A Quick Trip to Marley's Brewery and Grille in Bloomsburg

D and I and hundreds of other like-minded beer fie...err friends froze our patoochies off last night to get into Marley's to experience what this new brewery has to offer...

Through the front door (don't mind the big Harry's sign overhead out front from when this was Harry Magee's old haunt) is a large high-ceilinged taproom. There's a big chalk board just inside on the left that welcomes and entices. Straight ahead lies a wonderful u-shaped bar with oaken-plank bar-top, perhaps 40 feet long (seating for maybe 18) and lit by some nice pendants and fronted by a slick oak Chicago bar rail. The bar overhang is supported by rugged corbels underneath. There's a unique canopied back bar with shelving holding three sizes of gleaming beer glassware to the left and right of the large center mirror etched with Marley's Brewery and Grille logo. Beaded trim used throughout--bar front, backbar trim around cabinet doors, etc.

To the right and continuing down to the back of the taproom are pub tables. Half-way down the right wall is a passageway with hostess station, that leads to a more intimate dining room with booths beyond. The neat transom over the opening to the passageway depicts the equipment and stages of the brewing process.

To the beer.

In order of preference I liked the Tire Chaser IPA the most. It tastes crisply different for these parts and it doesn't snarl at ya. It's just absolutely Deeeeeelicious! (I would like to know what hops were used in this.) The aroma on this one really opens up from a shaker pour!

The Wagging Tail Wit made me want to get out and mow the lawn it's so dang good. Nota bene: I can never get enough Belgian wheat beer.

The Guard Dog Porter is almost a stout with so much chocolate that it had me thinkin' I'd time traveled to Valentine's Day and overdosed on a box.

You know what I like about US Porters? They're all different and not beholden to some antique stylings. And now we have three fine local examples: Petey's Porter from Old Forge Brewing Company, Grumpy Bill Porter from Berwick Brewing Company and now Guard Dog Porter. Deeeeeeeelicious!

We live in great times, don't ya think?

The Kong Kolsch is, well, a kolsch which I'm not a huge fan of. Very drinkable though.

Finally the Dog Runner Red is my least favorite. Too malty for me, but I ain't no Saint Michael.

The last two beers, the Rope Tug Rye (sounds good doesn't it?) and the Droopy Ear Alt won't be on until sometime next week according to our barmaid.

I may be wrong about this, but the rye may just be the first rye produced by any of the local breweries. I count local as Danville northeast along the Susquehanna to Plains.

I can't wait to try it.

If my eyes don't deceive me (and lately they have been) the beer menu lists the sugar content of the beer pre and post-fermentation in degrees Plato: °P. °P is roughly the number of grams of sugar in a 100 gram aqueous solution. Now when's the last time you saw anyone relate Plato to beer and on a beer menu to boot?

I had to look it up, but a rough conversion is to take the °P and multiply it by 4 to obtain specific gravity. This is what I'm most familiar with in homebrewing. So I took the IPA as an example and did the multiplication. It gave me an original gravity of 1.054 and final gravity of 1.0096. That sounds about right for a 6% ABV.

Speaking of barmaids, you won't find a nicer bunch. Hi Babbling B!

The canine theme continues with the pack of growlers over there. (I brought one home filled with the Tire Chaser IPA and I can't wait until The Best Part of Every Day™ to crack it!)

Marley's is located in downtown Bloomsburg on East Main Street (also known as route 11). If you're coming from the west, it's easy to reach from the Lightstreet exit (236) of I-80 by taking 487 south into town. If you're coming from the east, take the Berwick exit (241) of I-80 onto 11 south.

There's a municipal parking lot one block behind Marley's and a block north (towards the college). There are signs on East Main St. that will lead you right in to the parking.

In short, there's lots to like about this place. The beer's cold and good and there's a Happy Hour when two of the beers (brewer's choice) are a buck off. They do serve some wines too, so even those without a lusty jonesin' for a beer goin' on can be appeased. There are beer flights which we sampled. The beer can be ordered in 12, 16, and 23 ounce pours and the prices are pretty good for these parts. The service is great: attentive and quick. Can't speak for the food, other than a wee pretzel snack we enjoyed the heck out of.

It seems the staff was ironing the kinks out of the point of sale system, but they were managing to keep it all under control.

I did not see a whole lot of college-age kids but there were some. Not that there's anything wrong with that--beer does not discriminate based on age.

I think what we have here is a worthy addition to our now on-fire beer scene. And I hope this never ends.

Good luck Marley's.

And we'll be back.

Octoberfest at Old Forge

S and I and a lotta like-minded volk made the hike down to Octoberfest at Old Forge Brewing Company to have some fun, sample some of the seasonal beers, and try some delicious Germanic dishes from the special menu prepared for the occasion.

This visit found us taking the stairway to the 2nd floor to experience the bar and dining room up there. Empty malt sacks hung like curtains from a set of windows and waved their welcome as we climbed the last few steps. Passing by the door leading to the deck, we sincerely considered sitting out there on this quickly-becoming-sunny Saturday afternoon, but, decided that there would be time for that on our next visit. This time, we picked a very nice pine booth across from the bar and settled in for what would become another memorable afternoon.

S wasn't very hungry and just picked a simple pretzel with a spicy beer-mustard sauce. Simple may it be, still served with a distinct flair that I've come to see as normal for OFBC.

I was curious to see how the roast pork crowing the menu might fair, since I've been doing a lot more pork grilling myself lately, so I picked that and chose potato soup for a starter. Well, the soup arrived hot, was chock full of fresh potato, onion, and carrots, and, just like our last visit, freshness ruled.

The roast pork arrived like a prince upon a throne of red cabbage and apple slices. It was out of this world and quite obviously prepared with a lot of care as it was fork-tender and seasoned perfectly with a mustard-based glaze.

And get this: Two potato pancakes on the side! Yeow! Due to the hazy nature of silly things like borders and such, it's no surprise at all to see now that the Poles and Germans really knew how to enjoy and share good food amongst themselves! They were a bit thicker than Babcia's potato pancakes, but still right up there.

Ahhh. Memories.

For desert: Apple Strudel which at the mere mention, a sudden ravenously hungry S poked her little head up and exclaimed: For two, please! Yummy!

As for the good stuff, I started with Petey's Porter--you know, to get a feel for what my own Uncle Kazek Porter should aspire to. It turned out to be very good and very quickly all I had left to show for my effort was a tan mustache!

Old Trafford Pale Ale turned out to be a pure delight. I feel English Pale Ales sometimes can be a little on the bland side. Well, I'm here to tell you this one's a bulls eye on my taste profile!

This one, as advertised, has a hint of bitterness that I found superbly attractive. Not a knock-your-socks off bitterness by any means, but a subtle bitterness just poking its head above the maltiness. A wonderful twinge on the style and I ended up bringing home a growler. Once again the brewers at Old Forge have come up with a winner.

So what's with the name Old Trafford?

Well, one might say that Danville was to iron rail as Old Trafford was to the aeroplane engine.

Sort of.

Old Trafford is an area just south of the city of Manchester England with a gate that leads right next door to Trafford Park which was home to much industrial activity in the period from the end of the 19th century to the mid-20th century. It was home to a Roll-Royce engine manufacturing facility that produced the engines for the Spitfire and Lancaster airplanes used so successfully during the 2nd world war.

Different century, different manufacturing, same import.

Old Forge continues to delight and encourage forays into the world of food, beer, and even history. They have become in my estimation, a credit to the restaurant and craft-beer scene in central PA. Their beers are tasty, the service friendly and competent, their meals: top-notch. I see in their newsletter presence at the GABF this year. I predict there may be glints of gold soon hanging alongside those malt sacks!

Sometimes the area you grew up in doesn't reveal all its secrets until after you've matured, moved away and come back. Bringing along a new perspective and appreciation for things you may have missed the first time passing through. Sometimes you even achieve focus and the proverbial Aha! moment.

This happened to S and I this weekend on our trip to Danville, Pa for our first visit to Old Forge Brewing Company.

I didn't grow up in Danville but my HS team played them in sports. And I never really gave their name: the Danville Ironmen, much thought. I just thought it was another metaphorical sports team name meant to evoke the image of tough as steel ballplayers. Wait a minute. Am I that out of touch?

But once we went inside the narrow storefront of the Old Forge Brewing Company, it all clicked. And it became clear that there was something really historic and special about this town, relating to iron, manufacturing, and railroads. And now, again, about something else: great food and beer.

I'm a student of bar design and never pass on the opportunity to check out a neat bar. Let me tell you, Old Forge Brewing Company has a very cool bar. As you enter, to the left are some brewing tanks--a mash/lauter tun perhaps and behind that a floor to ceiling brick wall running perpendicular to the street. Original brick perhaps? Straight-ahead is a long flight of stairs leading to the second floor taproom and seating area. As you advance into the room to the left is thee bar, constructed of what appears to be maple. The bar top is a one inch thin maple laminated ell about 18' by 6' with an approximately ten inch overhang at the front supported by black wrought iron brackets. The bar's base cabinet is a horizontally-paneled maple piece with the corners adorned by black angle iron with diamond rivet detailing. Rimming the edge of the bar at the belt line is a distinctive thin, red rubber bumper. But the foot rest is the pièce de résistance. A clever yet totally functional foot rest the likes of which I've never seen before. It's an ell-shaped iron rail, a T-Rail, enabler of the Industrial Revolution, originally developed and manufactured in Danville, originally painted red but now on the friction surface, rubbed away to reveal its silver essence not unlike the rail you see on a well-used railroad. Closing the ell at the far end of the bar is the eight or ten tap system, the tap handles a homage to iron in the form of the tools that built Danville and this great country.

Maybe 12 light wooden-seated ladder back stools at the bar, almost all taken at 3 on a Saturday afternoon, face the bar. Along the right wall are three or four bi-seating pub tables with two mirrors on the wall over the tables. Beyond the bar at the back is another area of low tables.

Given that the room is narrow, to conserve space another neat feature was implemented behind the bar to store glassware: single-pint-depth shelves running what appears to be the length of the bar and perhaps three or four rows high, maybe more. And at a bit over bar-top height above the shelves, a regiment of mugs hanging in silent attention for that moment when they're asked to perform their duty--a most honorable duty, to bring the cool, fresh beer to the mouths of eager mug club members. Alas the mug club is full and the waiting list is over 128 names deep!

We settled into a couple of stools to peruse the beer menu. I wanted to try something a bit different and chose the Slack Tub Stout (on Nitro). S decided she needed an adventure and picked the Irish Draught Ale, also on nitrogen. My Slack Tub Stout arrived a deep dark color with some nice foam, and not at all tasting like it had been fermenting in a blacksmith shop all week. This was an excellent stout of the highest order and not overwhelming in roast, chocolate or coffee flavors as others are want to sometimes. It had just a bit of molasses flavor, contributing just that little bit of sweetness. I had a sip of S's red Irish Draught Ale and this was a real surprise to me. One, there is something wholly unique in this recipe that I could not put my finger on that gave it a superior enticing attitude that murmured drink-me. Sort of like that surprise when you first taste Prima Pils. I can't explain it as I only had a sip, but WOW! (If anyone can tell me this mystery ingredient I speak of, please do. If not: I'm going back to find out asap.) And two, it didn't have an alcohol finish like some other beers in this style. Very good and very tasty.

S always checks out the food menu and this time was no different. Her conclusion: everything on it's interesting, and begging to be ordered! But we didn't want to eat a big meal so instead opted for something from the appetizer menu: an order of two sausage skewers which arrived in no time flat accompanied by sides of grainy mustard and ale-infused cheese annointments. The red and green peppers and onions were sublime in their freshness and doneness. The sausage: grilled to perfection and soft in texture--not hard--that had me singing Na Zadrowie in no time. (This happens sometimes when I get my hands on good sausage.)

With our food, I ordered a T-Rail Pale Ale which was the perfect complement to the sausage and spicy mustard. This beer is not a hop-bomb, but a very easy drinking, bright and crisp American Pale Ale that I would think would be a great introduction to Pale Ales for new craft beer drinkers, but with just enough of an attitude for anyone. Really. It was so good in fact that I had to get a growler of it to bring home, which I did and which I'm enjoying at this very minute!

This is a fantastic place to experience the joy of well-made craft-beer. They have a very nice selection--maybe five or six or eight, so there's something for everyone, running the gamut from Pilsner to Stout. Bring a bit of an appetite as their food menu is inventive and tantalizing. Everyone was friendly and all the patrons were enjoying themselves. The barmaids: attentive. The beer: bright, fresh, crisp, excellent. I'll be going back soon.