I used to drink a lot more craft beer. Particularly when I lived in Charlotte and not New Jersey. In North Carolina craft beer is HUGE and I somehow ended up running the beer department while mainly working in the wine department of a boutique grocer (also did cheese but that’s a different story). Had fun learning and now have close to 1,700 beers reviewed on Beer Advocate (handle is farrago). Again, don’t drink much beer now and tend to stick to “old standards” as chasing the fads isn’t personally rewarding. Two-Hearted and stuff like that.
The New Jersey craft beer scene is very hit or miss. To me, more the latter but one’s mileage may vary. Retail stores are FULL of out of date beer and shit that has just generally been sitting there for god knows how long. Plenty of mediocre breweries to visit. But there’s excellent stuff from Kane, Cape May, Carton, Magnify, Two Ton and a few others. Near to me is a small outfit called Twin Elephant. Their beers are great. The place is a bit too cool hipster but whatever. Here’s four I had recently, all purchased at the brewery.
Goro Awaits Japanese Pilsner
5.1%
32oz crowler $17
Big bright white head on the pour, dissipates swiftly. The liquid is a super pale greenish yellow, perfectly transparent decent shine and well-dispersed bubble streams. Nose on the sweet side, quite malty, almost buttery, then notes of saline and pretzel, palpable apricot and peach fruit scents. Medium-bodied, at first seems soft even if the carbonation has so thrust and not too fluffy. For its body and expansive mouth feel retains a good freshness. Fruitier here with juicy lemon notes. More minerally than saline. Even has a lightly bitter finish. Feels like it wraps around your tongue at the end. Very nice, tried eight assorted 4 oz. pours at the brewery and this was the clear winner. Hence the crowler to take home, no 4-packs available.
Nosh Citra & Cashmere (Rotating Hop Series) American Double India Pale Ale
8.2%
16oz 4-pack $18
Decent sized white head, even surface. Super cloudy, basic yellow puree looking. Moderate dankness but it was likely getting long in the tooth, creamy with soft tropical fruits and whipped cream notes, melon, no real sparkle or cut to it. Full-bodied, fluffy and creamy here too, no bite. The melon comes through very strongly. Not getting any citrus, maybe orange creamsicle. No dankness. Long finish, have to wash it out of your mouth. Good but would tired of it after a couple of cans.
Quested West Coast Style India Pale Ale
6.6%
16oz 4-pack $17
Bright white head cresting a bit over one finger, doesn’t sustain long, close to zero lacing. The liquid is more murky than opaque, pale yellow with some fine particulate, lazy dispersed bubbles. Crisp nose of pretzel, salt, and quinine, stiffened further by white grapefruit pith, the apricot, kumquat, mango fruit scents are sedate. For a drier style of IPA it’s on the heavy side, helped by prickly carbonation. Much earthier and more herbaceous here but not a wet, leafy dankness. Very savory. Fruit even less evident here whereas citrus takes a couple of steps forward. Good balance, arguably gets creamier through the finish, especially as warming. 6.6% is respectable too. Very much like it, don’t love it, a style of IPA I need to delve back into.
Zen Fountain + Cherry Berliner Style Weisse
5.0%
16oz 4-pack $17
Meager head, pinkish white like underwear that got thrown in with the colors, no retention. Clear liquid, a sort of light cranberry red, few bubbles and some fine particulate visible. The cherry scents have a maraschino concentration, meaningful undercurrent of grains, cracker, and lemon, on the soft side so it doesn’t “over-penetrate” as do some beers in this category. Full-bodied in a dense manner, it manages to move without feeling fluid. Acidity is high and there’s maybe a hint of brett although I’d call it clean overall. Carbonation better than visually expected. Quite fruity but not as sweet as suggested by the nose. The citrus really lends zip. Straw and wheat, not close to bready. The first half of the can is refreshing then the weight starts to make it harder to drink. If I was outside on a 90 degree day it would likely show differently.
They are about 20 minutes from where I live but hard to motivate to visit when there’s cases of wine in the basement to get through.