Lavery Brewing Company located in Erie, PA, is a small batch American craft brewery that was founded in 2009 and officially started selling beer in early 2010. I first encountered it at Prohibition Taproom when Jon (the GM) offered me a sample. He brought it over and said I had to try this new beer. Jon knows I love hops and Jon knows his beers, so I was excited to try something new. I had never heard of the beer or the brewery, but as soon as I smelled it, I knew it was going to be good. It smelled of grapefruit, lemon, pine, tropical fruit, and orange. Slightly hazy with a nice white head, this IPA tasted exactly like it smelled. It's a perfect example of a west coast IPA, extremely hoppy with little malt behind it. Personally, that's the way I prefer it. I want an IPA to slap me in the face with hops and never apologize for it. The Dulachan does this - and only clocks in at 5.6%.
The second time I tried this beer, in a full pint, was last night at 2312 Garrett in Drexel Hill. This bar seems a bit out of place, nearby dive bars proudly serving Bud, Coors, and Miller. When I saw they had Lavery on tap, I took the 30 minute drive just to drink it. 2312 had a solid tap list and a nice food menu to soak those suds with. This time, I had a pint of Dulachan and quickly remembered why I love this beer so much. You can taste the different hop varietals, Simcoe, Citra, and Columbus, and those 70 IBUs really come through in the finish. If you enjoy in-your-face-hops and a clean, bitter finish, then you must drink this beer. As far as I've seen, it's tap only, so keep your eyes open (hint hint, use PhillyTapFinder to check the latest tap lists).
The name, Dulachan, is the Irish name of the "Grim Reaper." After drinking this beer, you'll think you have died and gone to hop heaven.
Cheers,
Megan
