May 2022 – Jersey Beer Guys…and a Girl

by Tony Iocono

It seems like every day in the state of New Jersey a new brewery is in the act of opening. That is a great thing for the consumer. More places to get a beer and more different and interesting towns to see. One of the underrated parts of visiting a brewery is to see what the town around the brewery has to offer. I have never heard of Waretown, NJ before visiting Oyster Creek Brewery. Located in a strip mall with a variety of shops that include the brewery, a restaurant, a hotel, and even a US Postal Service front. Waretown is known for once having a nuclear energy plant which ceased operations in 2018. Finding these pockets in the state I grew up in are very interesting and an extremely rewarding experience. Looking at the town you are visiting should be a part of any brewery pilgrimage just to see if there is a food source nearby. For those new to New Jersey’s draconian rules, breweries cannot serve food at their brewery with their limited brewing license. So, if you are traveling to New Jersey from out of state or new to New Jersey Craft Beer, do a cursory Google Search to make sure that food is nearby.

Owner/Brewer Kris of Oyster Creek Brewery in Waretown, NJ

Now there are some towns that have a very Main Street USA feel like Pitman, NJ which houses a theatre, a fantastic Ice Cream place, bakeries, restaurants, and little boutique shops plus Kelly Green Brewery. Pitman’s main street used to house two breweries, Kelly Green and Human Village, and they originally only had store in between them. Which raises the question, is craft beer declining in New Jersey? Let’s look at some numbers. New Jersey has roughly 141 breweries in the state. That is good for 21^st most in the country. New Jersey is in the top half of the country in the number of breweries it has within the state. The number of New Jersey breweries grew from 90 total breweries in 2017 to 141 breweries in 2021. That is a 56% increase in the number of breweries in 5 years. However, from 2019 to 2021, the amount of New Jersey breweries grew by only 5% per year (127 breweries to 134 breweries to 141 breweries). So, the number of breweries opening has tapered off with the COVID-19 pandemic probably having to do a great deal with that. (source: https://www.brewersassociation.org/statistics-and-data/state-craft-beer-stats/)

Kelly Green Brewing located in Pitman, NJ

New Jersey breweries that have closed in the last couple years are Human Village in Pitman, Atco Brewing in Atco, Tomfoolery Brewing in Hammonton, Raritan Bay Brewing in Raritan, Dark City Brewing in Ashbury, and The Referend moved out of New Jersey into Pennsylvania. This is outweighed by all of the new breweries opening which includes Farm Truck in Medford, Behr Brewing in Cape May, Readington Brewery, Newark Local Beer, Twin Lights in Tinton Falls, Whims Brewing (opening in the same location Atco Brewing was at), Stratosphere Brewing in Mt. Holly, Sons of Barley in Woodbury, Brewery 33 in Riverton, Coastal Brew Works in Monmouth, Shoreside in Ventnor, and Tanner Brewing in Haddon Heights. I am sure there are others also in the process of opening but there seems to be a pretty steady growth of breweries within the state of New Jersey.

Whims Brewing opening in the former location of Atco Brewing sometime soon

Let’s move onto actual beer consumption from New Jersians. New Jersey craft breweries created about 213,000 barrels of craft beer in 2021. That ranks 27^th out of the 50 states. The interesting number is that comes out to about 0.95 gallons per 21+ year old adult in the state and that ranks only 46^th out of 50^th in the United States. That means any plus 21-year-old in New Jersey only consumes about 7.8 pints of craft beer per year. That seems extremely low because I know I have drunk more than 8 pints of New Jersey craft beer in one day before. This data is especially surprising when you compare that to our state neighbors Pennsylvania who consume over 10 gallons of craft beer per plus 21-year-old adults (which ranks 4^th in the country). Pennsylvanians’ consumer 10 times the amount of craft beer that New Jersians do. Delaware consumes over 12 gallons of craft beer per plus 21-year-old adults (which ranks 2^nd in the country). New Jersians have just as many reasons to drink as our neighbors from Pennsylvania and Delaware. While New Jersey Craft Beer might not be declining there is a real disconnect from proximity states and how much beer is consumed in those states versus New Jersey. Now is it possible that DogFish Head and Yuengling which are still considered independent craft beer favor heavily into Pennsylvania and Delaware’s consumption and it does not account for how much those breweries ship out of state. The key according to this data is to increase beer growth in New Jersey is to import more people from nearby states. (The data that this pulls from is behind a paywall)

Dogfish Head Logo, located in Milton, Delaware

New Jersey’s Craft Beer scene is incredibly underrated and underrepresented to the US Market. There are few Philadelphia breweries that I consider equal to the best breweries in that state of New Jersey or the best beer communities in New Jersey. Cape May County has 11 breweries that are all good to great including Ludlam Island, Slack Tide, and Gusto. Mount Holly has two breweries in Spellbound and Village Idiot with one on the way plus one of the best Beer Bars in the state in the Local Eatery. You have the towns of Hammonton and Pitman that have everything from the Main Street USA feel with great breweries to restaurants and shops and other stores. There are breweries in North Jersey that you probably never heard of that has great beer and a town you’ve never been to. Go out there and find those towns and beers. Nothing ventured, nothing gained my friends.

Tap Handles of Spellbound and Village Idiot Breweries located in Mt. Holly

So, get out there and elevate these pedestrian New Jersey beer numbers, as Matthew McConaughey said in Wolf of Wall Street, “You gotta pump those numbers up. Those are rookie numbers in this racket.” Plus, do we really want to get drunk under the table by Delaware, I think not.

By Tony Iocono

Beer Festivals SZN is upon us. A festival for rest of y’all. There are a ton of big, small, and medium beer festivals coming up in the next months. Festivals are usually a collection of breweries that meet in one location and pour a selection of beers for consumers. Sometimes there is a theme like Oktoberfest or Dark Beers or sometimes it’s just a conglomeration of like-minded people coming together to experience a multitude of beers in a common location. In this article we are going to discuss how to properly game plan for a beer fest and some upcoming beer festivals in the New Jersey area.

Step 1: Scout

Scout the beer fest website to see what breweries are going to be in attendance. Look to see if there is a site map for the placement of the breweries. For the AC Beer fest there is going to be around 150 breweries there and about 70 from NJ. I would prioritize breweries that are farther away or breweries that you have never had a beer from. This is the best reason for going to a beer fest. You can go to breweries across the region or entire country without leaving your home state. If I do more than 1 session, I would split it up a do all NJ breweries 1 session and all other breweries another session. Which segways us into our next step.

Me and two of my co-workers at the 2019 Ac Beer Fest

Step 2: Take advantage of multiple sessions

The AC Beer Fest and most beer fests have more than 1 session or a VIP package that gets you commemorative glasses and gets you into the beer fest earlier with certain breweries offering a rare beer. I suggest you pay out the extra $10 to $15 it costs to get in early. This will also help you spread out the alcohol over an extra hour. Anytime I have had the VIP ticket it has always been worth it. There is less foot traffic getting into the venue and easier to get to the breweries you want to get to. One beer fest that does a tremendous job of showing the consumer the layout and what beers are going to be in attendance is Summer Swelter Beer Festival in Pitman by Adam Mazzola and his team. One to two weeks before the festival, you know what breweries will be there, what beers they are bringing and what the VIP beer is. The VIP beer is usually a one off for that event meaning its brewed special for that event or has not debuted in that brewery’s tap room yet. (Note to Adam: we need Summer Swelter to be a two-day thing next year).

Cru Jones from Vinyl Brewing at Summer Swelter Beer Fest in Pitman, NJ

Step 3: Hydrate and don’t fill up on food

This may seem counter intuitive but despite being a ton of great food options at beer fests don’t fill up on food and do not go on an empty stomach. Hydrate with water during the day. Eat nutrient rich foods during the lead up to the beer fest like fruits and salads or unsalted nuts. Salty food pairs well with beer but it dehydrates you. So, if you do eat salty foods, drink some Salt and Sea from Flying Fish or SeaQuench from Dogfish Head, they have electrolytes in them and are basically alcoholic Gatorade. Trust me, I’m a man of science.

Step 4: Dress for the occasion

Beer Fests are usually outside, and this year AC Beer Fest is as well along with Summer Swelter, Manahopkin in Manahawkin, and Pints in the Park in Washington Twp. Atlantic City Beer Fest runner Jon Henderson said to wear comfy shoes and I would 2^nd that as well. Wear a hat and sunscreen. Dress comfortably and show off your favorite podcast or breweries shirt in the process.

Step 5: Bring Tums, you will thank me later. If you don’t have any. Look for me. I carry enough for an armada of humans.

Downbeach Seafood Festival in September 2022

Step 6: Know your limit

Beer Fests are the best and but if you feel like you are going to puke, stop drinking. It is no fun to be the babysitter for someone.

Step 7: Know your exit

Know how you are getting home whether it’s an uber or cab or a designated driver. Do not drink and drive. It’s not cool or smart.

Maple Shade Beer Fest is this weekend at Dr. Brewlittle’s

Step 8: Get out of your comfort zone

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. So how do you find out about yourself, you try new things. This is the perfect time to try styles of beer you normally would not and try new breweries or breweries that you were maybe not crazy for. Even if you do not like a brewery the first time you go, you should really go back 6-12 months later to see if they improved their beer and processes. Beer Festivals allow you to do this but without driving to the individual brewery. Also, ask the brewery person about their beer and what their taproom is like. Talk to people from the breweries and converse about the beers and what you may like and not like. Come up and talk to the podcast people or the people serving the beer. They are extremely passionate about this industry and the liquids that they serve.

Jersey Beer Guys Podcast at Summer Swelter

Step 9: Have fun

Go have fun. Be with people. Pound beers. Eat food. Celebrate. Beer Festivals bring people together in a combination of hops, water, malt, and human innovation. The camaraderie between each other and the times we share is what make the lasting memory. Without the memories, we have nothing as humans and are just animals waiting to die. Cherish the moments with friends and strangers alike.

Here are some Beer Festivals that are coming up.

May 14^th – Maple Shade Beer Festival at Dr. Brewlittles