OT: NJ Craft Beer Rankings
- Thread starter ElmiraExpress
- Start date
My buddy and I went there once a couple years ago and the whole thing was weird. We get to the brewery which was out of the one beer they had available, so we then went to the adjacent bar/restaurant to have it on tap instead. We were the only people in the place not wearing a collared shirt. Most bizarre beer experience I've ever had.
Me too. Wouldn't drink that crap if it was the only beer on earth.
Did Demented in Middlesex close ? Also, any fans of Climax in Roselle Park. Went there a long time back and thought it was good but I'm not exactly a craft brewery connoisseur. Their cream ale comes to mind.
1. Kane
2. Eight and Sand - Not well known yet, but they have a solid IPA, named IPA No. 2. If you like Kane Head High, you will like Eight and Sand IPA No. 2. They have a great mix of different beers on tap. And their Tasting Room is the nicest looking tasting room I have ever been in. In Woodbury NJ (Exit 3 NJ Turnpike).
3. Cape May
4. Tonewood
5 Double Nickle
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Another worthy of mentioning is 7 Mile Brewery in Rio Grande nearby Cape May.
Have you ever tried Bonesaw? It is located right near Rowan U. My nephew went to school there and turned me on to two of their beers a month ago. They were good.
I'll give a shout out to Lone Eagle in Flemington as well. Nothing amazing but across the board all very good beers They have a wonderful tasting room also.
Yes, their tasting room is one of the best, although if you visit Lone Eagle, you are also very close to Conclave Brewery, which is also in Flemington, although out of town a little bit
No need to knock a beer style just because it doesn't fit your taste. We're all beer lovers here. Unless, of course, you're talking about light beer.
Oh yeah Conclave is fantastic. One of the best in state for sure but hard to drink there.
That is the reason I stopped using Beer Advocate. Too many people trash beer and give bad ratings to beer styles they don't enjoy. Stupid.
No, I haven’t. I live near Bordentown, so that area is far for me and if I am traveling an hour for an IPA, I am going to Kane.
Hope you and your kids are doing well, Bob.
Brian (from the trip to Birmingham papa johns bowl game).
I know who you are Brian. I hope your family is doing well too. We will never forget the great time we had that day.
Yeah unfortunately Demented is no more. Supposedly they hadn't paid taxes and towards the end some employees were missing paychecks. The owner had some mental health issues, which became apparent on their facebook page in their final few days. In about two hours they said they were closing down, then reopening the next day, then closing temporarily, and then closing for good. The owner then started a kickstarter page or something to raise money to move the brewery to the old River Horse location, which was weird.
Climax was one of my favorites about 10 years ago before all these newer breweries opened up, but most of them have surpassed Climax in both quality and consistency.
Very good list, probably the same as mine but move Kane down to 5. They are very good, but I think a just a little bit over rated. Also whole heartedly agree about Carton.
As the previous poster mentioned, yea they closed down. New brewer, Ashton Brewing , took over their space. Haven't had a chance to pick up from them yet, will do so soon.
Since they have been around so long and have been sort of a pioneer, I think some in the beer community consider them passé, but I love their beers, particularly Triple Horse and Belgian Freeze.
I think the issue that River Horse and Flying Fish have is that they predate the modern beer culture. In their day, you would pretty much only buy beer at a store, and breweries had a lineup of year-round core beers and then occasional seasonal and specialty beers. Now, people are buying beer directly from the brewery and are looking for the newest IPA that just came out each week. Coming out with new stuff generates interest. I don't mean this as a knock on River Horse, I like their beers and one of my buddies was a brewer there for a while, just seems to be differing business models between the old guard and the newcomers.
Can’t argue with any of that. But you can always enjoy the classics.
Flying Fish in Somerdale (borders Cherry Hill). They even have an Exit 9 Hoppy Scarlet Ale.
I’ve got a Go Flight on ice waiting for me, and completely agree with you
I didn’t mention Departed Soles in Jersey City, nor did anyone else. I don’t think it ranks with the others, but still good and my one time to their brewery was a great experience, such good people. I had never been there, walked in alone and didn’t know anyone. There was a decent crowd there, but after ordering a flight of beers, one of the workers sat down with me, told me the history of the brewery, how it it got its name, and a run-down of all their beers.
Yep I still really like River Horse's oatmeal stout and pumpkin ale, and some of their newer stuff like Hippotizing has been really good too. Their Craic, stout aged in Jameson barrels that comes out around St. Patrick's Day every year, is one of my favorite beers.
They deliver to the whole state now. You order early in the week and then each day they deliver to a part of the state. I think the next round starts Tuesday morning for purchase and then I think Saturday delivery for you and Sunday for me.
EDIT: they deliver to most of the state. No delivery for Sussex, Warren, Hunterdon, Salem, Cumberland and Cape May.
Following New Can Announcements on Tuesday afternoons a new round of Home Delivery will begin.
The Delivery Order window begins at 9AM Daily and closes at 6pm the evening before your locations designated delivery day.
Daily deliveries are limited and will be closed (orders will be canceled) once a zone has been filled.
Minimum Delivery Order: $50
Delivery Surcharge: $4
MUST SHOW 21+ ID, ORDER CAN NOT BE DROPPED OFF UNLESS ID IS SHOWN.
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NiiiiiiceThey deliver to the whole state now. You order early in the week and then each day they deliver to a part of the state. I think the next round starts Tuesday morning for purchase and then I think Saturday delivery for you and Sunday for me.
EDIT: they deliver to most of the state. No delivery for Sussex, Warren, Hunterdon, Salem, Cumberland and Cape May.
Following New Can Announcements on Tuesday afternoons a new round of Home Delivery will begin.
The Delivery Order window begins at 9AM Daily and closes at 6pm the evening before your locations designated delivery day.
Daily deliveries are limited and will be closed (orders will be canceled) once a zone has been filled.
Minimum Delivery Order: $50
Delivery Surcharge: $4
MUST SHOW 21+ ID, ORDER CAN NOT BE DROPPED OFF UNLESS ID IS SHOWN.
Flying Fish puts out some good products, Exit 4 the Trippel was my favorite. Unfortunately they don't brew Exit 9 it any longer. A few years back I talked to one of their brewers at a charity event , he said that they repackaged it as RedFish but amped down the ABVs. Can't find anything for certain online, but I don't think they even brew any of the Exit Series anymore.
Really like Cape May my current favorite is their Great White. Wheat bear brewed with orange peel and coriander.
I’m surprised to see Cape May so high on many of these lists. I think that is because it seems to be more readily available. It’s okay, but nothing great in my opinion. Kane, Icarus and Magnify are much, much better.
For me the availability of Cape May broke a tie with Kane but Cape May is easily a top NJ Brewer. As I suggested before if you have never visited a place to have the small batch, taproom only beers, than trying to compare to those you have been to is a poor comparison.
Also you have to give credit to brewers who have expanded production but have kept quality high and consistent. It's very hard to do. That is why I have such respect for brewers like Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head... etc. The quality of their products have been the same from day 1.
Fort Nonsense - Denville, NJ
6. Regolith NEIPA “Apogee” IPA - New England
6.7% ABV
Brewed in Denville, NJ
Brewed and DDH w/ Mosaic, Azacca, and Citra
6. Regolith NEIPA “Apogee” IPA - New England
6.7% ABV
Brewed in Denville, NJ
Brewed and DDH w/ Mosaic, Azacca, and Citra
1.) Flounder
2.) Double Nickle
3.) Magnify
4.) Hidden Sands
5.) Cape May
been to about 90 NJ breweries so far and strictly beer speaking (not ambiance) those are my top ones. Someone asked about Ashton which I picked up from and very much enjoyed. Honorable mentions would be High Rail, Troon, Jersey Girl, Tonewood, and Czigmeister
2.) Double Nickle
3.) Magnify
4.) Hidden Sands
5.) Cape May
been to about 90 NJ breweries so far and strictly beer speaking (not ambiance) those are my top ones. Someone asked about Ashton which I picked up from and very much enjoyed. Honorable mentions would be High Rail, Troon, Jersey Girl, Tonewood, and Czigmeister
Brooklyn Brewery and Other Half are very good. NJ has ones that are comparable though.
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