Let me start by saying that for a couple of my friends, anything beyond a Michelob Ultra can qualify as a “weird beer.” So don’t be offended by the term. As for a cherry-red one with coarse white sugar crystals lining the rim — maybe we can all agree that it’s at least unusual?
This was a short year-end ride, in part because it was chilly (barely over 40 and overcast), in part because we figured sections of the D&R Canal towpath might be too muddy. So we opted to start at the Trenton Farmers Market rather than closer to Princeton, then take Mulberry Street to the paved part of the D&R Canal towpath, use bike lanes to go through Trenton to reach the “Trenton Makes” bridge, then cross the Delaware River to Morrisville, Pa. Maybe 4 miles each way.
The destination was a brewery that opened last year: Bitchin’ Kitten. Now I am not a cat person at all, so I am pleased to report that there is no cat (or cats) wandering around the brewery and restaurant.
The beer names all work in cat references. Mine was the St. Nick Claw-Us, a Belgian Red Christmas Ale with a powerful 11% alcohol level. Lots and lots of cherries. And that optional “festive sugar rim.”
I could have done without the sugar.
Another cat name? Sourpuss. Choc-oh-cat. You get the idea.
You could do a flight of three or four beers (small portions), which I’m surprised no one in the group went for.
But it was the Road Maestro’s birthday. After our lunch, we all toasted him with some off-key singing of happy birthday, and the staff sent over some shots — orange and vodka, perhaps? Thank you!
I’m now inspired to come up with some 2024 destinations for weird-beer bike rides…
Some of our earlier beer rides: Screamin’ Hill, Flounder (old site and new), Neshaminy Creek and River Horse. The one that relies on yeast in the air for fermentation has relocated to Kutztown.
Exploring by bicycle 
Silvia: I probably passed it when I was on Bridge St. trying to win “Beat the Toll” on Sun. on my way to Bensalem. I was also there to inspect from the car seat for whether the construction at the trail crossing had been completed. It looks like it has! However, it looks like there are stairs from the south side sidewalk. That is an improvement? The ramp from the north side sidewalk looks nice. Just remember, Silvia: if entering the trail, part of the ECG, from the north side of Bridge St. going towards Maine, don’t go down the ramp so fast that you strike a dog, a baby carriage, somebody in a recumbent, etc. Dashing Dan
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Silvia: I am glad you mentioned today what I forgot to mention on Mon. That is, if they added the one ramp that I saw from the car window then the towpath, which had been closed at Bridge St., must go underneath the roadway. “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is.” I don’t understand what we are given when we go to the D & L web site. I saw a list of towns down the right side, in alphabetical order, separated by 3 regions. However, it was the same set of towns. Some places, like Doylestown and Hazleton, are a good hike from the towpath, let alone, a good bike ride away. Dan
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Dan, I believe that’s because the D&L Trail is one part of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, which includes those towns. You’re on the DLNHC website. When you click on Hazelton, for example, it shows where it is (far from trail) and that it doesn’t have a trailhead. But it does tell you why it’s part of the Heritage Corridor and gives you a few sights. And a (defunct) link to the Hazelton trail that eventually will connect to the D&L, which I did not know about. Here’s a link that works: https://www.traillink.com/trail/greater-hazleton-rails-to-trails/
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