Category: Brewery Tour

A concise brewery bio

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Spirited Brewery # 1 – Fermentery Form

This month I am going to highlight breweries in towns rich in distilled history as well as breweries, we start in Pennsylvania where Rye is king at Fermentery Form.

Slo Mo 2020 – “blended from 2 year old barrels from our Solera, and aged on cherry and blackberry purée. It tastes of bright, lush cherries, with just a touch of blackberry jam, finishing light and refreshing.”

Carménère – “a blend of 5 barrels that refermented on whole Carménère wine grapes for around 3 months. The resulting beer has a beautiful purple color, a lovely barrel aroma, and drinks like a wonderful marriage of the grape and the selected beer.”

Vieux Selection – “culmination of 3 years of careful beer preservation and maturation in oak barrels. We’ve been inspired to do much of what we do, but the tradition of Belgian Lambic. Our favorite being Geuze, the blend of 1, 2 and 3 year old barrel aged beers. While our process differs from traditional Lambic in significant ways, the inspiration still comes through in the bottle. This beer has complex layers of flavor that come from the careful selection of barrels to blend. The aroma is earthy, minerally and spicy, the taste is a balance of tart fruits, woody resinous sweetness, and pithy bitterness. While being one of the most complex beers we have ever made, it’s still easy to drink.”

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1st Visit – Orange County – Part 1


I tooled down the 5 on a recent Sunday to check out the new Everywhere Beer Co. To get there, I passed by Angel Stadium as well as the Orange County location of Golden Road and a Karl Strauss.

Everywhere is the project of a breakaway group from The Bruery much in the way that Radiant Beer Co. is.  And both are happy and colorful places for a beer.  Lot’s of colorful painted figures on the wall.  A happy little wobbly circle mascot.  Actual booths to nestle into inside, outdoor seating as well.  Spanish tile creating a warming counterpoint. Views of the brewhouse from most angles.

First beer was Delicious Moments an Italian Pilsner. My half pour came in a cool cylindrical glass that emphasized the dark yellow color. Sharp malty and mineral taste. Not bubbly but not viscous either.

Next up was Gladness, a West Coast IPA is nice a bright.  A burst of hoppiness here that is different from the crowded IPA field.  I get melon and grape notes.  As it warmed the fruit pulled back a bit and the West Coast-iness came out.

The finishing beer was Magnificent Everything a DDH DIPA. Super pillowy soft and fruity.  Getting a strawberry note here. Tastes way less big than the Gladness.  Getting a wheat note here as well.  

The selection on offer was five beers, two sours and two seltzers.  A little more style variety will probably come as the production grows. They also have beer to-go as well to round out your choices.

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NJ Brewery # 3 – Magnify Brewing

Magnify Brewing was started in 2015 by Eric Ruta in Fairfield, New Jersey.

Let’s order up a taster tray…

Raw Essentials – “Helles Lager aged in oak barrels for more nuance and complexity.”

Vine Shine with Lime – “Our year round IPA conditioned on lime for a more refreshing experience.”

Wild Horizons – “Oak aged Saison with Brettanomyces dry hopped with Mosaic and Azacca.”

Lap of Luxury – “Our Reserved Triple IPA with lactose… Massive Triple IPA brewed with lactose for a creamy and bigger mouthfeel and hopped extensively with Mosaic, Galaxy and El Dorado.”

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NJ Brewery # 2 – Twin Elephant Brewing

Our next NJ stop is in Chatham at their first official brewery, Twin Elephant was founded by Cindy De Rama, Tim Besecker, and Scott McLusky are making some of the juiciest IPAs in the Northeast. It is one of a hopefully growing number of U.S. breweries led by a woman.

Time to get a virtual taster flight…

Forever More: Citra British Golden Ale – “hoppy leaning summer golden ale with some British bitter character. Same base as before but pairing VT yeast with 100% Citra from mash to dry hop. Easy sippin’ to session city, pony up and stay forevrmore. This one’s drinking like a trailside beverage. Perhaps an afternoon hiking companion towards the cliffs for lakeside leaps. Or simply your go-to afternoon pub pint hammer. Smells like some sweet crunch, orange kissed graham cracker dust. Tastes like sweet and dry and candy orange, marmalades, clementines, orange tea & Royal Danske (the tin joint) cookies.”

Motley Lou Hoppy Saison – “I hope you know we pack a chainsaw. Hell yeahs and east coast hoppy pours. Built some country loaf with German pilsner, domestic pale and North Carolina grown triticale. Juiced the engines with three saison strains and an all day DH of Belma, Mosaic and Simcoe. Dry on the exhale, wiggles and wobbles with a juicy stretch mid-sip, fruity pulses dancin’ up in the finish. Smells like guava, dried apricots, vanilla, oaked chardonnay. Tastes like OJ, white grapefruit, orange candy.”

Mr. Thundermaker Double White Wheat – “Strums of red, white & raw wheat caught in the crush of Tiki time! Pleasant vividness, light acidity, drier & semi-sweet,  some sourness remains in the jowls. Smells like fresh cantaloupe, lime tang, tropical honey on pineapples, ginger, then lime zest, orange and passionfruit on the inhale. Tastes like a tin can of pineapple juice, spritzy passionfruit drink with a ginger ice cube and a lime wedge.”

The Mighty Winooski DIPA – “Mighty mighty like a bomb jack. Green mountains inspired happy hoppy liquid going down a treat. Like the weightless levitation of wafer cookies cloaked in hazy aura from a toothsome bounce of floral, sweet and citrus Simcoe, Centennial Cryo, Citra and Motueka hops. A magically creamy loving cup to calm the body and mind. Smells like Champlain sunsets dipping into Adirondack peaks, orange blossom sugar cookies, orange lemon & tangerine fruity pebbles,  lemon-lime soda, grapefruit bitters. Tastes like sweet peach, mandarin bubblegum, mango, apricot,  dank red fruit, fresh sweet & orange juicy.”

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New Brewery Alert # 2 – Los Barbones

L.A. has another cerveceria to look for on bottle shop shelves.  Los Barbones has highlighted three cans from brown to lager to hazy that you can check out the specs on HERE.

I checked their beer finder and The Heights Deli is on their distribution list, so I hope to find their stuff there and review on a future post.

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NJ Brewery Tour # 1 – The Seed – A Living Beer Project

Our first stop in the Garden State is The Seed, what they have sub-titled A Living Beer Project. Both really cool brewery names.

Here are some taster flight ideas from this unique brewery….

Poetry in Motion / Full Circle – “A blend of young, aged hop forward, stainless steel saison and mature barrel fermented and aged saison.”

Danko Rye Lager – “Amber lager brewed using 100% Rabbit Hill Farms grains. Brewed to highlight a single rye varietal, Danko rye.”

As Simple As Reflections? Heirloom Corn Lager – “Brewed in collaboration with our dearest friends at Bonn Place Brewing with PA barley and Bloody Butcher corn. Hopped entirely with NJ hops.”

Stay Awhile English Dark Mild – “A beautifully light, crisp, yet full little beer brewed with English pale, brown, amber, and pale chocolate malts. Hopped exclusively with whole cone Goldings. Notes of cleanly interwoven fresh ground coffee, hearth loaves, and the first hoodie evenings of the fall.”

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Slauson Brewing

Not much but an Instagram holding spot as of now but it is the first I have heard of this new brewery in planning…

As always, when I hear something new, I will pass it on.

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A New Altar

Built in 1903, the Masonic Temple on Pine Avenue in Long Beach will (fingers crossed) become Altar Society Brewing later this year.  Brewery in the basement.  Coffee shop and restaurant at street level and then more space in the floors above.  More news when opening is closer.  This project has been in the works since 2020 and was obviously slowed down even more than the usual for a brewery.

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PNW Brewery # 3 – Woodland Empire Ale Craft

We close this month in Idaho, in Boise and Woodland Empire Ale Craft.

Let’s pick out some of their ale craft…

Boule Sourdough Wild Ale – they take bakery sourdough starter and combine it with a wheaty ale.

Ada County Stout – big, boozy barrel-aged 14% stout.

Old Boise Lager – crisp and clear modern lager.

Edge of Rainbows IPA – tropical aroma and flavor.