My 2017 Brewery List- It was a busy year
1-
Crime and Punishment- PHL- The food was great. The service was great. The atmosphere was fun. The beer: not so great. I had the beet beer which was too sweet and tasted like a juice. I had two IPAs that were nondescript but I did like the regular IPA.
2-
Flying Fish- PHL- the place is loud and spacious. As a matter of fact, there was a birthday party there when we arrived and we were re-assigned seats so that the staff could prepare fro a wedding. The service was very good. I had an oyster stout and two IPAs. I liked all three of my beers.
3-
Stewart's Brewing Company- DE- The 3 Grain Pale Ale caught my attention. The Me So Hoppy was a Belgo-American Japanese Ale which may appeal to those who want something heavier than a lager but it was too light for me. I also tried the Oyster Stout, the Highlander Stout and the IPA.
4-
Iron Hill Brewery- DE- I go there several times a year and my favorite time to go is when they have the Vanilla Porter. I also like their coffee stout and Pig Ore IPA. Their beers are consistently good.
5-
Hollow Earth Brewery- PA- I hate to go in to a brewery and ask for a flight and be told that I can't have one. I can only drink one beer at a time because their beer is so damn good, they want to tell me that I need to taste each beer for its unique taste. SHUT THE HELL UP AND LET ME DRINK MY BEER THE WAY I WANT TO DRINK IT. I invited that give me three beers or I was only going to try one and leave. They reluctantly agreed and once we settled down, I found the beers to be good. But I'm not going back here because its a hassle.
6-
Big Turtle Brewery- PA-
I went here tonight. I thought I was walking on to a tasting room only to find it is a growler filling station. However, the guys accommodated me and let me try everything. Every beer was flavorful and worthy of a second try. I usually only like IPAs, porters and stout. I tried every beer on tap and every beer had a unique taste in its own right. They also have a happy hour deal which is too good to pass up. Growlers were half price and only an idiot would pass up that deal. Stop by and pick something up. You won't be sorry.
7- Happy Valley Brewery- PA- Feb- I am finding that some restaurants are brewing their own beer just to lure people in to their establishment. And the beer really isn't the draw, the food is. That's what I found at this place. The beer was so uninteresting that I left half of my 6 beer sample, gave one away and just drank two of them. I'm not going back.
8- Sierra Neveda Brewery- CA- I have always loved this beer. So I was so damn excited to go here for a beer. But when I got there, it was in the evening and the place was packed. I tried 8 beers. I loved them all. But I didn't stay very long because it was just to crowded. The next time I come her, I will come inn the early afternoon, when it won't be as jam packed..
9- Laugunia's Brewery- CA- a great, great place. All of the beers were wonderful. The place is full of fun people who want to talk "beer" with you. There are lots of beer choices. I want to go back to this place.
10- Happa Brewery- CA- this place is an old warehouse that works very hard to be a fun place to drink beer and hang with friends. There are games to be played and plenty of tables to sit. There are only three different beer choices. But all three are enjoyable. This would be a fun place to spend a Friday evening with a large group of friends. A food truck takes care of your hunger.
11- Hale Brewery- WA- they had six different IPAs on tap and I tried all of them. The beers are served in 5 oz tasters so there really wasn't any room to try any of the other varieties. They are delicious but by my third beer, the similar tastes confused me. I should have mixed it up a bit. I will have to go back.
12- Tin Lizard- PA- this place just opened and already, it has a crowd. There is food and just four or five beers but the beers are tasty. I had a Wit, an English Ale, an IPA and a Stout. I liked the stout the best as it had rich, crisp flavors.
13- Cape May Brewery- NJ- I had several good beers here.
14- Cold Spring Brewery- NJ- this place was hard to find. My GPA kept taking me to the wrong spot but eventually I found it. The beers were good.
15- Brickwork and Eats Brewery- DE- I went on a Sunday afternoon and the place was packed. There are lots of beer choices and food choices. There seemed to be a greater emphasis on the food rather than the beer.
16- Dogfish Brewery- DE- I've been here before and loved it so I was excited to go back again after a few years. The waitress was lousy so it was hard to get information from her. I ordered a particular IPA that apparently is filtered through ginger and mango. It was great. I cant tell you much more than that because the waitress didn't want to give up any more info.
17- Independent Brewery- MD- Two Akers (IPA), Bad Homre (IPA), Knucklehead Porter, and Carpe Diem ( Double IPA). All of my beers were flavorful and beers that I would drink again. the ambience here is pleasant and conducive to sitting and enjoying your beer and good company. I've passed this place before after 5PM and it was packed. There are food trucks at various times and craft Jerky is available all of the time. Check it out.
18- Oliver Brewery- MD- I liked the beer and the ambience of this place. They serve cheese boards to compliment the beer and that was a nice alternative food choice. the staff likes to talk about their beers. The place has good beer and good vibes.
19- Waverly Brewery- MD- this is a big brewery that caters to the neighbors who like to spend an afternoon in a pub. he day was beautiful but this place was packed with people. There are nine beers on tap. A flight consists of four 4 oz beers for $9. Pints are $6. I tried the Local Oyster (stout), the Double Kicks (Double NE style Pale Ale), 83 South (an American IPA) and Jerkwater (Double IPA) and the o"bay which has coriander, old bay and lemon. I liked all of these beers but of course, the Jerkwater was my favorite. They also serve wine and cider. A guy sits outside and sets up a restaurant that sells all sorts o sausage sandwiches which smell delicious. this brewery caters to its clients.
20- Mispillion River Brewery- DE- The beers were nothing special and the waitress had a bad attitude so I didn't hang there very long. if you are in the area, stop by but don't go out of your way to go here.
21- Diamondback Brewery- MD- The surroundings of this brewery are in the midst of a major construction project. So it was an effort to find those place and get there. Maybe it will be better in a few months but it is tough now. The brewery is minimalist in decor and limited in beer choices (5). They sell beer in the pint size and 5 oz size, no flights. Buy what you want. My three beers were tasty: Green Monster (IPA), Omar (Pale Ale) and Missed Connections (Red Ale). I liked all of them and would recommend all three of them.
22- 2nd Story- PA- I had a Drinker's table Beer which is a historical recipe from the Drinker family. It is a dark beer with a low alcohol content.
23- Yard's Brewery- PA- I've been drinking Yard's for years but never made it to the brewery. So there were no new surprised with their beers. They consistently brew very good beers. I tried three of their stouts and while they were all good, I don't think their tastes were distinguishably different. One beer had more of a chocolate taste and one had more maple. But if you switched these beers up on me, I am not sure I could have tasted any differences.
24- Evil Genius- PA- I tried a Peach IPA that was delicious which surprised me because I do not like fruity tasting beers. But this was refreshing and not too filling. Flights were $7 which is a good deal.
25- Saint Benjamin- PA- our flight was $12 which I think is a rip-off. The beers were just OK.
26- Dock Street- PA- I go here about once a year and I am never disappointed.
27- Boxcar Brewery- PA- I've been here before but this time, the beers tasted so much better. I had an IPA that was just OK, a coffee porter, a pumpkin ale and my favorite: A Mango Ginger Beer.
28- Oskar Blues- CO- Ive been to this brewery before and liked but this time, I loved it. I was in search of a coffee IPA. And I found it and it was worth the effort.
29- Montoui Brewery- CO- I didn't like this brewery for a number of reasons: they only offered six of their beers but they had double that number of guest taps; the food wasn't good; the wait staff didn't seem interested in their beers.
30- The Very Nice Brewery- CO- yes, that is the name of the place and it was a nice brewery and it offered everything I like about visiting a brewery: the beer was tasty, the wait staff was also the owner and happy to talk to me about her beers and the bar was small enough that everyone seated could jump in and join our conversations about beer and Colorado and music.
31- Manyunk Brewery- PA- A flight is only $11 for 9 beers. So I tried everything tap. I had a coconut porter which was delicious. I also had a coffee ale which I enjoyed. And of course, there were three different IPAs on my tray.
32- Stewerts Brewing Company- DE- I've been here before and I thought I had a delicious coconut beer but apparently, I have my breweries confused. One of the brewmasters researched beers they produced for the last 7 years and my beer is not showing up. So on this visit, I had the IPA, the Stout, the Red Ipa, the Black & Tan and the Belgian Abbey Tripel.
33- Levante Brewery- PA
34- Roy-Pits Barrel House- PA- this is primarily a SOURS beer bar so I was limited in what I wanted to drink. I had an IPA, a brown ale and a smoky porter and all three were delicious. I liked these beers so much that I am going to go back to this place and get a full flight of sours just so I can taste the bests hours around (or so I hope).
35- Bar Hygge- PA- this place has a very nice ambience. We sat in the area that resembles a living room and just sat in comfort for longer than we had planned. I had 8 ohs of their IPA and Sweet Porter. Both were delicious. And we were there during Happy Hours so that just sweeten the moment.
36- Ruben's Brewer- WA- This place can accommodate large crowd and there are lots of beer choices. I picked up 7 samples and I liked every one of them. I had a milk porter and a regular porter and both were flavorful. There are several IPA's on tap and I would recommend the Nelson IPA. Prices are reasonable. There are food trucks that rotate. I had the grilled cheese sandwich which paired perfectly with my assortment of delicious beers.
37- Stoup-WA- I went here on a Thursday night and the place had a nice crowd. To order my beers, I had to stand in line and give my list to the waitress who brought over my beers and moved on to the next customer. The beers are just listed on a board and you have to look up the description on line. So ordering was too random for my taste. I tried the Mosaic Pale, the Citra IPA, Bine, Straya, the Psycho-Tropic and the NW IPA (which was my favorite).
38- Peddler's Brewery- WA- This is a great place to bring the whole damn family. It is kid friendly and has an outdoor space that allows them to play while you enjoy your wonderful beers. I had the milk stout which was delicious.
39- Pineland Brewery- NJ- This brewery has a butternut squash beer as an alternative to pumpkin beer and it is delicious. I also loved the vanilla porter. There was a nitro coconut beer that was tasty but could be dangerous to drink because it went down so smoothly. I could consume too many of these beers on a hot summer afternoon.
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