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Lehigh Valley Craft Beer columnist ventures to Cave Brewing

Cave Brewing is definitely the smallest of the 11 breweries we have in the Lehigh Valley, but the heart and soul in this operation are as big as they come.

04/01/2017

Somewhere at the top of South Mountain between Bethlehem and Salisbury lays the dreams of a nuclear engineer and his wife.

Jeff and his wife, Alison Bonner, creators of Cave Brewing, have just celebrated their first year in business. A cozy tasting room and brewery are located in a large unattached garage on their property.

Of course, the idea of starting a brewery out of a garage is not a new one. Hijinx of Allentown did the same thing a few years back before moving to South Allentown and a larger facility.

Cave takes its inspiration to create honest ales and lagers from local ingredients when available, and authentic malts and hops to brew styles from European origins.

I recently was able to pay a visit to Cave, see the brewery, talk to the brewer and experience first-hand what makes Cave Brewing unique. I found it interesting that they produce a lager style beer — and wow,was it impressive.

Large commercial breweries still crank out millions of gallons the world's most popular style of beer, lager. At the end of 2016, the craft beer market still only represents about 10 percent of the world's beer consumption.

Brewing great-tasting lager is a real skill. Almost all brewers will tell you that lager is the most difficult style of beer to make. There are no shadows to hide in, and everything good or bad is right in the nose and taste.

So of course the first beer I had was Cave Lager, 4.5 percent alcohol by volume. It's beautifully clear in the glass and light copper with a fine white head that shows off nicely.

Aromas of noble Saaz hops and a firm malt base lead to a crisp, light and extremely refreshing taste. The highlight of this well-brewed beer is the aftertaste — there is almost none. It's super clean and without any detectable faults or flavor unpleasantries.

Read more at source: The Morning Call

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