Author: timandjohnna

So things can change so quickly. As noted in our previous post, we stopped at one brewery on our way to another. Well, that “another” brewery turned out to be closed so we continued on to this next brewery that turned out to very limited seating and no beers we were really interested in so we decided to “Google on” to the next one.

We stumbled across this brewery on our way to our 2nd stop. We were a little weary driving by since it popped up earlier and didn’t have “brewery” in the name but we thought let’s throw caution to the wind! Our suspicions weren’t too far off – only 8 items on the menu, mostly sours and barrel aged but we cherry picked two brews we thought we could handle. We had the Lager Roots and the Empty Ocean IPA: the lager was pretty decent but the IPA was a little to much this early on a Saturday afternoon.

This is our first brewery in the downtown proper area and was a 40 minute drive from our campsite. Our 1st impression looking at the menu was this wasn’t our kinda brewery. Lots of high ABV’s and IPA’s which weren’t conducive to kicking off a day of drinking in hot weather 40 minutes from home. However after ordering a Ripple Biscuit cream ale and a Trip To Ireland red ale we were pleasantly surprised with the mellow, complex flavors consisting of wafers, lemon, coffee and cinnamon. None were too overwhelming and seemed to be just the right balance to satisfy the taste buds.

So this brewery wasn’t in our plan for the evening. It didn’t show up when we “Google mapped” breweries in the area but was recommended as a ‘must visit’ while we were in the area by the brewmaster at the first brewery. It’s interesting that most breweries advocate for other breweries even though they might be direct competitor. What other industry do we know of that says “you should go try my competitor”? That is what makes craft beer so cool. Anyway, we pulled up a couple of chairs to a table and ordered a Craic Irish red ale and an Instant Replay blonde ale along with a small deluxe pizza from the joint next door. The pizza was so good we had to order a Vienna’s Wrath to close it down. Don’t know what it is about the breweries in this area but they all make great beer. Is it in the water or the fact that these breweries just want to make good beer?

So the rain finally let loose and we were soaked by the time we made it into this small and rustic tasting room in the heart of the downtown. Surprisingly, they only had indoor seating but that didn’t deter us from bellying up to the bar with our masks on and ordering a Contact Light blonde ale and a Yed Prior Irish red ale. Both were delicious as we dried off waiting for the rains to let up so we could head off to the next brewery.

This brewery and the next is in a special area for us. They reside in the same small town as my great aunt lived. I have fond memories of making trips here in the summer to visit her on her farm. The brewery and tasting room are located in a sort of business complex made up of offices and small manufacturing operations. The friendly brewmaster is quite the character and really knows beer. Sticking with only German methods of brewing, the Kwinn Kolsch and the Elwood Island Irish red ale are probably the best we have ever had. Yes, the best Kolsch we can remember so we even got a 6-pack to go. PROST!

This brewery is in line with the more popular breweries with a large outdoor area that includes not only a lot of seating but also a live music venue and firepit. The difference is they also have a unique indoor decor with vintage pinball and video games. Serving up a pretty good variety of beers, we dove into a Davida Blonde ale and Crimson Halo amber ale complemented by a couple of pretzel rods. Yum!

This is another one of those no-frills tap room serving up the good stuff. We arrived to find not only outdoor seating but they were also allowing indoor seating so we got to really check the place out. With nearly two dozen beers on draft, we were very impressed with the Kickin It Kolsch and Amber Ale. Both beers had perfect balance and flavor – just what we needed on this Thursday evening after a long day of work.

Another no-frills tasting room offering a huge variety of beers ranging from sours to stouts. Located on the Youghiogheny River, this brewery was practicing Covid measures long before it was required with “outside only” seating on the riverbank. We went for the Southern Passion IPA and Jeffewizen German wheat ale in which the latter was a little too fruity for our likings.

Way-cool tasting room with just the basics: tanks, bar, good beer and nice people. The beer-tender Rob, was friendly and helpful – even giving us four 6-packs, two glasses, a coozy and a sticker after hearing our tour and blogging story. THAT’S A 1ST! Newly installed decks and outdoor seating was in place to address the Covid restrictions although we were pretty sure this small town was mostly unaffected by the outbreak of illness. All of the beers were awesome – thanks again to Rob for hooking us up!

•