Vault Brewing Co. Unlocks in Yardley

After more than a year's wortth of trials and tribulations, James and John Cain have finally opened Vault Brewing Company in Yardley, PA. Last Thursday's soft opening spawned a flurry of excitement throughout Bucks County where thirsty throngs have been waiting for the small brewpub's doors to swing open. I for one have been anxiously awaiting Vault's opening because quite frankly, Yardley doesn't have much else to offer. Meridith and I stopped by on Saturday afternoon only to be greeted by a locked door, the damn place didn't open til 5.
Oh well...we would return.

Being opening weekend and all, we knew it would be packed but the place was actually filled to capacity. We ended up having to wait a couple minutes at the door for people to leave before we could head inside. It's no fun to watch other people drink. Once we were allowed in we bellied up to the bar for a couple beers to enjoy while we waited. I won't get into the specifics but their whole table waiting system needs a bit of an overhaul, if you were there this weekend you'll know what I'm talking about.

I went for their Cask IPA which I had a sip of at the Washington Crossing Beer Fest earlier this year, freshly pulled by James himself this one went down very quickly. Solid offering here but not my favorite style to have on cask and could have been  bit more balanced out. Went with their ESB next which was also on cask and should have been my first choice, really liked this one's slightly toasted and creamy body. Mer stuck with their Dry Stout which was on nitro, she loved it and I reaaaally liked it myself...may have snuck an extra couple sips while she went to the bathroom.

As for the grub, we started with the hot abruzzese sausage and French feta platter was delicious and just the thing you want to pick on between sips. Vault has a beautiful copper wood-fired pizza oven which is their only real kitchen implement but they aren't your everyday pizza pies. They have a selection of savory as well as sweet pizzas. I couldn't resist the brown sugar buffalo pie which also had some prosciutto. This thing was out of this world and I'm going to have a hard time branching out when I return. The dough is all made in house with some of the beer if I'm not mistaken. The last beer of the evening was their Belgian Blonde which was really bright, zesty and just a little sweet. With that, I left pretty satisfied with the latest addition to the Bucks County beer scene.

We actually enjoyed ourselves so much that we found ourselves back the next day for some lunch, few things are more enjoyable than some Sunday afternoon brews. The beautiful weather had me hankering for their Bavarian Hefeweizen which didn't quite do it for me but was by no means unpleasant. Their hummus plate and butternut squash pizza were much more memorable, I didn't think I would enjoy any of the sweet pizza options but this proved me wrong. I also snagged a pint of their IPA before we headed out and found it to be a whole lot more impressive than the cask offering, could have sat there for a couple more of this one. We sat in the upper room on Sunday in which they use two of the banks old vaults, one for their wine rack stocked with bottles from Crossing Vineyards and the other locked up with kegs. Nice touch.

I'll be the first to admit that I was a bit skeptical walking into Vault but was very impressed with the whole operation. The whole look and feel of the place is spot on, sleek but laid back while playing up the old bank features. They had great music playing both visits including the band that came in (live jazz is a big selling point for these guys). I was especially impressed with the staff who really couldn't have been nicer or more helpful despite the madhouse crowd. Once the initial excitement wears off and the crowds die down, I can't wait to head to the Vault more often to see how brewer Mark Thomas really comes into his own. Don't let the crowds keep you away though, I say you head right over and see what you think for yourself.

Vault Brewing Company

10 South Main Street

Yardley, PA

Cheers!