Brix City Brewing

 

Happy Gate Night (Cabbage Night, Mischief Night, Devil’s Night, Goosey Night, Tick Tack Night, Hell Night, whatever, wherever you are; I’ll get to the eggings later). I had just seen that Tony had posted he was here 43 minutes ago and thought I’d come and join him for a beers (plural). Ran the 46 drag from the bridge and parked a sweet slander spot, but found he had bounced by the time I arrived (fucker). That’s okay, I still have beer…

Up and in; the fornt doors and windows around them are pasted with brewery stickers. Colorful mural wall lobby area with cushy couch action and push past to the rear room. It’s a long space with worn concrete floors, a black panel ceiling with ductwork, and whiteish walls with hop mural drawn uppers (I like), over windows below to the side and rear, and on the forward wall, a giant wall spanning map of Newark from 1895, with 50+ period brewery locations labeled. It’s kind of badass.

A straight bar on the back wall; wood slat with a poured laminate topped, brick base, & piping foot bar. Seating for 8 on spaced squared stainless stools. Brick base barback counter piece with a 12 non-descript handled barbell tap tower fronting a diamond plate backing, + another 4 to one side on a T-tower, and a dead handpump to the other side. Counter piece standalone to the right holding a crowler crimper & a slushie machine (abomination), over shelved empty crowlers and cupboard space below. The draft selections are listed on hooked slat pieces above the taps in 4 rows of 4 (beer, style, descriptors, ABV, serving size, cost) in alt colored chalkings. And a 4x8 board to the right lists bottle pours, happy hour pricing, & pretzel options (should you need to get your snack on). 2 flats atop, Mets game, Celtics game. And a pair of can coolers behind the bar over to the left corner there (me, pointing).

Pan lamps tracing the bar and out over the floor, and cone lamps on the boards. 9 tables about the room; hightops shared and square, low picnic, and shorty otherwise, plus a single barrel for the standing around. A few shirts hung along a central pillar, and some boxed merch shelving on the floor. A graffiti’d up cold room down past the bar, and the brewery back beyond.

16 beers on tap (Ocean Walker, NE Pale Ale, 6%; Set Break, NE IPA, 7%; Magic Gardens, NE IPA, 6.5%; In Blind Sight, DIPA, 7.5%; Just Another, DIPA, 8%; Carcinization Impulse, NE DIPA, 8%; Mango Jams, Milkshake DIPA, 8%; Triple Swirlpool, Milkshake DIPA w/blackberry, orange, & coconut, 8%; We Goin’ Sizzler, Milkshake DIPA w/watermelon & lactose, Twin Elephant Brewing Co collab, 8%; #Propervasebeer, NE TIPA, Pretentious Beer Co collab, 10%; Total Unconsciousness, NE TIPA, Alternate Ending Beer Co collab, 10%; Effects Horizon, Czech Pils, made for Eventide Audio’s 50th Anniversary, 5.5%; Slings & Arrows, ESB, 5.5%; Gloria, Belgian Blonde, 5.5%; Peanut Butter Authority, Porter, 7%; Fruitastic Voyage, Gose w/lactose, Fleur de Sel, guava, strawberry, & lemon, 6.5%).

2/3 of this list are on the IPA spectrum and most of them milkshake or hazy. The remainder are Czech Pils, ESB, Belgian Blonde, Porter, & Gose. The NE DIPA & Gose are both done up with (dirty) Lactose as are the 3 Milkshake IPAs. FFS!

Started with the Slings & Arrows ESB, which was fairly well done. Took a taste of the Peanut Butter Authority Porter and thought better than to do a full pour (the Porter Authority is my go-to here but this is just too much on the Peanut Butter front). Moved to the Effects Horizon Czech Pils which was quite nice, served in a dimple mug (apparently, there was a Festbier up before that). One more before I go. Took a taste of the Ocean Walker NE Pale Ale and hazy, no, bro. Tried the Fruitastic Voyage Gose, and the Lactose took over, so not for me. Settled on the Gloria Belgian Blonde, fruity esters, Belgian candy sugar, all that, a nice beer. I’m thinking Pils & Blonde for the wins, but normally I’d play Porter.

Rolled in again recently after work for another look in on. Still too much NE IPA, Milkshake IPA, & kettle sour nonsense leaving me only a small portion of the list to drink from, but that is the house. Well, the Porter Authority, Porter, 7%, is up, anyway, hooray! Nice dark chocolate notes, roasty, good body. Now the Ciao Bella, Italian Pils with Saphir, 5.2%, crips, dry, tasty. What’s next? Gloria again, listed as a “world award winning Belgian Blonde”. It won the world, the whole fucking world (apparently it took a Bronze medal at the world beer cup last year). It’s a nice Belgian Blonde. And now the West Coast Gold, WC IPA, 7.1%. well I can see through it, that’s a plus, light bitterness, citrus, not too shabby. Porter Authority for the win.

Like I’ve said, there’s a small amount of stuff I can drink here but it’s good for those I do.

Industrial kinda area, mid sized to larger box of a building. Just off the main road and not far south of the GWB.

Outdoor space up and running during my cover visit, friendly and low key staff, groovin to on the louder side jam bands tunes...gotta love a place rocking Jerry Garcia Band jams on a pleasant and sunny Friday afternoon. Tables and bar area available as well inside.

They are pumping out high quality and quite worthy NEIPA as well as a bunch of other flavors of tasty beer, available for on premises or carry home in tall cans enjoyment....no problem getting a nice mix of cans to go and every one was great...hazy/juicy NEIPA seemingly an appreciated focus........worthy spot..high quality brew

Located in a light industrial area interspersed with residential housing, Brix City was a nice spot to share some well crafted beers. Arriving at the 12 o'clock opening, the place quickly filled up, mostly groups of young couples and families. The service area is long, perhaps 25', and the service staff friendly, knowledgeable, and solicitous. From a dozen offerings, I tried a range of the "flagship" brews, IPA, DIPA, porter, and Belgian pale, which were generally at least very good. The Belgian Pale Ale was the standout, but you have to like them. Oldest brewery in Bergen County, NJ. Will definitely be back.

Located in your typical NJ industrial looking area, I snagged one of the few parking spaces out front. The tasting room is large, open, and loud. The bartender was playing great selection of hard rock tunes (Rage Against the Machine, At the Drive-In, A Perfect Circle, Deftones) at a VERY high volume. I loved it but understand others may not. The working area of the brewery is located all the way off to the right, but was noisy enough in its own right. Case in point, not the place to go to enjoy a quiet pint.

Nice selection of brews on tap, about 10-12 different offerings. Many of which were available in cans to go. Growler and crowler fills were available too. I started off with Time Turns Elastic, a Phish song and also their Pilsner. Very fresh tasting with a firm bitterness. I then went with a Porter Authority, their Porter. Again, it was fresh, bitter, and tasty. Both were served in a nonic pint glass.

Bartender was attentive and friendly, chatting it up with a few regulars. It could have used a few stools at the bar, but there were picnic tables available for sitting. I especially enjoyed the map of 1895 Newark with a list of all of the breweries located there at that time. Cool place, I'll be back again.

 

 

 

 

Brix City epitomizes the industrial vibe. Located in an industrial area of Little Ferry, the tap room is light and airy with lots of interesting artwork, including an amazing map of Newark, the original "Brick City." The crowd of loyal patrons can be boisterous and at busy times be prepared to wait on line for a pour. That said, the service is friendly and the beer is very good. It's a great brewery experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The vibe is pretty low key here but thought it was a pretty cool spot. The service was really friendly, we talked or a while about brewing and such. The selection was pretty good and was impressed with their "Just Another IPA". It doesn't score very high but I really liked it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stopped in yesterday for the first time to check out the brews, the facility, and to have drinks with a few friends. First things first, I wish Joe, Pete, and the crew nothing but the best. It's great to have new craft beer options in North Jersey and these folks are paying a pretty penny to do business in this area.

Tasting room space is very comfortable with high ceilings, plenty of standing room, and roughly 6 indoor picnic tables for seating. The facility is clean (new) and decorated well enough. Lots of diamond plating behind the wood top bar and a very nice hop logo around the top trim of the white walls.

The beers are clean....no off flavors and some pretty nice flavor profiles thus far. KTK DIPA was tasty, Chuck Bowman BIPA (drinks more like a CDA imho) had a mellow hop profile that worked with the moderate amount of chocolate / roast flavor that comes through. The Session IPA (Cheap Labor) had a nice Mosaic hop flavor. I saw more Cheap Labor and Brews Willis (IPA) being sold while I was there than anything else. Gotta love the American markets current love of hops. Come to think of it, 6 of 8 beers being offered were hoppy!

Servers (UPDATED 8.1.15) are friendly, are getting more organized each time I return, and hopefully will gain more beer knowledge over time.

Selection was 8 house offerings on draft and available in tiny free sample cups, 4oz tasters, and larger pours. Prices were very reasonable. For example, my full pour of KTK DIPA was only $4

I took a tour of the facility with one of the owners/brewers Joe. Seemed like a very friendly and likeable guy who is passionate about what he is doing. Brewhouse is a psycho brew nano system (5bbl) paired with a handful of 10bbl fermenters and 2x 10bbl brite tanks. Facility also has plenty of space to allow for the operation to grow, which is great.

All in all this is a very welcome addition to the area, they've created a good vibe, and the areas where they can improve shouldn't be too difficult for them to improve. I'll definitely be back and look forward to watching them grow. I also noticed what looked like a nice outdoor seating cafe on the corner next to the brewery. Might be a nice food option for before or after visiting the brewery.

 

 

 

 

 

Was there for the grand opening on Friday, May 15th. There was already a good crowd when I arrived around 6:45. There was plenty of room to hang out - picnic tables, lean against the bar, walk around... The bartenders were quick and more than happy to assist - you did not have to wait long at all for a beer. Their prices are excellent. The beer is really solid. I got their KTK DIPA to go in a growler (with two tulip glasses) and it was a bargain for the quality of their DIPA. I wasn't able to stay long, but will most certainly be back and will certainly be a regular - both growler fills and to hang out and drink. So happy to have a brewery with a neat tasting room right around the corner from me.

If you are in North Jersey, check it out. If you're in Central/South Jersey, Westchester, Philly, etc... It's worth a day trip.