Garden State Craft brewers Guild, held its 12th annual event this past Saturday, June 21, 2008 on the USS Battleship NJ in Camden. You see, I am on this new thing, REALLY GOOD BEER. I have come to believe beer should be REALLY good now. I have learned of the Microbreweries, especially the ones located in my state, have what I am looking for!
It all really started with Gaslight Brewery & Restaurant in South orange, I found out they make their own beer. A beer, I could only get there, was intriguing to me. Then I learned that a good number of Brewpubs and Microbreweries existed. I just did not realize that there were so many in Jersey. About 4 months ago or so, my dad brings me this article on local beer and this festival, Garden State Craft brewers Guild 12th Annual Beer Festival and well, I have seen the Hops.
There was a Good Mix of people and beer. We sampled beers from Basil T's RB, Cricket Hill, Flying Fish, Gaslight, Harvest Moon, High Point, JJ Bitting, Krogh's, Long Valley, Pizzeria Uno, River Horse, Ship Inn, Triumph, and Tun Tavern. (all their info can be found on www.NJbeers.org)
The one that stood out the most to me was Princeton Jewish Rye Beer from Triumph Brewing Company, the best way to illustrate the taste was of finest rye bread you have ever had. It was cold and crisp. A very good finish also. Once I drank that beer, all I wanted was a good anything sandwich on rye with a lot of mustard.
The Next Beer that stood out was Metuchen Belgian White from Pizzeria Uno Chicago Grill & Brewery. When I first tasted this I wanted to say it was creamy, almost thick even in its texture, but ultra smooth for a beer. Its taste was very unique. I would of liked a bowl of cold fruit, under a shady tree with this beer. My Friend with me said “I remember it being light with a clean finish compared to other Belgian whites…”
When I first had this stout, Red Bank Maxwell's Stout by Basil T's Brewery & Italian Grill , the first thing I asked "is there coffee in this" and the answer was yes, it was what I had been looking for recently. It was not the best beer of the day, but had so much potential in its execution. It’s something I want to develop for my own.
Another beer that stood out but may have suffered from being the 1rst beer, the one that set the bar was Cherry Hill Farmhouse Summer Ale from Flying Fish Brewing Company. It just had a pleasant light taste not much more to say than that
All in all, I can never go back to big commercial beer, and trust me, I tried recently. The quality of the Local Microbrew and Pub Brew beers are uncanny. They leave me only wanting to pour enjoy rinse and repeat.
Support Your Local Brewery!
More info @ www.njbeer.org
Basil T's Brewery & Italian Grill
- Red Bank Maxwell's Stout • Brown Ale• XXX Summer Ale • Rosie's Pale Ale
Cricket Hill Brewing Company
- Fairfield Colonel Blides Bitter • East Coast Lager Jersey Summer Breakfast Ale
Flying Fish Brewing Company
- Cherry Hill Farmhouse Summer Ale • ESB Amber Ale Hopfish IPA • Abbey Dubbel
Gaslight Brewery & Restaurant
– S. Orange Bison Brown Ale • Solstice Ale • Belgian Wit
Harvest Moon Brewery & Café
- New Brunswick Moonlight Kolsch • Double IPA
High Point Wheat Beer Company
- Butler Brewer's Favorites (Ramstein Golden• Ramstein Blonde•Ramstein Classic)
J.J. Bitting Brewing Company
- Woodbridge JJ's Raspberry Wheat • Bierstrasse Hefeweizen Garden State IPA
Pizzeria Uno Chicago Grill & Brewery
- Metuchen Belgian White • Pale Bock• Ike's IPA • Gust N Gale Porter
River Horse Brewing Company
- Lambertville Brewer's Favorites (Summer Blond• RH Reserve)
Triumph Brewing Company
– Princeton Jewish Rye Beer ***** • BarreII-Aged Saison Bohemian Pilsner • Bengal Gold IPA
Tun Tavern Brewery & Restaurant
- Atlantic City Hefeweiss • Tun Dark Lager • Apricot Ale
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