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.”