CulturAle Press

Travel Book for Beer Lovers

Archives for January 2019

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 At Pub 27 in Pompeii

Great Beer Weekends in the Mid-Atlantic #7:  Irving Cliff Cask Aged High Gravity Railroad strong ale; Honesdale, Pa.

Date:  January 22, 2018

The Story—  Honesdale is a very small, mostly main-street-only old Pennsylvania town (the Walmart is a ways past the old area and doesn’t count).   You can walk from one end of the old town to the other easily.  While you’re there, there are rail expeditions from the tourist center in town or you can book Rick…’s private SUV tour.  A small fire house museum is opposite the old Wayne hotel.   If you spend the night, you have to have breakfast at Laura’s Hometown Café and while you’re there notice the pictures of the canal boat basin. No wonder the town’s two banks (on the left heading away from the hotel) look so elegant.

The town has two breweries.  Today we’re featuring the Irving Cliffs Brewery.   It’s located inside a building that was home to the … Irving Cliff Brewery in the 19th century.   It wasn’t killed by prohibition because it didn’t make it to prohibition, but the space has been beautifully repurposed as a much smaller brewery and much more significant tasting room and restaurant.  The menu is far better than this sort of a tasting room usually presents.  The fish and chips are not overly generous and a bit overcooked, but the fish was surprisingly light, tasty and clean.  We’d have it again.  They were out of the Elk burger so we settled for a near perfect local farm buffalo.

The beers vary and to be honest, some of the lighter ones are good home-brew and some of the fruit beers are examples of what caused the crash of craft beers in the 90s.  But the slightly bigger beers—the pale ale for example—are solid and easy to drink all night.  The bar staff couldn’t be nicer.  It’s a wonderful place to kick back and enjoy a whole bunch of samplers or just savor a few pints.   We were grateful that they were able to give us half-pint pours of the beers—it allowed us to sample their full range and work our way up their gems. Plan your evening carefully; the tasting room closes at ten, though the hotel bar stays open until midnight.

Honedale’s a cute slice of rural America, but it’s worth the trip for an evening at Irving Cliff.

The Beer—  The High Gravity Railroad strong ale is a fine example of brewmaster Gary Sadavage’s skill with a barrel.   Beers come out clean and enhanced rather than dominated by the wood.  This one is sweet rich and clean and unusually woody.   It’s shows wine and and some sweet and the white grapes grow with each sip.   Good example of how even a small brewery can lovingly tend a cask to success.  Barrel lightens, brightens and dries a bit.   Huge imprint of a good foundation.   Not Thomas Hardy- it lacks the depth of body, but for sure not bad.  Deadly but we all gotta go sometime.

Value —  Good to very good.  Pints at about half the price of a pint.

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

For a couple of weeks, we’re presenting some fun towns to explore and have a beer.   There’s all within a few hours drive if you live in the Mid Atlantic.  Most are near enough a place to stay that you can walk back to your room.  We’ve found these in researching out first US Beer publication: Brews and Snooze-– Breweries you can visit and walk back to a fine place to spend the night.  Look for it later this year.

Did you miss our Ten Beers for the New Year?  These are full flavored chewy beers for a winter’s night and a good fire — even if it has to be on your cable station.  The links are below.

Jailbreak Coffee Dusk Till Dawn, Tröegs Mad Elf Grand Cru, Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, Boulevard Manhattan Cask Still Ale, Ommegang Game of Thrones Series: Mother of Dragons, Lickinghole Creek Carrot Cake Imperial Amber Ale, Colbitzer Heide-Brauerei Schwarz, Lickinghole Creek One Lion Imperial Stout, Founders Dank Wood,  Stone Woot Stout.

We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers,   and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”

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only beer pub 27 IMG_3154

 At Pub 27 in Pompeii

Great Beer Weekends in the Mid-Atlantic #6:  St. Boniface Imperial Red Ale. Ephrata, Pennsylvania

Date:  January 21, 2018

Reasons to Visit: Ephrata Cloister, two breweries in town and several others not far away.

The Story: The Ephrata Cloister was a religious community dating back to 1732.  Its members were celibate, however, which is a poor long-term strategy for a community.  The last celibate member died in 1813, but the property continued to operate as a church until 1934.  The German style stone and half-timbered buildings have been beautifully preserved, restored and maintained and the grounds are really attractive on a pleasant day.

Black Forest is a charming small inn/B&B with its own brewery.   Saint Boniface started in the downtown area (such as it is), but moved to a bigger building – and a much bigger brewery a few years ago.  You can walk it from the town’s two B&Bs, but it’s just under two miles and most people choose to make the four minute drive instead.

Saint Boniface has an attractive and expansive tap room and virtually unlimited parking in its new more rural location.   They serve a huge range of beers and they can or bottle many of them.   it’s one of a number of Pennsylvania breweries that’s ideal for a do-it-yourself beer tasting; we have yet to have a beer from them we weren’t glad to try.

We’re not convinced that Imperial Red Ale should really be a style, but the name serves as in introduction to what you’ll be drinking.   Red ales can range from British session strength of 4% or even lower to double digit world view changers.   Our problem with red ales is that brewers often use Crystal malts that can result in a burned sugar-leathery taste that some people love.   We’re not some of those people, though, and we’re grateful to find red ales like this one with clean malt profiles.

The Beer—  St. Boniface Imperial Red Ale is a big tasty 8.5% palate full.  It claims to have 100 IBUs, but some of them seemed to be taking the week off.   There are plenty enough hops, though, to create a well balanced blend of sweet roasted malt and quite traditional spicy leafy hop.   The basic flavors here are even and moreish enough to make a nice session beer, but if you tried this for a session you had better be trying to walk back to town.   As it is, it’s a tasty sipper.

Value — Good to Very Good:  At 8.5% you’re drinking two beers every time you order one of them.

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

For a couple of weeks, we’re presenting some fun towns to explore and have a beer.   There’s all within a few hours drive if you live in the Mid Atlantic.  Most are near enough a place to stay that you can walk back to your room.  We’ve found these in researching out first US Beer publication: Brews and Snooze-– Breweries you can visit and walk back to a fine place to spend the night.  Look for it later this year.

Did you miss our Ten Beers for the New Year?  These are full flavored chewy beers for a winter’s night and a good fire — even if it has to be on your cable station.  The links are below.

Jailbreak Coffee Dusk Till Dawn, Tröegs Mad Elf Grand Cru, Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, Boulevard Manhattan Cask Still Ale, Ommegang Game of Thrones Series: Mother of Dragons, Lickinghole Creek Carrot Cake Imperial Amber Ale, Colbitzer Heide-Brauerei Schwarz, Lickinghole Creek One Lion Imperial Stout, Founders Dank Wood,  Stone Woot Stout.

We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers,   and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”

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only beer pub 27 IMG_3154

 At Pub 27 in Pompeii

Great Beer Weekends in the Mid-Atlantic #5:  Bube’s Brewery Export Stout, Mount Joy, Pennsylvania

Date:  January 20, 2018

The Reason to Visit:  A period dinner in a brewery that claims to be the oldest in the US.

The Story—  Bube’s has a claim to be the oldest operating brewery in the United States — a claim that would be more impressive if they hadn’t stopped brewing for a substantial period of time.  Their brewery equipment is new, although enough of the historic brewery remain to make drinking there a really nice experience.

Mount Joy now has a couple of breweries and a couple of B&Bs.  It’s a fine destination for beer exploring since a wealth of breweries are within a reasonable drive before you settle in to Mount Joy.  Mount Joy is a cute very small town whose main claim to fame other than the brewery is an alpaca farm that gives tours.  It makes for an affordable and low key base to explore the sights of the Pennsylvania Dutch Territory,however.  Lancaster is only about 20 minutes away.

There’s a fine barroom on the main floor that pours all the brewery’s beers.  It’s pretty hard not to get drawn into conversation if you sit at the bar.   To make the most of this historic site, though, take the time to savor a dinner in the caverns below the brewery.   Food is fine and the beer, when you choose wisely, goes well with the food.  You’ll sit in the brewery cellars that can have you believing you’ve stepped back in time a couple of centuries.   The trip to your table is a narrated tour that adds to the value of the meal.

The hotel with the brewery is apparently is best for large groups — weddings and reunions.  We had no sense that individual travelers would be comfortable there.

The Beer—  It’s hard to brew a bad stout and they don’t.   It shows a big, rich and creamy very dark roast.  Some dark fruit adds complexity.   A chewy richness and with some chocolate lasts. Ellie found some edgy ash to the roast, but I thought it was pretty smooth.  We both liked it

Value — Good to very good.   $6 for an honest pint is OK anywhere.  Here you’re paying for good beer and astounding atmosphere.

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

 For a couple of weeks, we’re presenting some fun towns to explore and have a beer.   There’s all within a few hours drive if you live in the Mid Atlantic.  Most are near enough a place to stay that you can walk back to your room.  We’ve found these in researching out first US Beer publication: Brews and Snooze-– Breweries you can visit and walk back to a fine place to spend the night.  Look for it later this year.

Did you miss our Ten Beers for the New Year?  These are full flavored chewy beers for a winter’s night and a good fire — even if it has to be on your cable station.  The links are below.

Jailbreak Coffee Dusk Till Dawn, Tröegs Mad Elf Grand Cru, Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, Boulevard Manhattan Cask Still Ale, Ommegang Game of Thrones Series: Mother of Dragons, Lickinghole Creek Carrot Cake Imperial Amber Ale, Colbitzer Heide-Brauerei Schwarz, Lickinghole Creek One Lion Imperial Stout, Founders Dank Wood,  Stone Woot Stout.

We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers,   and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”

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only beer pub 27 IMG_3154

 At Pub 27 in Pompeii

Great Beer Weekends in the Mid-Atlantic #4: Selin’s Grove Black I.P.A.; Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania

The Reasons to Visit: Two welcoming breweries including a pioneer in the American craft movement.  Beautiful river views.  A very walkable and attractive main street.

Date:  January 19, 2018

The Story— Thinking of Selin’s Grove makes us happy– it recalls the early days of craft brewing when finding a brewery like this was not at all easy.   Steve and Heather welcomed us in our first visit as if we were family.   We brought them down to the legendary Brickskeller Tasting Series in the 1990s and valued their friendship as well as their beer.

They cut back on their voyages as they built a family, but the quality of the beer never varied.  We were glad to find the time to make a return visit last spring and find a fine small town inn steps from the brewery.  There’s another brewery in town that makes a stop in Selinsgrove all the more attractive, but time at Selin’s Grove is still the reason to come here.

In the region- the town lived on its river side location and there’s still all sorts of recreation nearby.   We tend to stay in the pubs.

We’ve chosen their black IPA for our beer of the day, though several others were as good or better.   A black IPA isn’t as easy as it sounds — it can get harsh and pushing hops past a dark roast is tricky.  But these guys do it well, and I wish I had one at my desk right now.  I’ve gotten fonder and fonder of dankness.  I skipped the pot in the 1970s — I still don’t know whey except I was so busy with beers– so maybe I’m trying to make up for it with a profusion of dankness.

The Beer— Dank in darkness creamy black IPA.  Full west coast hops – much more dank than fruity — with a creamy very smooth black malt. Some dandelions as it drinks with chocolate — mostly semisweet.  Nicely rich.

Value — Good to very good at standard brew pub prices.

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

 For ten days, we’re presenting some fun towns to explore and have a beer.   There’s all within a few hours drive if you live in the Mid Atlantic.  Most are near enough a place to stay that you can walk back to your room.  We’ve found these in researching out first US Beer publication: Brews and Snooze-– Breweries you can visit and walk back to a fine place to spend the night.  Look for it later this year.

Did you miss our Ten Beers for the New Year?  These are full flavored chewy beers for a winter’s night and a good fire — even if it has to be on your cable station.  The links are below.

Jailbreak Coffee Dusk Till Dawn, Tröegs Mad Elf Grand Cru, Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, Boulevard Manhattan Cask Still Ale, Ommegang Game of Thrones Series: Mother of Dragons, Lickinghole Creek Carrot Cake Imperial Amber Ale, Colbitzer Heide-Brauerei Schwarz, Lickinghole Creek One Lion Imperial Stout, Founders Dank Wood,  Stone Woot Stout.

We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers,   and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”

by Leave a Comment

only beer pub 27 IMG_3154

 At Pub 27 in Pompeii

Great Beer Weekends in the Mid-Atlantic #3:

The Reason to Visit: A fun tasting evening: a huge range of styles all brewed well and a short walk to a hotel.

Date:  January 18, 2018

The Story—   North East York doesn’t have the historic appeal that the downtown area has.   But it’s a perfect overnight on a trip along I83 with tons of food options and two breweries within two miles of the interstate intersection.

Stony Run gave us the kind of beer evening we love: moderate shareable pours of a huge range of beers that we can taste at leisure, haggle over and spent the kind of evening that has almost– but not quite– defined our marriage.

Stony Run’s parentage is the home brew shop next door, but the beers are nothing but professional.  We tasted a dozen of the beers and were impressed.   There wasn’t a serious mistake in any of them and they held pretty close to style.   Lead brewer Tim March is fairly conservative with his approach to brewing, although his daughter has pushed him to be more adventurous.  A milkshake IPA was his attempt to move outside his comfort zone, but even that was soft and creamy and easy to drink.   You’re probably not going to leave thinking two or three of his beers were the best you’ve ever tasted, but that’s OK with him as long as you want to order another while you’re there and enjoy yourself enough to come back.   We’d be happy to order another of anything he brews.

We’ve chosen the blonde not because it was our favorite of the evening — the big strong dark beers were simply yummy– but because it’s a hard beer to do well and shows the skill of the brewer and the brewery.

The Beer—  This beer has much of the flavor of a Belgian strong gold ale (think Duvel), but at a fraction of the alcohol.  Some metal, apple fruit and a bit of the tropics rest on the palate before more metal and a bit more citrus and some orange fill it out as it drinks.  This is a pleasant, almost session, Belgian gold.  Moreish.

Value — Good.  Five bucks for a quarter liter is pretty much the going rate at a brew pub.

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

 For fifteen days, we’re presenting some fun towns to explore and have a beer.   There’s all within a few hours drive if you live in the Mid Atlantic.  Most are near enough a place to stay that you can walk back to your room.  We’ve found these in researching out first US Beer publication: Brews and Snooze-– Breweries you can visit and walk back to a fine place to spend the night.  Look for it later this year.

Did you miss our Ten Beers for the New Year?  These are full flavored chewy beers for a winter’s night and a good fire — even if it has to be on your cable station.  The links are below.

Jailbreak Coffee Dusk Till Dawn, Tröegs Mad Elf Grand Cru, Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, Boulevard Manhattan Cask Still Ale, Ommegang Game of Thrones Series: Mother of Dragons, Lickinghole Creek Carrot Cake Imperial Amber Ale, Colbitzer Heide-Brauerei Schwarz, Lickinghole Creek One Lion Imperial Stout, Founders Dank Wood,  Stone Woot Stout.

We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers,   and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”

Drink the best local beers—with the locals

Find the most scenic places to drink great beer

Visit historic breweries