Seven Tribesmen Brewery

In a little house-like space, right off an on-ramp onto a busy highway, friendly bartenders and good crowd enjoying after-work happy hour. Pretty small, though a few different rooms. Decent selection of different styles. Beers were solid, though nothing I tried was something I'd go out of my way to find again.

J & D moved to Flowida, so I have no use for Wayne anymore. Dead to me. Except someone’s now gone and parked a brewery there. Where were you all these years I’ve been hoofing it out to Sound Exchange shopping vinyl? (Yes, vinyl!) South 23, in that stretch between where I’ve been and 80. like right there (me, pointing). Nice looking standalone in an old wood shop gallery or something…

Cushy couch set up front row center of the entrance, but we are whisked past there and seated on bar counter space overlooking 23; a pair of squared stools plexi split between other plexi set ups in the windows (you know there’s a pandemic on, right?) Step to the right towards the bar area.

A small ‘L’ shaped marble topped bar, blueish panel base, & foot bar. Seating for none now during Covid life. Olive vertical subway tile barback wall with a 4X8 blackboard on center listing tap selections; beer, style, ABV, IBU, and pricing for tall (pint) and short (10oz), and sampler pricing listed, too (flight of 4 for $12). Pitchers & sampler racks countered below, and glassware tucked down under. A dozen alt colored totem tap handles on a sunken inlayed piece to the side. Teku glass lamps tracing above the bar. Damn! There is not food proper available for consumption but there are chips, which were promptly housed.

Shared table off the bar and a pair in the side room; wood slat floors, gray walls, & lighter colored ceiling with sunken spots. Mural on the far wall, and a digital tap list board on the rear wall with bookshelves to both sides. Board games shelved in a rack in the corner, can cooler for the grab and go, snack basket for the chips meal, and the brewery to the rear. Outside, there’s a bit of a deck stretch done bar counter style stooled. And a big old tent in the backyard we are not seated under thankfully, as it’s breezy, ‘ouisey.

12 beers (Morning Star, Blonde Ale, 5.7%; Upshot, Belgian Tripel, 8.5%; Freya’s Choice, APA, 5.3%; Trebuchet, Saison, 6%; Packanack, Pilsner, 5.6%; Hudson Hurdle, Cranberry Sour, 5%; Griffin, DIPA, 8.2%; All Mashed Up, Honey Porter, 6%; Pompton, Rye Lager, 5.5; Horizon, NE IPA, 6.3%; Talisman, American IPA, 6.6%; Dragan, Irish Stout, nitro, 4.7%). It’s a good mix of hoppy, Belgian, Lager, dark & roasty, sour, and light; somethings for everyones.

I got into a few as I do. Upshot, Belgian Tripel, delightful, really; Talisman, American IPA, not hazy and is solid although maybe a bit too malt forward for my liking; Freya’s Choice, APA, better than the IPA; Trebuchet, Saison, a bit too floral, chamomile, wait, maybe it’s lavender, hard to say; Dragan, Irish Stout, good easy drinker; All Mashed Up, Honey Porter, pleasant enough, just not as good as the Stout; Hudson Hurdle, Cranberry Sour, it’s kind of tart, sure. Upshot Tripel, Freya’s Choice APA, & Dragan Stout for the wins.

Revisited a month later with J & D up from Flowida. We’re seated in the side room off the bar this time with guest star Kelly Kelly Kelly Kelly. It’s loud as shit here. I mean, I’m singing loudly to ‘Band on the Run’ and cannot be heard, it’s fuckin’ loud. 12 beers up again, some have flipped, some remain. I’m drinking Upshot, Belgian Tripel & Dragan, Irish Stout, again ‘cause they were best of show last time out. And I’ve got to tell you (I mean, I don’t have to, but I choose to), Back Nine, Cream Ale is pretty damn good, too.

I suspect I’ll get back there again when J & D come up to see their fams. Place is chill, the tunes were good, and the beers did not suck. I think they were served a bit too cold this last time around and probably told the ‘tender so. I could do some time here.

This is a unique brewery experience. It's located in an old house along busy Route 23. I suspect the place was once a restaurant. It's been lovingly fitted out and is the antithesis of the industrial look. We sat in a room with the ambience of a colonial library. There is also covered outdoor seating. The parking is limited. The crowd was lively and everyone seemed to be having a great time. There were three servers behind the bar and one outside so the service was efficient. They were also quite friendly and seemed genuinely appreciative of the business. The beer menu was interesting. I had a Rye Lager and a Red IPA with paprika. Both were quite good. They have quite a few canned selections. Overall, I was impressed with this brewery and will visit periodically.