Sawtooth Brewery (Ketchum, ID)

While on a recent trip with several friends to Sun Valley, Idaho, we stopped in for a post-dinner drink at the Sawtooth Brewery taproom. The five-person bar area and about twenty-person seating area is perfect for a quick brew after a long day of skiing, or in our case, a long day of fly fishing. It seemed only fitting that we go local after several hours of taking fly lessons from a local legend who went simply by “the Dude”.

About eight Sawtooth taps are pouring the local beer at any time, in addition to four guest taps of craft brew. I went with the Ketchum Cream Ale on nitro to quench my thirst on this unseasonably warm 90+ degree day. It has a very full and thick body with very little carbonation and is made even smoother coming out of the nitro tap. This ale is also made with both ale and lager yeasts, something I’m not sure I’ve seen before with a cream ale, however it does make sense when compared to the similar California Common or “Steam” beers which are made with lager yeasts and fermented at ale temperatures.

A full line of other classic ales were on tap, including the very nice Freeheeler Rye IPA. It’s a big floral and citrus IPA, with just enough rye spiciness to balance it out.

All in all, Sawtooth is a nice place for locals to unwind in a simple environment or for the casual tourist to find something they’ll enjoy from the full range of classic beers. It just goes to show how something as simple as some well made craft beers and not much of anything else but a place to gather is really all you need to have a good time. Ketchum is a pretty small community, and Sawtooth fits it well. I hope that this is the trend for the future as far as small town breweries go. Not every start-up needs to have ambitions of becoming the next Dogfish or Sierra Nevada, but just being able to cater to your neighbors is often not only good enough, but preferable to truly have a locally brewed beer and call it your own.

Tired Hands Brewing Company (Ardmore, PA)

I strive to be as objective as possible and let the reader decide whether the brewery or pub described is someplace they’d enjoy or plan to visit. In this case, my bias is sure to show through, so I’ll go ahead and preempt my overview of Tired Hands by saying it truly is a place of unique character, and embodies more so than any other brewpub I’ve visited so far what craft beer is all about.

Ardmore, PA is much like any other ‘historical’ district you might encounter on the East Coast, with various craft and knick knack stores, ripe for window shopping. The town has a laid-back vibe and being within reasonable driving distance of Philadelphia, embodies the type of genuine sensibilities often associated with this area of the country. Tired Hands is at the end of one of the main streets in Ardmore, but feels tucked away due to its nonchalant and cozy features.

The menu, for the most part, consists of locally-sourced (all within 100 miles) charcuterie, including house made bread. On this occasion I wanted plenty of room for the varied menu of beers and ordered a simple platter of bread and butter. Rather than acting as a means of cleansing the palate, the nearly whole loaf of bread I received enhanced each and every beer I ordered. Accompanying the just-hard-enough crunchy exterior and fluffy, slightly sour interior bread, was a super creamy, dark yellow butter and dash of sea salt and very pungent fennel.  I had to not just pace my drinking, but my eating of this amazing bread so as not to fill up too quickly.

To say that Tired Hands does not brew to style would be an understatement.  It becomes clearly evident with each subsequent tasting of the nine taps that the brewer had a distinct vision for each creation and chose ingredients to both enhance and dazzle the taste buds.

The beers themselves offer a complex array of flavors so extensive, that I would be doing them a disservice by trying to describe them in simple objective terms, plus their website attempts to provide detailed descriptions already. I will say, that for the ‘wild beer’ drinker, you will assuredly find Tired Hands a mecca for these types of beer. They are not shy about using Brett (ie. brettanomyces, a yeast strain heartier than your typical ale strain, with additional complex tastes and aromas ranging from tropical fruit to barnyard), as I noticed in at least three beers including a saison, a hoppy pale and a grisette (made with wheat, honey and tea).

Whether you are just dropping in few a quick bite of some local bread and cheese, or plan on making Tired Hands a destination in itself, I would find it extremely difficult not to endorse either. Regardless, I assure anyone that you will likely find that time has quickly fleeted by when you leave this amazing brewery.

Lancaster Brewing Company (Lancaster, PA)

Just over an hour west of Philadelphia, amid a plethora of Dutch and Amish farms, stores, and yes, a Wonderland (no joke, check it out), you’ll find Lancaster Brewing Company, the first brewery in Lancaster in over 40 years. Lancaster has a pretty surprisingly rich history of brewing tradition, and as the menu at Lancaster Brewing says, it was once even referred to as “little Munich”. The brewpub isn’t hard to spot, as it resides within a converted tobacco barn, and has kept a majority of the original exterior for a truly unique look. Plenty of seating is available both inside the restaurant, at the sprawling bar, and outside on nice days. Much like many other small-town bars, Lancaster definitely cultivates its share of loyal locals, as I soon found out that most of my bar companions were from the area and very much versed in the offerings.

I find that in order to test the meddle of a craft brewery, it’s often best to sample the most basic of their creations to see how they are able to showcase the subtleties of classic styles, such as an English Mild or Bitter or German Pilsner. So, on this occasion I paired my soft shell crab sandwich with Lancaster’s Country Cream Ale. Smoooooooth…. no noticeable bitterness, lots of creamy mouthfeel, no astringent aftertaste, but a touch of hops to balance it out. This ale still carried a 5.5% abv, so I’m guessing this combined with its easy drinking quality has led to many a long summer days followed by even longer next mornings. I also sampled the Boss Hog Double IPA and would’ve gladly ordered a full pint of this bitter and hoppy punch in the mouth had I not still had several more hours of driving ahead of me.

Trinity Brewhouse (Providence, RI)

I dropped by Trinity Brewhouse for a quick lunch en route to Newport, and was able to try two of their craft brews. The brewhouse has a cool, laid back vibe and is festooned with some pretty great custom painted vintage-like sideshow banners.

I had their Redrum Imperial Red with a corned beef reuben (quite good) and it’s everything you’d want in an amped-up version of a red: big and juicey, caramel maltiness, lots of floral and fruity hops, and a lingering bitterness that balances out the heavy sweetness.

I got a sample of the Belgian Saison, and got the impression that it was more like a Belgian dubel, as it had a very prominent Belgian yeast flavor and nose, and was not nearly dry enough to be considered a true saison. That being said, the beer itself had lots of flavor, and if you enjoy a big, yeasty Belgian, by all means try it.

Moonlight Meadery (Londonderry, NH)

I am well aware that this is not a post about a brewery, but guess what, it’s my blog so I’ll write about anything I dang well please (except vegan restaurants… god no, there will never be a vegan restaurant/brewpub posting on here). Plus, mead is basically beer with a different sugar source, and even our President is using honey in his own homebrew in the White House. Good enough for the Commander in Chief, good enough for me.

I had been sampling beers throughout Vermont and New Hampshire, so while en route to visit a friend in Boston I figured I’d change it up a bit a go a bit sweeter. First off, I GUARANTEE there is something at Moonlight you will enjoy, as by my count, there were nearly forty varieties at my visit. The categories range from your standard traditional meads made with honey, sugar and yeast to the outrageously flavored coffee, pepper and barrel-aged concoctions.

I won’t even begin to try and describe each mead I tried, but I’ll offer a general overview, as well as some of my favorites. For wine drinkers who enjoy big, bold, red styles,  Moonlight offers several melomels (mead fermented with fruit) made with dark fruits such as cherries and black currants. The meads fermented with the currants pack an intense pucker factor and boldness that is unique only to melomels, so a definite must-try for wine drinkers seeking a brazen alternative to typical full-bodied wines.

For those seeking a more subtle flavor with the honey being at the forefront, try one of Moonlight’s methlegins (mead with spices). Many are infused with tea leaves, as well as other bolder spices such as ginger and cinnamon, as well as smoother choices made with vanilla (my personal favorite was a mead fermented with whole oranges and spiced with vanilla beans). For a taste like you’ve never had before, try ‘Breathless’, a cinnamon-spiced mead that is like a fireball candy explosion. Other unique spices and infusions include Sumatra coffee, lime, mint and peppers, just to name a few.

Finally, for the beer aficionados (see, I didn’t completely forget about my fellow beer geeks), Moonlight offers a barrel-aged series, utilizing spent barrels that formerly housed the uber rare/expensive Utopia beers from Sam Adams/Boston Beer Co. (an American Strong Ale that drinks more like a sherry as it clocks in at an astonishing 29% abv, which is roughly the equivalent of seven Bud Lights). These meads are rarely available for tasting but have garnered critical praise, earning Mazer Cup (the Olympics of mead) honors in 2012.

Being a fan of variety and uniqueness, Moonlight Meadery really has it all. For those of you who have never tried or even heard of mead, the guys there do a great job of explaining the process as well as offering advice on varieties. And for those us who enjoy the craft of spirits it’s hard not to appreciate the range and depth offered for such a simple item that usually just requires water, yeast and honey.

Random side note: I made a wrong turn that cost me an additional hour, but located 40 miles northwest on Highway 9 (connecting US 91 and US 89) I came across the below pictured barn and stopped because I was famished. 
Thinking I would just grab a quick deli sandwich and a soda, I pulled up and saw there was also this gnarly, vintage Airstream serving gourmet sandwiches and ice cream. I ordered a marinated veggie sandwich with goat cheese and pretty much just grinned for 15 minutes straight, and then washed it down with a Squamscot craft soda. I couldn’t help but go up to the trailer afterwards and thank them for such an amazing sandwich. So if you aren’t already, don’t travel the major highways or you will miss out on hidden gems like these! Oh, and if you get the name, please tell me. Or, perhaps it’s better being unknown to me so it retains that mystical quality (but I certainly encourage you to tell others).
Update to the update; Farm Store found! http://winterhillfarmstore.com/about/the-farm-the-market/

Crop Bistro & Brewery (Stowe, VT)

I randomly found Crop in between a hike up Vermont’s highest peak and a night in Burlington (see previous post), but am sure glad I did. Crop had several beers on tap, but as I had just finished a pretty exhausting morning all I craved was a refreshing American pale ale to go with my cobb salad. Luckily they had just the thing (no notebook on hand, so can’t remember the name of the brew) to quench my thirst. What I do remember is that it definitely packed a hoppy punch with all the fixin’s of your typical West Coast style: big, juicey fruit and floral flavors, with just enough bitterness to balance it out. I could’ve had several of these, but had plenty more drinkin’ to do later in the day!

There are several other hiking trails in this area, as well as skiing in the winter, so if you’re ever in or near Stowe, definitely check out Crop for some apres ski. I used the site EveryTrail.com  to find my course (Mt. Mansfield), which also has a great app for locating and logging hikes.

Zero Gravity Craft Brewery at American Flatbread and The Vermont Pub and Brewery (Burlington, VT)

Burlington, VT is home to four breweries, three within about four blocks of each other. I was fortunate enough to check out two of them on my recent pass-through of this area. The city of Burlington has an eclectic, artsy air about it, which supplies fertile ground for creative types, including brewers.

I started at Zero Gravity Craft Brewery, which is located within American Flatbread. In addition to a nice offering of multiple classic ales including several pales, a California common and a porter, Zero Gravity was also pouring some more experimental brews. The first, and by far one of the more rare offerings you’ll find, was a gruit. Gruit is essentially a beer made using several herbs and spices as opposed to hops, as was the custom prior to the 16th century (and earlier in some areas such as Germany… you should read about it, and you can actually thank political and religious oppression for the use of sweet sweet hops!). Zero’s Summer Gruit Ale contains some of the more traditional herbs you’d likely find in a medieval-style, including sweet gale, yarrow, mugwort and even tea. It really is the perfect summer ale on a hot, balmy day, as was the case on this 80% humidity day in July. There is hint of fruitiness, with a light body, and little to no bitterness despite the clear presence of herbs.

Zero’s Organic Saison was another great summer offering. It was not as dry as you might typically find among saisons, but still crisp and refreshing. My last sample was Hopscotch, a Peated India Pale Ale. This brew was not as smokey as I was anticipating, but definitely still had a moderate to high level of roast and bitterness.

After devouring one the phenomenal pizzas (ahem… flatbreads) at American Flatbread, I headed up the street to Vermont’s oldest brewpub, the aptly named Vermont Pub and Brewery. The restaurant and pub definitely have more of a neighborhood vibe than the bohemian, hipster feel of Zero Gravity, and offers a pretty wide range of beers as well as pub fare. I had a sampler of too many beers to review, but the highlights were definitely of the German and Belgian variety. Beetlejuice is a sour-mashed weissebier. It has your typical big yeasty flavors with the expected banana and clove, but with a nice added twist of a sharp acidic bite at the end. I’m assuming this comes with the sour mashing, which is likely pretty short as it is by no means tart. This beer definitely inspired me to try and recreate a beer that has quite honestly come to be a mainstay at craft brewpubs, with a pretty low amount of imagination. Most brewers seem to rely exclusively on the yeast to provide a majority of this style’s character, so it was nice to try a spin on a very classic beer. The other must try in my opinion is the Spuyten Duyvil, a Belgian sour red ale. This sour red had a little less tartness than is typical of say a Rodenbach Gran Cru, but had an added flavor of ‘barnyard’ (yes, I promise that is a common beer descriptor) from brettanomyces yeast. There is still the lactic acidity you would typically expect, but the brett quality really shines through for a complex and really tasty brew.

The city of Burlington itself is well worth the visit outside of the several breweries (also in Burlington is the brewpub 3 Needs, which I’m told has an extensive draft and bottle list of other sought after craft beers from Vermont, as well as the production brewery Switchback). A meadery and cidery are also within driving distance, and if you have the time (and have yet to begin your tour of imbibing) definitely check out some of the myriad hiking trails. Below is a snapshot I took while hiking halfway up Vermont’s highest peak, Mount Mansfield:

 

Moat Mountain Smoke House and Brewing Co. (North Conway, NH)

Located in the uber family friendly town of North Conway, NH, Moat Mountain offers a range of classic beers along with heaping amounts of BBQ. One thing I’ve noticed throughout my travels in the Eastern U.S. (PA, NH, VT) is that most, if not all, of the breweries here are very community oriented. That isn’t to say others throughout the rest of the country aren’t, but each place I’ve highlighted seems to draw heavily on the local crowd. I don’t think I’ve been to one local brewery that didn’t have a ‘mug club’ with about 100 personalized mugs hanging on the walls for fervent patrons. Every single bartender knows at least three people at the bar by name. Also, most of them typically have a local charity they support as shown on wall posters, or offer a special brew to which proceeds go to various community projects.

Moat Mountain is no exception, highlighting sustainability in just about everything they do. According to their website, all of the spent grains from the brewery go to local farms and bakeries (and as I’ve seen, vice versa for other other ingredients for most of the local brewpubs… with locally sourced honey, apples, and used aging barrels being utilized in the brewing process), installation of solar panels for heating water, and using cans instead of bottles for distribution.

The beers offered are of classic styles and predictably good. The Moat Czech Pilsner is the highlight in my opinion. It is extremely crisp and fresh, with no lingering bitterness or aftertaste. The Hoffman Weiss is their standard hefeweizen offering, being very yeasty with ester qualities of banana and clove. Iron Mike is their pale ale, and although it probably won’t be big enough in the hop department for the most lupulin-craving palate, it is a very drinkable beer, with a slight bitterness and floral aroma. Square Tail Stout is quite dry and not as heavy as most beers of this style. Nice light chocolate notes are evident, coupled with a smooth, roast character.

A good go-to place for the whole family, with solid beers and large portions of food from a very extensive menu. Ask for a side of the homemade BBQ sauce, and try not to finish the rest with a spoon after you devour one of their signature meat dishes.

Hill Farmstead Brewery (Greensboro, VT)

Beautifully crafted beers surrounded by beautiful country. Hill Farmstead brews out of an old family barn and is set up more like a winery than a brewery. Samples are handed out on a small pavilion, and when you’re ready, bottles are sold from a counter in the barn. There really isn’t much else to say about Hill Farmstead as it’s beauty lies within its simplicity. You won’t find too many wild concoctions here, just good, well-crafted ales.

This simplicity is highlighted in their single hop series, consisting mainly of popular fruity, resiny American varieties such as Citra and Amarillo, and the very much en vogue hops of New Zealand.

The brewery sits on what was head brewer Shaun Hill’s grandfather’s property, and acts as an inspiration for many of the brews, as a majority of the beers are named after ancestors including both Hill’s grandfather (their flagship Edward) and great-father, Abner. The farm property does more than enhance the bucolic atmosphere, but produces several key ingredients. Some of the ‘wild’ ales are aged in barrels inoculated with the local microflora and Hill attributes the soft flavors of his beers to well water sourced directly from the farmstead.

Hill Farmstead has created several collaboration beers with some of the best breweries and brewers on the planet, including Cigar City of Tampa, FL, and famed Danish gypsy brewer Mikkel Borg Bjergsø of Mikkeller.

I was able to try several of the more hoppy beers available, including a session pale ale, and several imperial and double IPAs. What stood out among all of them was their consistent clean flavors and balance. The flavor components are recognizable and none of the ingredients overwhelm each other. This seams to be Hill’s goal, as recognizing and being able to bring out the best qualities from a few select ingredients oftentimes results in the best examples of craft.

Flying Goose Brew Pub and Grille (New London, NH)

First off, this place is quite small, yet they have no less than seventeen taps! That’s insane for a brewpub of this size. Seeing as there is literally something for everyone, including kids (they have their own root beer), I was a bit distracted by the horse’s arse that ordered a Bud Light…  But I digress. The varied assortment of beers includes a few intriguing tastes outside of your typical lagers and pale ales, and since I only had the fortitude to try a few since I was on the road, I had to go for the unique.

Ed’s Honey Basil Ale is truly a head scratcher. It is quite enjoyable, but I’m not sure if it was the basil or the malts, but it had a pretty prominent roasty character. The honey balances out the roast with a nice, sweet finish. I haven’t had many successfully brewed beers with basil, so this was a nice surprise.

The one other beer I tried was Brimley’s Best Oatmeal Pale Ale. Yes, that’s not a typo, “Pale Ale”, not “Stout”. I was expecting this to be a heavy-bodied brew, but it was nice and crisp, with super fruity and floral hop aroma and flavor. Flying Goose brews this with 100% Simcoe hops in both the boil and dry-hopping. Great all-around pale ale for hop heads.

The brewpub itself is a quaint building on the side of a mountain, with a chalet-like interior, complete with hundreds of personalized mugs for the locals. View ain’t bad either: