We took advantage of the Vineyard Transit Authority buses (thumbs up), and spent some time in Edgartown. We ate dinner in Oak Bluffs and made our only brewpub visit for the week. Fortunately, the brewpub we visited was well worth it.
Offshore Ale Company (a.k.a., "City, Ale and Oyster") has an interesting history, documented in this New York Times article from 1997. I particularly like their description of the building:
Outside, the building looks like a barn; inside, the motif is rustic chic, with oak booths, yellow pine floors and a mahogany bar. A tall window showcases two large copper brewing kettles.The floor is littered with peanut shells - my two sons (14 and 11) loved that, even though the 11 year old doesn't eat peanuts. He also loved that the kids menu had mozzarella sticks and french fries as an entree.
In the mood for something light(ish) and summer-y, I started with an On Time Pale Ale. It was excellent - light brown in color, crisp and bitter, and appropriately lacking in the sweetness and hoppiness of an IPA. After that I moved up to Hop Goddess. This brew has a cloudy appearance, more golden in color than an IPA, but very similar to IPAs in taste. My better half had the Off Shore IPA. Darker color, more fruity aroma, and delicious. All three beers were top-notch.
We had the calamari, which came with red pepper aioli. One of the best calamaris we've had. Light, crunchy and very fresh. The menu also features a variety of hand-tossed, brick-oven pizzas. We had the potato pizza - mashed potatoes, bacon and scallions. Kind of like pizza skins, only with a hand-tossed crust. It was very enjoyable, although it feels a bit more like a starter than an entree. We both thought the crust was the perfect combination of chewy and crispy.
I can't wait to go back again. I really like the beers and the atmosphere at Offshore Ale.
(Globe Slideshow featuring Offshore Ale.)
A clarification -- giving proper credit where it's due: Although it says below that I authored this post, it was actually penned by PJK. I neglected to log out of my account before returning his laptop to him.
~ Claire
