Tag: brewery tour

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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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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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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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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.

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PNW Brewery # 2 – Hammer & Stitch

South to Portland for some classic ales from Widmer vet Ben Dobler at Hammer & Stitch.

Let’s put together a taster tray, starting with…

Choice – “our new Blackberry Hazy IPA is a fundraiser supporting Oregon Planned Parenthood.  This beer is important to us.  Incredibly important.  A portion of every pint sold goes directly to healthcare services and education.”

The Weizen – “Our American interpretation of a German classic. We crafted this brew with all North American ingredients and yeast to give this beer Northwest roots. The beer drinks light on the pallet, and yet is very satiating. The mild citrus from the hops melds with the wheat malt to quench any thirst.  Unlike the German inspiration,  this beer has a mild yeast character. This allows all the flavors to harmonize into this refreshing beer.”

The Amber – “2-Row, Caramel malts provide a subtle, sweet flavor and a beautiful, rich, red-amber hue. We balance the malt-forward nature of this beer with our PNW-grown hop blend that contributes hints of pine aromas along with brilliant floral flavoristics.”

Altbier – “A traditional German ale inspired by our Brewmaster’s origins.”

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PNW Brewery # 1 – Machine House Brewery

The first stop in the Pacific NW is Seattle for Machine House Brewery. Here is one of the few places where cask ale is the order of the day.

Here is what I would add to my first taster tray…

Stinging Nettle Ale – “Amber Ale brewed with fresh Stinging Nettles hand-picked by our brewers on Vashon Island. Malty, spicy and uniquely herbal.”

Golden Ale – “One of our three year-round standard offerings. A refreshing Golden Ale, with a bright, crisp malt body and complex English hop character.”

Best Bitter – “Our flagship, best-selling English Bitter. A well balanced, copper coloured ale brewed with British Crystal malts and First Gold hops.”

Dark Mild – “A surprisingly light-bodied session ale with a rich roasted malt character. Incredible drinkable, the deliciously balanced chocolate and caramel malt character makes the Dark Mild a cult favorite.”

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June Brewery # 3 – Eternal City Brewing

Our last stop is in Rome and Eternal City Brewing. How is that related to June, you ask? Sources claim June is named after Lucius Junius Brutus, founder of the Roman Republic.

Tiber Beer – “Light beer, golden in color with white and fine foam. Drinkable and thirst-quenching due to the low alcohol content which also makes it easy to drink. The herbaceous and slightly fruity aromas of the American hops used blend with the flavor of the malt and make it an unmistakable beer, different from all the lagers you have tasted before.”

Dea Golden Ale – “La Dea is a Golden Ale with a classic golden color.  Apparently it is a “simple” beer but the floral and slightly fruity scents denote a special and brilliant character.”

XXI Quattro – “Blanche with a characteristic straw yellow color with white and compact foam, the XXI QUATTRO on the nose takes us to the Mediterranean scrubs due to the intense scent of rosemary.  On the palate we find the balsamic of rosemary and the citric of lemon that make it a fresh and thirst-quenching beer.”

Cinzia Bock -“This bock faithfully follows the style of belonging. Deep ruby ​​color, compact foam, very present malty notes, red fruit and caramel on the palate, make it a round and pleasant beer. On the nose we find red fruit, caramel and a light herbaceous given by hops.”

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June Brewery # 2 – Barnaby Brewing Co.

North to Alaska and JUNEau to visit Barnaby Brewing Co.

Let’s grab a couple taster trays to try out the following from the BBC.

OMG I Love Trees – Imperial Spruce Tip Blonde

Theresa’s Meadow – Altbier

Jiggle Jiggle Wiggle Wiggle – Tropical Stout

Rodeo Clowns – Flanders Red

Slack Tide – BA English Barley Wine aged in Cherry Brandy Barrels

Guava Blood Orange – Imperial American Sour Aged in Tequila Barrels

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June Brewery # 1 – June Lake Brewing

It is a bit of a silly theme this month, but the world can always use more silly. Breweries with June in the name or a beer name. Let’s start in California with June Lake Brewing.

Here is what I would put in my taster tray…

Lager for Joggers – “Classic North American Light Lager, JLB version of Hamms.”

Archimedes Red Ale – “medium body, well balanced, malty and biscuity.”

Oishii Japanese Rice Lager – “Floral, notes of jasmine rice, extremely crushable.”

Potter’s Porter – “Smooth Porter, Mild Roastiness, Brewed in Memory of Keith Potter.”