2019 Breweries

2019 Breweries

Last year, I visited 61 breweries as of November but then I had to stop as I was diagnosed with a damn fatty liver.  I don't think I will come close to this mark as I am supposed to cut out alcohol Damn, sometimes life sucks.


1. Barley Oak Brewery- MD- this is a nice place.  The staff is friendly.  It draws a nice crowd.  I tried four of the six IPAs on tap.  They were all good but I am not sure I could distinguish one IPA from the other.

2- Pour Man's Brewing Company- PA- I had two IPAs and two stouts and I liked all of them.  A flight is $9 for four 5oz pours.  Pints are $6.  Large cans are $9 and growlers are $14.  It's a good deal here.

3- Flying Fish Brewery- NJ- I spent the afternoon here with friends and we drank multiple flights of beer and it was great fun. I've always liked this brewery.

4- Devil's Creek Brewery- NJ- we had less than 1/2 hour before this brewery closed for the day.  I grabbed a flight of a squash ale, a porter and two IPAs. All of these beers were great and I wish I had more  time to hang here.

5- Ironhill Brewery- PA-  I go here a lot and this time, they had their delicious Russian Imperial Stout on tap.

6- Love City Brewery- Philly- I've  been here  before and liked it then and now.

7- Stewart's Brewpub- DE- I come here once a year for the coffee stout.

8- Sterling Pig- PA- this brewery just opened up down the street from me and I was so excited to welcome them to the neighborhood but, truly, their beers aren't that great.

9- Crowded Castle Brewing Company- PA-- The Trop IPA is delicious.  I also had the Castlecade IPA, The Dubba Bubba Joose (9.4%) and the NX (a hazy, hoppy Ale).  I liked all of them. I liked the vibes here.

10- Rebel Hill Brewery- PA-  I had the DDH Bleed Green IPA, the Wunder Years Kolsch and the Pollen Pusher Saison.

11- Vault Brewery- PA-  I had a sweet potato ale and three different IPAs.  I enjoyed them all.  The brewery is an old bank and the environment was nice. I liked the vibes of the place.

12- Neshiminey Brewing Company- I had three stouts: the Russian Imperial, the milk stout and the coconut milk stout.  And, of course, I had the DIPA.

13- The Other Farm Brewery- PA- I had the porters. They were a bit too chocolatey for me.  But, of course, I loved the two DIPAs.

14- Bullfrog Brewery- PA- This brewery has lots of choices of beers.  I had the coffee stout and 3 IPAs.

15- Dogfish Brewery- DE- I love this brewery and have been here several times over the years.  They have a large variety and lots of unusual tastes.  I had a beer with dragon fruit and I didn't like it.

16- Heist Brewery- NC- I tried a variety of Pales/IPAs and a Brown Ale.  I didn't finish the brown ale.

17- Alesatain Brewing Company- VA- this brewery is in the midst of a historical neighborhood and sits on top of a pizza shop. I liked the ambiance and the crowd seemed to enjoy this place. A flight is 3 glasses of 8 OZ beers.  I tried 3 different IPAs.  I wanted to try other beers but the alcohol content was too high and I had to drive.  I will just have to go back there.

18- Appalachian Brewery- I've been to this brewery before and they have a nice selection of beer.  I even tired a lager and it wasn't too bad.  Mostly I had the IPAs and I tried the stout as well.
beers.

19- Avalon Brewery Pub- NJ- no thank you.  They don't care about their beers.

20- Braeloch Brewery- PA- these beers were great.  I particularly liked their Russian Imperial Stout. I liked the ambience.  The staff was friendly and helpful.

21- Free Will Brewery- PA- I had a mango wheat that was delicious.  I had three IPAs. Two were light but still refreshing.  The other one was great.

22- Stickman Brewery- PA- They make a banana float beer.  I tried it.  I don't think I could drink a whole pint of it but it was interesting.

23- East Branch Brewery- PA- The IPAs were refreshing.  I tried a lemongrass IPA and didn't like it so I didn't even finish it.

24- Kennett Brewing Company- PA- I've been there before and liked it and this visit was equally enjoyable.  I had a Ploughman Porter, a Jammy Bastard Pale Ale, Head Skull Mind (DDIPA), and Queen's Ale.  The DDIPA was my favorite.

25- Sante Fe Brewery- NM- this place is small but friendly.  There are lots of locals who come here and engage everyone in conversation.  The beers are great.

26- Second Street Brewery- NM- this is a nice pub with some great tasting beers and a good bar food menu. And it is small so it invites conversation with everyone at the bar.

27- Pumphouse brewery- CO- OMG, a five sampler flight is only $6.50.  That is reason enough to go here.  I threw in a whiskey barrel beer in here and of course, I couldn't drink it.  There were two IPAs that I loved.

28- Taos Mesa brewery- NM- this place is huge.  The beers were reasonably prices and good.

29- Bald Bird Brewery- PA- I had four IPAs and there were other IPAs that I didn't even try.  I had the milk stout and that was delicious.

30- Rumspringa Brewery- PA- This place is above a winery so it was a bit of a challenge to fine.  I was there in the middle of the afternoon and the place was packed.  There is a limited beer selection but the beers I had were enjoyable.

31- VooDoo Brewery- PA- OMG, I loved this place.  The brewery shares a space with a butcher shop which I thought was quite strange.  But I ordered my flight and ordered a pastrami sandwich and I loved, loved loved both of them.

32- 2SP Brewery- PA-  this place annoyed me a little bit.  I wanted a flight and they would only serve me what they wanted to serve.

33- Gentle Giant Brewery- NY-  This is a quiet, little place on the main road in a small town.  There is limited beer choices so I could only try three beers: the pumpkin ale, an IPA and a Watermelon Gose. The gose didn't have enough favor for me but the other two were good.

34- Aston Abbey Brewing Company- PA- Polyjuice Pumpkin Ale (delicious), Romance Juice Stout, Group Captain IPA, West in Peace Wit.  I didn't like the other beers.

35- Last Wave Brewing Company- NJ-  I was with a friend who is not a beer drinker so I felt rushed. I had three IPAs and they were delicious.  I want to come back to this brewery by the beach.

36- Union Brewery- MD- I've wanted to go to this brewery for a few years now.  So I finally had the time.  It's large and spacious.  It can hold a big crowd.  there is live entertainment and a good kitchen.  The beers were good.

37- Third State brewery- NJ- I did not like the vibes of this place. Flights are very reasonable.  The two stouts I had were delicious.

38- Broken Goblet brewery- PA-  This place is large and loud. when I was there, a large birthday party was going on.  There was a football crowd watching televisions.  I had the Blood Orange IPA, the Bohemian Raspberry  Ale (tea infused), the Nobody Likes Us IPA and the Yin Yang Stout.

39- Lazy Magnolia- MS- the oldest brewery in Mississippi.  It was hard to find this place but I persisted.  And I had a Southern Pecan ale which was delicious.

40- NOLA Brewing Company- LA- There are 24 beers on tap and there are multiple sours on tap.  I had a delicious Irish stout and a green tea infused ale.

41- Tin Lizard- PA- I've been here twice before and I think this will be my last time as the beers and the restaurant don't interest me.

42- Big Spruce- Canada- OMG, I loved, loved, loved this place.  It's small and I was there for the Celtic Colours Music Festival.  The place was jam packed.  The music was great fun and the beers were great.  I had The Passion of Chris IPA.  I loved it.

43- Brenton Brewery- Canada- it's sort of pushing it to include this brewery on my list.  I got sick leaving the Big Spruce Brewery and so I couldn't drink any of the beer when I was here.  But I had several of their beers at other places while I was in Canada this week.

44- Galhan Brewery- Canada- I order a 22 oz beer and then realized that this was a brewery/restaurant.  So I split a flight and tried a porter and a pale ale.  I liked the vibe in this place.

45- Spring House Brewery- PA- OMG, a flight of 5 beers is only $8. I didn't like any of my beers and I didn't finish my pumpkin beer because it was too watery.  I liked the vibe of the place but I wouldn't go back here.

46- Workhorse Brewery- PA- I like this place.  Flights are $8 for 4 pours.  You get a score card to rate your beers.  It's got a big ass bar.  There is plenty of room for lots of people.  They have food trucks on the weekend.  The staff is friendly.  I had a vanilla porter, a DIPA, a west coast IPA and a New England IPA.  I liked them all.

47- Full Tilt Brewery- MD-  This place is fun.  It is filled with pinball machines and has plenty of space for a crowd.  It had a long bar so it's a nice place to meet up.  I had the blonde stout which I liked.  I also had the pumpkin ale but I wished I had come a week later as they were going to release a pumpkin ale aged in a whiskey barrel.  That should have an interesting taste.  I had a vanilla IPA and it was too sweet.  And then I had a session IPA and Northeast IPA and , of course, I liked them both.

48- Death of the Fox Brewery and Coffee Shop- NJ- I like this concept of coffee and beer.  I had a raw DIPA which tasted more like a cider.  The pumpkin beer was delicious.  The coffee IPA was refreshing and the Get Bent IPA was fun just because of the name alone.

49- Tune Up Brewery- PA- this place had the feel of an old corner taproom.  I had a pumpkin ale, a coffee porter and an IPA.  The IPA was delicious.  Theater two were OK.  But I liked this place.

50- Blue Earl Breweing Company- DE- I really liked this place.  It filled up quickly right after it opened up.  There was a local band playing and they drew a crowd,  I had a delicious Imperial Stout, a Pumpkin Ale and two IPAs.  I enjoyed them all.

51- Pottstown Union Brewing Company- PA-  this place is small and right on Main Street.  There is a taproom feel to this place which is appealing to me.

52- Alecraft Brewery- MD- this brewery won the 2018 Brewery of the Year award for Baltimore (?) and it deserves it. The beers are delicious.  It pulls a consistent, friendly crowd and the vibes are fun.