Tony Iocono

There is nothing like a 75 minute drive to Cape May County on a crisp Winter morning. Something about the lack of traffic and the excitement about drinking new beers with old friends. Cape May County is a hotbed of new breweries with 11 in its limits. Ludlam Island, Slack Tide, Avalon Brew Pub, Bucket Brigade, Coho, Mudhen, 7 Mile, Cold Springs, Cape May, Gusto and the brand new addition, Behr. This was my first beer podcast in almost 5 months and I was oddly nervous at the prospect of talking to people about beer. I was accompanied on this day trip by my wife along with Rob and Amy from the podcast.

Gusto is located at the Ends of the Earth, aka, the tip of Cape May. The southernmost brewery in New Jersey, a couple of blocks from bayside in a quaint yet unassuming strip mall. The term “Ends of the Earth” was coined by Rob during the podcast, who also mused that it would be a great name for a beer. Once we entered the brewery, my wife was immediately drawn to the available merchandise of shirts, sweatshirts and handmade coffee mugs. There was merchandise for all tastes, styles and ages. We were immediately greeted with a warm hug from owner and self described “Cellar Monkey”, Zach Pashley. Our fearless leader Rob scheduled the podcast for 12pm thinking that the brewery would not be too crowded when Gusto opened. Spoiler alert for the episode, we were wrong. A giant bus of people filled the taproom as Rob was setting up the equipment. While this was not ideal for recording purposes, it speaks to how far the brewery has come in 3 short years and how it is viewed by the beer drinking community.

I first met Zach and head brewer Dan Petela about 6 months after they opened Gusto while doing my old podcast, Two Brewthers. It was during the summer of 2019 and we scheduled the podcast during the afternoon on a weekend. The brewery might have had only 3 other people in it during the podcast. To go from empty in the summer to standing room only in the dead of winter in a short times speaks to the quality of the beer and the atmosphere being served. One thing that has not changed in that time are the beers that Zach and Dan were cranking out. I remember being blown away by the eclectic tap list in 2019 that featured both and English Mild, an Extra Special Bitter, a dry-hopped lager, a saison and a diverse set of IPAs that included a Black IPA, a milkshake IPA and a west coast IPA.

Fast forward to the present day and Gusto’s tap list is still as eclectic as ever. In fact, the only beer that was still on the current list was the ESB, Whirling Dervish and the first beer that Gusto canned. Part of their ethos is to have fresh and new beer experiences for each customer without the constructs of having a true flagship and they deliver that in spades. The first beer I had was a 10 ounce pour of their oat lager aptly named Logger. Logger is in the Crispy Boy category. Smooth and crisp yet with a nice body and mouthfeel from the flaked oats in the grain bill. This beer is sure to please all the people who drink mainly macro light beer to the craft head crazies. I followed the Logger with another lager, this time with Gusto’s Schwarzbier (German for black beer) named Waiting in the Sky. Zack went in to detail about the crafting of this beer during the podcast including the side pull tap that allows the beertender to be able to control the amount of CO2 and head that is on the beer itself. Waiting in the Sky was a rich yet not heavy beer that gave intense chocolate notes with zero bitterness.

Following the Scharzbier, I was razzed for not yet ordering an IPA by my wine-like aged podcast mates due to my millennial standing. Enter Disco Flip, and Imperial West Coast IPA checking in at 8.5% abv. This was the best beer on the day despite everything else being top notch. Disco Flip was true to the style, hoppy and dank with a great body and citrus and tropical fruit aplomb. There was no heavy bitterness or overly strong negative flavors that sometimes hamper the West Coast style. If this was ever West Coast IPA, there would not have been an explosion of NEIPAs (which I love) due to how drinkable and how the abv is so expertly hidden. Keeping up with IPAs, I had a 4 oz pour of their Where the Creatures Meet, a beautifully bright and hazy IPA. It was extremely lemon forward and had a candied fruit sweetness to it but somehow soft enough to drink all day. If you would have told me that was a Tired Hands beer, I would have believed you. Zack told us they had a triple IPA in the brite tank getting ready to be canned called Then the Walls Began to Speak. He poured us a small taste and it was pure witchcraft. 9.5% ABV and quintessential danger beer. It had a pillowy mouthfeel that packed a punch of grapefruit juice and creamy hoppiness without any hop burn or acidity that is usually synonymous with high ABV IPA. I love that the beer names sound like they are from a Taking Back Sunday album or Tony Hawk video game trick.

Beer is not the only thing that Gusto delivers on. Some breweries have great beer and some breweries have a great atmosphere. Gusto encompasses both. The party bus that flooded the taproom was unexpected but really made the experience for a beer seeker truly unique, like it was a party. That does not fully capture the excitement that was within Gusto that cold winter day and that eclectic feel does not stop there for the customer. Gusto has two of the most unique and oddly fitting bathroom decors featuring Star Wars and Wes Anderson movies, It is as wholesome as you can get, Gusto and the Gusto family has some of the top beers in Cape May County and is easily the most underrated in NJ. Even if I had to drive to the Ends of the Earth to get this beer, I would.