute decision to reserve a hotel room, which was dirt cheap, so we pulled the trigger and were off to Frederick for a little overnighter. 

I always like to factor in a quick stop somewhere along the way to our main destination, and Gettysburg's Fourscore Beer Co. seemed like the obvious choice. We'd just been there on the "silver medal" Drinksgiving trip this past November. We'd planned to go to Knoxville, TN, with D&C and cross another state off our brewery list, but, well... COVID. 'Nuff said. 

We got a later-than-usual start, as Brewslut was visiting the salon for her requisite bi-monthly  appointment. Still, we managed to arrive at Fourscore shortly after 1 p.m. The inside tasting room was full, save for a lone table, but was snatched up by two old ladies who cockblocked us by grabbing the table before ordering beer. (Enter your favorite C-word here.) Oh well, the chilly weather would have likely brought on some uncomfortable pangs of osteoporosis from which one of them I'd wager surely suffers. So it was outside and into the tent for us. It was rather windy during our visit, but the side flaps of the tent provided some adequate cover, and a small heater at the far end helped to warm the area as best as it could. 

We weren't very hungry, as it's customary for us to eat a filling breakfast prior to a day of drinking. However, PA law is still such that we must order food when drinking alcoholic beverages. So, we decided to split an order of wings. Turns out I was hungrier that I thought. The wings were tasty, although I don't know why many places insist on serving a quantity of 10 wings instead of a dozen. Call me traditional.

Anyway, on to the beer. Despite this being our third visit to Fourscore, I hadn't written about the brewery yet. Third time's a charm, I suppose. I've been digging Schwarzbiers lately. There's something about the crispness of a lager paired with a rich, dark chocolate-like malt character. After asking about a pair of foeder-aged beers on the menu, I noticed Lager Life: Black Lager on the board, so I switched gears. Brewed with a a hefty portion of British Maris Otter and dark Munich malts, the malt base for this beer also includes flaked and malted oats as well as a variety of specialty malts. Inky black with a tinge of mahogany around the edges, the aroma smacks of freshly brewed coffee, toast and a hint of chocolate. The flavor layers in some caramel and vanilla, lending a sweet but crisp finish. 

Meanwhile, Brewslut worked on a pour of Brekkie Bowl: Mega Berry. An updated version of the original release, this intense fruited sour features flaked oats, wheat and a touch of lactose. It's tartness comes from house Lactobacillus, and it's fruitiness is amplified from dry-hopping with lots of Mosaic and Citra Cryo pellets. Oh yeah... it's also conditioned on coconut, banana puree, toasted almonds, Madagascar bourbon and Tahitian vanilla beans, and PA maple syrup. Then, it's conditioned on strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and twice the amount of açaí fruit of the original. This drank more like a smoothie than a beer... not that that's a bad thing. It was pretty freakin' delicious. Last time we visited, I was pretty bowled over by another of its fruited sours, called Jahmba (Mango/Lime/Coconut). So it seems Fourscore has developed a niche for intense fruit beers. Hey, you don't hear me complaining! 

Pleeps enjoys a Brekkie Bowl. Banana, you say?

Par for the course, we'll typically share a pour of a high gravity beer before shoving off to the next place. Enter Black Friday Joy, a variation of another stout from Fourscore called Noon As Dark As Midnight. This bold stout features a malt base of oat malt, Maris Otter, flaked oats, British chocolate malt and a variety of crystal and roasted malts. But here's where the fun stuff takes place: the beer rests for 15 months inside bourbon barrels from Widow Jane Distillery of Brooklyn, NY, which previously held 10- and 13-year-old versions of its bourbon. As if that wasn't enough, after the aging process the beer is conditioned on a heaping amount of toasted coconut, Tahitian vanilla beans and Antidote beans from Baltimore's Vagrant Coffee. I liked Fourscore's description of this beer: "The aroma is distinctly wet and weathered oak with swirls of roasted peanut, sweet vanilla and rich whiskey. The flavors are the same with a nice medium-full body and all flavors linger on the finish. It's a complete candy bar experience!" This was pretty damn delicious, and its only shortcoming was perhaps its lack of a thick, robust head and slightly more dense mouthfeel. Otherwise, a winner for sure! 

Pleeps poses with Black Friday Joy.

Ever since we started frequenting Frederick and the surrounding area, Attaboy has always been a favorite stop. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if we've ever come through Frederick without swinging by for at least one beer. Well, Brewslut and I were excited to discover that this favorite brewery had recently opened Attaboy Barrel House, which is conveniently situated right around the corner from its original taproom.

Barrel racks at Attaboy Barrel House

This addendum to Attaboy's original brewery is a dedicated space specifically used for barrel-aging and blending with a focus on tart, fruity and funky beers aged in a variety of wine barrels procured from around the world. (Upon casually strolling around the brewery, I noticed that the majority of them were from France and California... two obvious meccas for wine!) 

Wood, Jerry... wood!

Inside, it's quite spacious with enough room to maintain plenty of COVID-inspired distance from other patrons. Besides, one requires lots of space to house all those large, wooden vessels! The decor is clean, bright, open and modern, with a minamilist's approach to interior design: stark white walls, gray and black accents, tables with geometric designs, and a hint of lush, green foliage from some tropical-looking plants for a splash of color. Oh yeah, and barrels... lots and lots of barrels! In addition to a few standard Attaboy beers, the small but well-curated selection offered a plethora of unique styles and flavors to be had.

Pleeps says, "A small time can still be a good time!"

I started out small - literally - with a beer named Small Time, a barrel-aged petite saison weighing in at 4.8% ABV. Simple yet elegant, this flavorful saison was slightly dry with a lint of lemon zest and lots of cereal grains in the finish. Think dry Cheerios or Rice Krispies. Meanwhile, Brewslut was working on a pour of an elegant-looking, lavender-colored beer called Raspberry & Blackberry Farmboy. Described as "jammy and tart, bright and zippy," this beer exemplifies all of those adjectives and more. Blended from five different red wine barrels of multiple ages, this complex beer straddles the line between tart acidity and sweet-and-sour pucker. 

Farmboy... fetch Pleeps a beer!

For our final beer, we decided to share a beer called Fredericka (Pom-Tea). This 9% ABV strong golden ale spent a year in a barrel (of an undetermined variety), emerging with a bright tartness and spunky funk. A light dosing of pomegranate and Pu-erh tea lends subtle hints of black tea leaves and tropical fruit. This was undoubtedly the most unique beer of the bunch, and the contrast between the tea leaves and faint tartness of the pomegranate was pleasing to the palate. All in all, this is a great addition to Attaboy's already stellar line-up of finely crafted beers... because everyone needs a fancy beer every once in a while, right?  

Around the corner at Attaboy proper, things were hoppin' with a healthy crowd and a local Food Truck. Being a party of two, we felt bad grabbing a table for six but nothing else was available. After we settled in at the table, a group of people came in but must have left. Two of them remained, so we asked if they wanted to join us. The table was long enough to maintain a safe distance, so it was OK by us. We had a great conversation with them (a couple: the guy, from nearby West Virginia, and the woman, from Puerto Rico). If there's one thing that COVID-19 has taught me over the last year, it's not to take for granted conversations to be had at a brewery. It's the thing we miss most about not being able to sit at the bar. So this was a welcome diversion from how things have been since last March. 

Beer-wise, I went with something hoppy this time... my first of the day! Creek Life (Citra) sounded new to me and tasty to boot. Hopped with Simcoe, Horizon, and obviously Citra, this super-drinkable IPA offers bright notes of citrus and tropical fruits, especially orange and mango. I seldom come across Horizon hops, and a quick Google search revealed that it's actually an older hop variety created in Oregon in 1970 with a lineage similar to Nugget. This one went down effortlessly, and despite finishing it quickly, we hung out for a bit and enjoyed our conversation. After a short while, we'd all finished up, and it was time to cross Carroll Creek at a small footbridge and head to our next stop.

Idiom Brewing was largely the impetus for this particular little getaway. Brewslut and I were both blown away as a result of our initial visit, and we were eager to return. It had been almost a year to the day since our first visit, and by then Idiom had just celebrated its first anniversary over Black Friday weekend. My favorite beer of that particular trip was Just Desserts, an imperial stout brewed to mimic Rocky Road ice cream. Cue the salivary glands. I knew we'd be here for a little while. Then, when we were standing in line to order our beer, we noticed this can label:

Drinking on a lighted stage...

As if I didn't already like this place enough! While Brewslut was quick to order this beer, I went with Coffee & Cake for my initial beer. Brewed with a mix of 2-row, flaked barley, caramel and chocolate malts, this blonde stout gets the cold-steep treatment courtesy of 7 lb. of fresh roasted Ecuadorian Sarchimore coffee from Frederick's own Dublin Roasters. As if that wasn't enough, the fine folks at Idiom chuck in all the flavor components of the decadent Italian dessert known as Tiramisu: cocoa powder, cake batter and marscapone. This sucker was delicious and complex! 

Meanwhile, Brewslut worked her way through a pour of the aforementioned Limelight (with its label inspired by, if you couldn't tell, my favorite band Rush). Brewed with Motueka and Ariana Hops, this Double NEIPA is rife with tropical fruit and red berry with hints of lemon, lime and a touch of coconut. This one definitely approaches the unreal, and we were sure to grab a 4-pack of cans before heading out. She also enjoyed her pour of What's the Scoop, a blonde ale featuring more than 200 lbs of black cherry puree, a touch of lactose and Madagascar vanilla. Cherry and vanilla is always a winning combination when well-executed, and this one was eloquently so. Delicious!

Pleeps knows what the scoop is!

 

More beers ensued, including my favorite of the bunch: Feast Your Eyes. Inspired by the quintessential holiday salad, Ambrosia - or what my mom calls "Heaven" - this fruit-forward sour ale is indeed a heavenly amalgamation of juicy Mandarin orange, dank pineapple, coconut, Marachino cherries and heaps of marshmallow fluff. I was immediately transported back to our last trip to Madison, WI, for Great Taste of the Midwest, where one of our favorite collective beers was Church Salad from Iowa's Pulpit Rock Brewing. (Yes, it was so good that I remembered the name of the beer, the brewery, and the state from which they hail.) This beer was the spitting image of Church Salad. There was no way a crowler of this wasn't going home with us. Sadly, no cans were available. 

Pleeps enjoys living in the Limelight at Idiom.

For our final selection, we opted for Moment in the Sun, another fruited sour, this one with papaya, pineapple and coconut cream. While it was delicious in its own right, it paled in comparison to its predecessor. I'd say you're doing a good job with your brewery if a beer this good pales in comparison to another beer you brew. With that said, both beers were indeed stellar... the Feast Your Eyes just happened to be stellar to the "n"th power. At Idiom, there was none more stellar. You get the picture. 

As if the convenience of Attaboy and Idiom being within walking distance from one another wasn't enough, Steinhardt had to go and open up right next door to Idiom. In Frederick, who needs Uber? Like Idiom, Steinhardt is located in the Union Knitting Mills Building along Carroll Creek. With that said, aesthetically it has a very similar vibe to Idiom in that the space ensconces you in exposed brick. The small, family-owned brewery opened its doors in Frederick back in August 2020, but owner Jim Steinhardt has been brewing and selling beer from home for five years before opening a taproom (even being named "Best Local Beer" in 2018 by Frederick Magazine). Steinhardt's taproom boasts over 20 beers on tap, covering a wide array of styles with a penchant for Belgians and Flemish-stye sours. While I was scoping this place out prior to our visit, I was intrigued by the fact that they had four sours and five Belgian styles on tap. We settled on four 9oz. pours of the following beers:

• Kriek - Flemish-style ale brewed with Belgian malts and fermented with traditional Flemish souring agents. Aged in French Oak barrels with sour cherries for a tart, refreshing finish.
• Framboise - Flemish-style red ale is brewed with Belgian malts and fermented with traditional Flemish souring agents. Like the Kriek, this is aged in barrels but with raspberries instead of cherries.
• BBA Tupelo Stout - Imperial Stout flavored with vanilla bean and Tupelo Honey, then aged for over three months in bourbon barrels.
• Coco Loco - An easy-drinking 4.2% ABV stout with notes of chocolate and coconut.

Of the four aforementioned beers, both Brewslut and I were drawn moreso to the Kriek and Framboise rather than the stouts. Both sours were fine examples of the styles. The BBA Tupelo Stout missed the mark a little, though, in that the bourbon character didn't really carry through, perhaps hindered by the sweetness of the honey and vanilla. The Coco Loco was sweet with a dominant coconut flavor and hint of dark chocolate in the finish, making it quite flavorful for a 4.2% stout. Overall, everything was pretty well executed. 

I was hoping to squeeze in one last brewery for the day, and it's a good thing we made it there because my favorite beer of the day was from Jug Bridge Brewery. It's slogan is: "Brewing olde fashioned good righteous beer!" I can get down with that! Named after a local Frederick landmark, the small brewery is situated at the previous Olde Mother Brewing Company location. (I'd included Olde Mother on our itinerary as a "maybe," but it eluded us this time.) We made it just shy of last call, so unfortunately it would be a one-and-done stop for us. But man, what a "one" it was! 

Jug Bridge's logo mimics a popular Frederick landmark.

Brewslut opted for a pour of Dublin Lager, described as "Norwegian Coffee Lager infused with Dublin Roasters Coffee house blend coffee beans." This beer was delicious, and I wished we would have had more time for me to enjoy a pint of this. I seldom miss a coffee beer when one is available, but I did manage to score a few sips of this tasty beer. 

And speaking of tasty beers, the beer I ordered was off the charts! The beer in question, Companion3, was, simply put, amazing! In retrospect, it was my favorite beer of the day. So what, pray tell, is this beer of which I speak so highly? It's a West Coast IPA aged in gin barrels from McClintock Distilling that previously had been used to house port wine. The aged beer was then dry-hopped with spruce tips and Mandarina Bavaria hops. My God, I freakin' loved this beer. The amazing this about it, though, was the subtlety of the flavors and how well-balaced it was. Everything just came together magnificantly. Brewing with an adjunct such as spruce tips can be a tricky thing. Believe me, I've had beers that tasted like sucking sap out of tree bark. This beer was beautifully eloquent in its design. 

Pleeps found a new Companion3.

All in all, it was an awesome (albeit short) visit to Jug Bridge. We sat at a table in close proximity to some younger locals (one of which apparently worked there but was off her shift) and enjoyed talking to them about the Frederick area, music, and, of course, beer! They all spoke highly of Jug Bridge, and after the exemplary beer I experienced there... well, I CAN CONFIRM. We were sure to grab a pair of crowlers of Companion3 to take home and enjoy. Can't wait to get back here and really dig into their beers. 

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When we returned to the hotel on Saturday night, we still hadn't made the decision of whether or not to take the same route home that we took to get to Frederick. When I mentioned to Brewslut that we could take a slight 20-minute detour and head home on I-81, we'd be able to swing by Cushwa and a new favorite of ours, Homaide Brewing. This great one-two punch of breweries right around the corner from each other is sure to entice us to visit Williamsport, MD, more often. 

Inside Cushwa's new tasting room.

We landed at Cushwa about ten minutes prior to opening time, so we got right in and grabbed a small two-fer table near a window. Cushwa makes some great IPAs, and the beer menu was littered with 'em. However, I've had a few that are a little too "Trillium-y" for me; you know, just not in my hop combo wheelhouse. With that said, I tend to gravitate to their fruit beers and imperial stouts. The problem with the stouts is that most of them are in the 13-15% range. Ooofa! So Brewslut and I will usually share one for "dessert" aka our "after dinner" beer. 

Still located in the Bowman Business Park, Cushwa has been open for business since 2017. However, its recently expanded taproom around the corner from its original location (where Homaide now calls home) has doubled its bar, taproom seating area, and production facility. Even more exciting is the fact that the new space now features some of the best brick oven pizza in the area, courtesy of Rad Pies. It's a match made in heaven!

Pleeps: "I'll take all the dark beers!"

I started by entering some familiar territory with Illusory Correlation, another Schwarzbier, or traditional dark German lager. Similar to the one I'd enjoyed at Fourscore the day before, this one boasts notes of light roast coffee, dark chocolate and crusty bread with a fairly dry but crisp, roasty-sweet finish. I'd had this once before and was fairly certain that I'd enjoyed it. I was right. 

Brewslut went right to the opposite end of the spectrum as me and ordered a pour of Brinner. Remember that thing I just said about imperial stouts? Well, this is one of 'em! A collaboration with the yet-to-open Burnish Beer Co. based in Salisbury, MD, this rich, decadent Imperial Pastry Stout is loaded with waffles and maple syrup, and just a hint of blueberry to evoke a big ol' stack of sweaty flapjacks. Damn, was this tasty, although I might not have gotten through an entire pour by myself due to its intense sweetness and maple character. Actually, who am I kidding? Of course I would have.

Pleeps knows how to chill 'til the next episode.

Speaking of breakfast beers, it was time to chill... to the Next Episode. A coffee cream ale? Yes, please! As I said earlier, it's hard to get me to refrain from ordering a beer brewed with coffee when one is readily available. For this particular beer, Cushwa started with a cream ale base, added lactose, then dosed it with heavy amounts of Lock 44 coffee from River Bottom Roasters of Hagerstown, MD. This one was pretty damn remarkable, with sweet, roasty notes of French vanilla latte. This was probably my favorite of the three beers I sampled this time around. I also snagged a 4-pack of Electrofruit - Ambrosia, which should be similar to the amazing Feast Your Eyes we enjoyed at Idiom. We're obviously looking forward to cracking one of these open in the near future!

Pleepin' around at Cushwa.

Around the corner at Homaide, things were a bit quieter. I was really looking forward to getting back here to dig into Homaide's beers. This new brewery, which now occupies Cushwa's original location in the same industrial park, made our Top 10 list for 2020 based on the strength of pretty much one beer: Fight Milk. So when we arrived this time, I was giddy to see a coffee and coconut variant of said beer on nitro! 

The owners of Homaide had originally sought a location in nearby Hagerstown, MD, for its brewery and taproom. They had participated in multiple craft beer festivals and most recently scored a "Best Beer" award at the 2019 Maryland Craft Beer Fest. Makes sense, because Homaide's beers are amazing!

Homaide took over Cushwa's original brewery.

Looking over the menu when we arrived, I realized there was a lot I wanted to try. First thing's first, though... I had to get some of that Fight Milk (Coffee & Coconut) in my gut! Described as a "session milk stout with cocao beans and coconut," this variant was every bit as good as the original. Serving on nitro really softens up the body and smooths out the foam on top. If I remember correctly, one of the owners had told me during our initial visit that they use a combination of nitro and CO2 for this one. Whatever the equation is, it's working.  

Pleeps enjoys some Fight Milk with coffee & coconut.

There were also a pair of "cobbler" beers on tap that sounded intriguing. Although I was most excited about the peach version, Brewslut opted for the Blueberry Cobbler, a collaboration with Mullys Brewing. The base beer is a light, crisp Berliner Weisse with a sour punch. However, conditioned on blueberry compote sweetens the pot a bit and elicits a faint earthy note. It's finished off with a light accent of cinnamon and vanilla. Well done, indeed. However, I was definitely more into the Peach Cobbler. This beer is part of Homaide's "HE SAID-SHE SAID" Sour Series. It's a light, refreshing kettle sour brewed with tons of peaches and a hint of coconut and cinnamon. Man, this tasted like I was face down in a slice of peach cobbler from a tiny mom and pop diner in Anytown, USA. The combination of peach and cinnamon scored big points with me, and the coconut acccents offered a hint of complexity in the flavor. Man, was this delicious! I was hoping for cans, but no luck this time. 

Pleeps is jammin' on the one!

We ended our session with JAMCARE, a smooth DIPA hopped with Mosaic, Galaxy and a new-to-me hop variety called Moutere. This one was brewed in collaboration with Cushwa, and it was pretty delicious. This hop combo lends a blend of tropical fruit and berries, while Moutere - a relatively new hop variety from New Zealand - adds grapefruit and passionfruit notes with hints of earthy baking spices and pine resins. Nicely done!

Pleeps is always making new friends!

Postscript: We decided to swing by Boneshire for a quick pint and soft pretzel before heading home to host my virtual rock music trivia night. As usual, I went with one of my local faves, Green Machine. Seriously, if you live in Central PA and still haven't been to Bonshire... get there! Green Machine is definitely up there with Pizza Boy's Murren River as a favorite local West Coast IPA. Remember those? Well kids, that's all for now. Thanks for reading. Until next time...

The Year in Beer 2020: Top 10 new-to-us Breweries

OK kids... here it is! While the year proved problematic for beer traveling, we still managed to get around a bit. (Brewslut even hand-made a few masks for Pleeps!) Here's our picks for our ten favorite new-to-us breweries we visited in 2020. While there's no specific equation used in determining our final list, we did take all of the following into consideration: beer quality, atmosphere, service, and general awesomeness as well as our initial and lasting impressions. With that said, we present to you the Pour Travelers’ Top 10 New Breweries Visited in 2020 (in alphabetical order).

1. Axemann Brewery - Bellefonte, PA

First visited in August 2020 - Read the original blog

Axemann Brewery began under the name of Blue Stripe Brewing as a homebrew operation situated in a milk house, a small building on a dairy farm where milk is collected, cooled, and stored. After perfecting a few different styles and gaining a reputation at local and regional beer festivals, Blue Stripe entered the big leagues, adopting the name Axemann and setting up shop at the Titan Energy Park just on the outskirts of Bellefonte. Having just opened its doors in July 2020, the site boasts a 20,000-sq. ft. production brewery and taproom including a walk-up "snack bar" and rotating local food trucks. I was pleased to learn that the folks at Axemann modeled their facility after Tröegs. They produce easy-drinking, approachable beers for everyone, and they brew them well.

Notable beers: Titan Stout; Hazy Daisy IPA

2. Burley Oak Brewing Company - Berlin, MD

First visited in February 2020 - Read the original blog

Burley Oak had been on my list of breweries long prior to our first visit in February 2020. Well, my yearning to visit Burley Oak finally got the best of me, and it turned out to be the impetus of this trip to Delaware to visit our friend Taylor. It was definitely worth the wait! We spent quite a lot of time here, and I got to work through a bunch of beers, especially its tasty IPAs and fruited sours. We're already in the process of planning a return trip in early 2021. If you like fruited sours, their J.R.E.A.M. series is off the hook. 

Notable beers: Lost IPA; anything from the J.R.E.A.M. series

3. Dewey Beer Company - Dewey Beach, DE 

First visited in February 2020 - Read the original blog

We first visited Dewey Beer Co. during the same trip as Burley Oak. DBC opened for business in May 2015, setting up shop in an old eatery called Bubba's Grill just off Coastal Highway. In addition to a full restaurant offering a diverse, scratch-made menu, the brewery side of the operation churns out some amazing forward-thinking beers on a custom 7-barrel system. Perhaps Dewey's most popular beers stem from its "Secret Machine" series of fruited sours. Everything we experienced here was top-notch, from the beers and food to the service and ambiance. There was no question that this brewery wouldn't make the list... even back in February! 

 Notable beers: anything from the Secret Machine series

4. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - Milton, DE 

First visited in February 2020 - Read the original blog

I know... I know. You're probably thinking, "WTF? These two go to breweries all the time and they've never even been to DFH?!" Well, truth be told, we'd visited the "Brewing & Eats" location in Rehoboth Beach many times over the years, but never happened to cross paths with the production facility until this past year. It didn't hurt that our friend Taylor, who we were staying with, is a brewer there. We got the mack daddy, uber private, VIP tour experience, which definitely helped propel DFH into our Top 10 list for sure. Then there's the beer. Say what you will about DFH, but Sam & Co. are true trailblazers. You have to give them props for what they do. Speaking of which, Slightly Mighty has become a fridge beer for us in 2020, and it definitely takes the cake as far as low-cal beers on the market today. Plus we got to hang out in the treehouse! This place is like the Disneyland of craft breweries. 

 Notable beers: Covered in Nuggs; The Bellini Bambini; Knuckles, Bats And Homemade Tats

5. Homaide Brewing Company - Williamsport, MD

First visited in November 2020 - Sorry, no blog exists for Drinksgiving 2020... yet!

Drinksgiving 2020 didn't turn out as planned, unfortunately. We made arrangements to visit Knoxville, TN, with D&C, which would check another state off our brewery box. Sadly, with travel restrictions due to COVID we settled on a cabin jaunt just outside of Maryland in southern PA. Homaide is a brand spankin' new brewery situated in the original Cushwa Brewing location. Basically, they moved in, took over, and started chruning out awesome beers right from the get-go! We got to chat with the head brewer and one of the owners when we visited, and they are just awesome, chill peeps... who happen to know what they're doing with a brew kettle and mash tun. We look forward to returning so we can really dig in to the beer selection.

Notable beers: Fight Milk

6. Idiom Brewing Company - Frederick, MD

First visited in January 2020 - Read the original blog

Frederick has really blown up and matured into a fantastic beer destination over the last five years. When we first visited Idiom, they'd only just opened over Black Friday weekend 2019. Needless to say, they came out of the gate swinging! I loved everything about this place. It just felt so comfortable and inviting. Our server was friendly. The atmosphere was perfect. The beer? Freaking delicious! We get down to the Frederick area fairly often, so I'm sure Idiom will be a must-stop for us when we're passing through. We were positive these guys would end up on our Top 10 list after our first beer. 

Notable beers: Just Desserts

7. Ithaca Beer Company - Ithaca, NY

First visited in July 2020 - Read the original blog

Like DFH, here's another one that probably has you scratching your head. Well, back in my formative years, Flower Power was one of my first IPA loves. Needless to say, it was amazing to finally get to the mothership and drink this stellar IPA right from the source. During our visit, we got to meet and hang out with Mari, who founded the brewery in 1998 with her husband Dan. She was extremely kind and took very good care of us. Aside from the private tour of the facility, my favorite thing about our visit to Ithaca was spending some time enjoying its sprawling beer garden. Thankfully, it was a picture-perfect summer day, so we really got soak up the atmosphere... and beer! NOTE to readers: Don't take the old-school breweries for granted. Places like Ithaca crank out some amazing beers. 

Notable beers: Flower Power 

8. Liquid Shoes Brewing - Corning, NY

First visited in July 2020 - Read the original blog

We discovered Liquid Shoes kind of by accident. One of our long-time favorites in the region, The North, was closed for a week, so we had a vacancy in our itinerary. A quick scan of Brewery Maps revealed this new brewery in nearby Corning, NY. Founded by the Shoemaker brothers (hence the name), Liquid Shoes opened for business in July 2018. With eight beers on tap, they focus on IPAs and fruited sours, but everything here is well executed. Their mascot is also a gnome, and you can even buy a custom, hand-made Liquid Shoes gnome. We brought one home with us and named him Great Grandpa Thoughtweaver (don't ask). We liked this place so much that we just visited again a few days after Christmas. 

Notable beers: Umoja; O'Cyrus

9. Love City Brewing - Philadelphia, PA

First visited in February 2020 - Read the original blog

It was a long time coming, but this is the brewery that I felt Philadelphia has always needed since we first started visiting the City of Brotherly Love for beer many moons ago. In the early days of our infatuation with craft beer (mid-2000's), there were some amazing, world-class beer bars but only a handful of small breweries. Upon entering Love City this past February, I felt someone finally captured the vibe of Philadelphia and transformed it into a brewery. While none of the beers blew me away, this place simply embodies Philly moreso than any other we've visited thus far. The atmospheres hearkens back to a time before Prohibition when every neighborhood had its own brewery. I definitely felt a sense of Philly pride while enjoying our beer at the bar here. Plus their food truck is the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo. Bonus points! 

Notable beers: Obscura; Totally Wired

10. Ommegang - Cooperstown, NY

First visited in July 2020 - Read the original blog

This is yet another one you might be surprised to see on the list, but man, what a track record! Hennepin. Three Philosophers. Rare VOS. Some of the first Belgian-style beers I'd ever had during my formative years were these very staples from Brewery Ommegang. Many beer friends have regaled us with tales of road trips to the annual Belgian Comes to Cooperstown festival, which is held on the brewery's sprawling rural grounds. It was a long time coming, and I was estatic to finally visit this epic brewery. We got to enjoy a pleasant day outside in the beer garden. Aside from its world class Belgian beers, they also make some pretty solid IPAs and lagers as well. Sadly, we didn't get to venture inside (except to the restroom) so we'll definitely need to return once all this COVID-19 nonsense disappears.  

Notable beers: Idyll Days Pils; Neon Lights IPA

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Once again, this year's list proved to be a difficult undertaking. Here are a few "honorable mentions" that came oh-so-close to making the final ten.

Big Oyster Brewery - Lewes, DE

First visited in February 2020 - Read the original blog

Notable beers: Then; Mango Dreamsicle

Bonesaw Brewing Company - Glassboro, NJ

First visited in February 2020 - Read the original blog

Notable beers: Peach, Love & Happiness

Dew Point Brewing Company - Yorklyn, DE

First visited in January 2020 - Read the original blog

Notable beers: Rubick's 3

Pineknotter Brewing Company - Northumberland, PA

First visited in July 2020 - Read the original blog

Notable beers: Knotty Juice

Wilmington Brew Works - Wilmington, DE

First visited in January 2020 - Read the original blog

Notable beers: Par Avion - Pineapple Cream

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So, how did we fare in 2020 amidst all of the shut-downs, virus scares, and travel bans? Not too shabby, I'd say. All in all, we hit 76 new-to-us breweries in 2020 compared to 79 in 2019. I'd say that's a pretty impressive number given the state of the country during this past year. Of course, a few of these include breweries I visited during a handful of "dudes' weekends" with the guys, as well as one or two satellite locations of breweries we'd visited previously (i.e. St. Boniface's Tied House in Lititz, PA). We were off to an amazing start in 2020, hitting an unprecedented 46 new breweries in January and February alone! If COVID hadn't hit, I'm confident we would have cruised past our impressive number of 110 new brewery visits in 2018. To put things into perspective, we named our 2021 calendar "Pleeps vs. The 'Rona." That about sums it up for us. Oh well, there's always next year.

Here's hoping that 2021 allows for safe beer travels for us all. See you in 2021! 

Cabining

Living in Pennsylvania, we're blessed (or depending on your perspective, cursed) with experiencing varied weather as a result of the changing seasons. Out of the four of them, autumn is - without a doubt - my favorite. Perhaps it's because I always feel the cozy blanket of nostalgia wrapping around me during this particular time of year. Memories of school starting back up after summer break, marching band practice, hanging out with friends, and meeting Brewslut all come to mind. Then there's the natural beauty of fall. We're blessed to have some stunning foliage during this time of year, when plain green leaves turn to bright hues of orange, yellow and crimson. Add in cool, crisp air (I'm a jeans and hoodie kind of guy) and the smell of decomposing leaves, and you've got pretty much a perfect season. 

So what does this all have to do with fall?

Perhaps I was just reminiscing. But around this time of year, we typically enjoy a weekend retreat to one of Deuane and Carolyn's many rustic cabins. They don't OWN them; they're part of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC). We've gone on many weekend beer excursions over the years, and it's always as fun as it is relaxing. I love to come back to a warm fire after a long day of "beer hunting" - a term I'll use so as not to come across as an alcoholic. This weekend, we were off to Little Cove, one of the many quaint cabins that is available to members of the PATC. It's situated on 160 wooded acres just west of Mercersburg, PA, in Franklin County.

On a Friday afternoon (after some pesky GPS issues), I met up with Brewslut in Mechanicsburg and we set off to nearby Chambersburg to meet up with the group at GearHouse. In addition to D&C, our friend and DFH brewer, Taylor, would also be joining us. (You may remember him from our trip to the Delaware beaches earlier this year as referenced in "Cape Crusaders" parts 1, 2 and 3.)

It's always great to visit GearHouse. Not only does David make some fantastic beers, the place is just flat-out cool. It's one of the perks of staying at cabins with D&C... most of them are in the same general direction and we usually have to drive past Chambersburg to get to them. So while our visits aren't often, we do seem to get there at least once or twice a year. 

When I'm gearing up for the weekend, I typically crave hops for my first beer. I didn't have to look further than Ninja Boots, a beefed up version of Hoppy Socks session IPA. Brewed with a hefty grain bill of oats, barley and crystal malts, this flavorful DIPA features no bittering hops in the boil. However, the recipe calls for almost 5 lbs. per barrel of Mosaic, Idaho 7 and Vic Secret added to the whirlpool as well as dry-hopping. This one straddles the line between hazy and West Coast, with an aromatic nose and moderate bitterness. This is definitely one of my favorite IPAs I've had from GearHouse thus far. 

While we were there, I also tried Big Ring, a barleywine/strong ale hybrid clocking in at 10.8% ABV. To be honest, I can't remember if this was barrel-aged or not, but it definitely had some boozy heft to it... in a good way!  I also sampled These Sheep are Making Me Thirsty, a traditional German Maibock. Usually, it's pretzels that make me thirsty, but I suppose sheep might make goats thirsty. I honestly don't know why, but anything makes goats hungry so I supposed the same could be said about their thirst factor. Anyway, I'll shut up now. Brewed with German noble hops and a very specific German lager yeast strain, this malty lager boasts notes of toasted bread and a crisp, slightly sweet finish.

Pleeps is kickin' in to second gear!

On Saturday, we actually got to add two new breweries to our ever-expanding list. The first, Rough Edges, recently opened in Waynesboro, PA, just two miles above the Mason-Dixon line (although I would have sworn we were officially in the south based on the majority of the folks I saw meandering around the downtown area for a street fair). Deuane had visited recently and had given this new place thumbs up, so I knew it would be legit. 

Located right on Main Street, Rough Edges is situated in the former Waynesboro News Agency building. Boasting eight rotating beers on tap, Rough Edges operates on a 5-bbl brewhouse and features an adjoining tap room with seating for about 80 patrons. In addition to its house beers, the brewery features a small food menu consisting of light snacks and pizzas. The owners, husband-and-wife team Wes and Casey Phebus, are Waynesboro natives, and like most brewery owners, they started out by getting their hands dirty with homebrewing as a hobby. Fast forward to the spring of 2020, and the pair opened Rough Edges right at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Perfect timing, huh?

I was pleasantly surprised with the beers we sampled during our visit. I started off with Questionable Ethics: Homeschooling, a PB&J oatmeal stout. This one had a pretty heavy roasted nut character with a hint of grape-like sweetness to balance. Despite the fact that peanut butter is one of the greatest inventions ever, I must admit that I'm not a huge fan of peanut butter in my beer. With that said, this one didn't offend me. Next on the list was Dutch-Oven Pumpkin Pie Haircutted Freak, a kettle sour conditioned on a variety of fall spices to evoke "pumpkin" notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar and a hint of clove. This sounded odd on paper but turned out to be my favorite of the bunch. It really was quite delicious and forward-thinking. Kudos on that! Last but not least was Main Street Cred, an easy-drinking lager, which I found to be malty, sweet and crisp. It also happened to be Rough Edges' charity beer of the month, so $1 of my pint benefitted the Main Street Waynesboro organization. 

Wes and Casey are extremely friendly people, and it was like talking to old friends with them. I decided to share some Tröegs love and grab a few goodies from the trunk. On the way back to the car, I decided to pop into this tiny store that had a few tables of records for sale out on the sidewalk. I wasn't expecting much, but I hoped they'd have a few rows of vinyl to dig through. To my surprise, I ended up finding the last Alice Cooper album I needed to complete my full run of his discography through the original "vinyl era" of the late 80's. I was more than stoked! Editor's note: I was expecting the album, DaDa, to be pretty bad, but I freakin' loved it! 

While Rough Edges was situated right downtown on the proverbial "main street," Upper Stem is a farm brewery located in rural Washington County, MD, northeast of Hagerstown. Owned by a friendly retired couple, the site features a small nano-brewery and adjacent farm, where they produce grain, hops, herbs, and fruit that they use in its small-batch beers. Upper Stem also has a spacious, cozy beer garden area with plenty of picnic tables scattered about for additional seating on pleasant days. The weather was cooperating, so we decided to hang out in the beer garden. 

I'm usually wary of beers brewed with hops grown on-site at a brewery, but something in me said to try this pale ale called Rel 2.oh! Hops aren't the easiest thing to grow, and most crops generally take three years or more to fully mature. Hops are a finicky flower, and they need a specific climate and soil type to really thrive... things that make them such a bitch to grow outside of, well, Yakima and some areas in New York state... the original hop hotbed of the United States. 

But back the beer. Described as a "hazy yellow table beer," this one boasts coriander and fresh Cascade hops grown on the brewery's tiny hop field. It was a no-frills pale ale with clean, crisp notes of tangerine and grapefruit backed by a sweet maltiness and hints of toasted grains. It drank effortlessly with no textbook vegetal notes that are common when hop bines haven't fully matured. I was pleasantly surprised with this beer!  

Up next, we decided to do a side-by-side tasting of a Coffee Imperial Porter and its bourbon barrel-aged counterpart, BA Coffee Porter. The standard offering weighs in at 8.6% ABV and features local coffee from the Hagerstown-based Pura Vida Coffee. Sadly, I wasn't able to get the scoop on what kind of barrels were used (aside from them being bourbon barrels) for the BA version, but the bourbon character was fairly subtle, imparting hints of vanilla and charred oak; nothing too complex, but tasty nonetheless. Both of these were solid and enjoyable. 

Our final stop before heading back to the cabin steered us into more familiar territory: Williamsport, MD's Cushwa Brewing. This was probably our fifth visit to Cushwa and first to its recently expanded Tasting Room. The new tasting room is probably triple the size of the previous location, which happens to be right around the corner on the other end of the Bowman Business Park. To refresh your memory, the name Cushwa refers to the Cushwa Basin on the C&O Canal. The canal features an almost 185-mile towpath that's now popular with locals and tourists alike who enjoy its varied recreational activities. So I suppose you could add "drinking some kick-ass beer" to that list of activities. They now also have an adjoining eatery, Rad Pies, which makes just that: insanely good and outside-the-box pizzas. 

There's always a lot to be had on tap at Cushwa. The first thing that jumped out at me was a beer called Insider Trading, a 14.5% ABV pastry stout. Go big or go home, right? Conditioned on River Bottom Roasters cold brew coffee, vanilla, and maple syrup, this rich, full-bodied imperial stout is sweet, roasty... and boozy! The body is plump and mouthfeel is slick and warm. This sucker just envelopes the entire palate with that familiar after-dinner liqueur character one craves after a classed-up dinner on a special occasion. 

From one extreme to the other, I opted next for Cush Claw Peach, a hard seltzer with peach. I think this may be the first time I'd ever ordered a seltzer at a brewery. However... peach! Readers of this blog certainly are more than aware with my infatuation with this fleshy, succulent stone fruit. While the peach flavor nudged itself to the forefront, I just find seltzers to be too dry and carbonated. I'm not really into them. I think I'll stick to beer from here on out. Still, like our parents used to tell us... it's ok to try new things from time to time.

Up next was Velvet Robe, another stout. This bold oatmeal stout is brewed using flaked oats to lend a creamy body and soft mouthfeel. Dark-roasted coffee and Belgian chocolate notes abound with this one, and in the end it finishes semi-dry and roasty with a pleasant complementary sweetness. 

My final beer was a doozie! Enter ElectroSchmooj – Strawberry Amaretto Cake. Just the name "ElectroSchmooj" is evocative enough to provide a hint of what's in store for you with this beer. Brewed in collaboration with Imprint, this heavily fruited, lactose kettle sour was inspired by the classic decadent dessert. However, Cushwa always throws in a twist, this time by adding massive amounts of strawberries and mixing in amaretto flavoring as well as a few dashes of vanilla to create this dessert in a glass. We've had a few other ElectroSchmooj offerings in the past, and this one did not disappoint. Some folks might not even call it beer, but whatever it is... it sure is delicious!

Pleeps get in on some Insider Trading.

And with that, it was time to head back to the cabin for a nightcap. With two guys who work at breweries and one who's a self-professed "beer hoarder," we had more than enough to keep us libated for the rest of the evening. Around the campfire, we enjoyed (among others) the newly-canned OG version of Impending Descent from Tröegs... FINALLY! I'd been waiting patiently for us to release the original version of this beer for about 5 years, and it tasted exactly as I'd remembered it! Back inside, the beer of the night was Cushwa's Coconut Cream Puddin', an imperial "island" stout brewed with copious amounts of coconut. This beer was so incredibly delicious, it's up there with the best of the best coconut beers I've ever had. We were all blown away and named it our favorite beer of the night. Another contender was Ever Grain's Sorbetto #16, a sour ale brewed with plum, apricot and blackberry. Ever Grain has been making a lot of Sorbetto variants lately, and they've been knocking them out of the park. 

Well folks, sorry it's taken me so long to get this one up for you all. It's always nice to get away to one of the cabins for a weekend of leisurely brewery hopping with friends. Stay tuned for my annual Year of Beer review as Brewslut and I pick our Top 10 new-to-us breweries visited in 2020. Until next time...