Beer Mecca in Easton?

The city of former heavyweight champ Larry Holmes may be looking to take more championship hardware. Easton, PA, just across the river from Phillipsburg, NJ (and therefore a convenient place to stop during two-wheeled excursions into the northwest) has long been offering great beer places, but it may be upping its already impressive game.

Porters' Pub and Black and Blue, part of Larry Porter's "Beermuda Triangle" along with Two Rivers have quite a following among locals and near-bys, and with good reason--the beers they offer are a beer nut's nirvana.

But our recent ride brought us to two more places that are adding great beer to the Easton menu.

Pearly Baker's Alehouse

The first, suggested by fellow biker John Wilson, was Pearly Baker's. Set off in a little corner of the main square/circle, this place has quite a history, and exceptional appeal. You can read about its past on a menu as you stare up at authentic tin ceilings, and long before your food or brew arrives, you just know that some serious shyte had to have gone down here back in the day.

The PubScout is a fan of old places, especially if they serve an array of exceptional beers accompanied by good--and plentiful--food, which Pearly Baker's did. Make your beer choices before you ingest any really big beers, though, because the multi-colored beer menu is a challenge even for the un-beered eye. And the first one caught mine. Victory Dirt Wolf on Nitro. And, though it took some time to "settle," it was worth the wait. I had two.

Food-wise we decided to try the Sweet and Sweaty Wings as a group appetizer. The portions were generous, and the wings were very good. But for the PBBC'ers reading this--no. They did not unseat the champion. My Turkey Club was delicious, as were the accompanying onion rings, but half that huge sandwich made the ride home with me.

The staff with whom we interacted--Darlene and Pierina-- were personable and attentive, thus Pearly Baker's therefore earned the official PubScout Seal of Approval, which Darlene proudly mounted and displayed on the pub's front door.

There may be other great pubs in Easton (we'll investigate them soon) besides those aforementioned, but you will not go wrong at Pearly Baker's.

Sole Artisan's

Fully sated, and on the Twisted Kitty's suggestion, we ambled down the street to a brand-spanking new place. Sole-Artisan's has been in its corner location for just five weeks, and this modern, bright, airy drinking place is packing beer nuts in. Of course, it helps to bring a solid reputation with you when you open such a place, and soon a new warehouse will be the source of SA's great beers. But the Twisted Kitty has more than once made the early-morning two hour-plus run from Jersey out to SA's place in PA for special releases of its beers. And if she rises before noon on a weekend, it's got to be for a good reason--or good beer.

And those beers are changing all the time. Joe Fay, who made his bones as a Staten Island home brewer and went on to work for eight breweries to gain more experience, told The PubScout he has rarely, if ever brewed the same beer twice. His current repertoire now checks in at fifty-six beers.

I sampled just two (thanks to those two Dirt Wolves at Pearly Baker's). Fruity Dabs was a very special DIPA made with Vanilla Bean and conditioned on Satsuma Orange. It checked in at 8.7%, and, as I was on two wheels, I only had a six-oz. pour, but I'd have had a full one had I begun at SA--which does not serve food.

I went full monty, however, on Fay's "Blurred Lines," and unfiltered Keller Pils that I spent at least two minutes just smelling. Fay, just 26 years old, allowed that the Pils was one of his very favorite brews.

Judging by the throngs--of all ages-- that kept pouring into the place, Fay and wife Laura will be spending a lot of time in Larry Holmes' city. And so will lovers of good beer. Some might ask, "What will all that competition for people's beer bucks do to the beer scene?"