What to do with a Monday in New Jersey.

Check out Tapestre in Somerville. Small craft beer bar/restaurant. Also Northside Lounge in Manville (a couple miles from Somerville) has good beers on tap.

Super Saver Liquors on Rt. 22 in Somerville has a good selection of brew.

Carton Brewery is only about 40 minutes from Somerville. Worth a visit. Check their FB page for hours.

 

Driving into Philly from there with an optimal time it would take you 1.5 hours. Realistically you'd probably be looking at a little longer than that. You could drive to one of the outlying train stations and take the regional rail into Philadelphia, but that would probably take even longer. New York would be your closest "big city" venture if you wanted to do that. Unfortunately for you, the two best breweries in the area to drive to (Carton and Kane) are closed on Mondays. I was about to suggest you take the longer drive to Tired Hands but they too are closed on Monday. I will leave it up to some NJ locals to recommend some spots for you to hit up. You also could drive to Triumph and River Horse breweries (don't know their hours though).

 

Sadly Carton and Kane are both closed Mondays. That said, there's actually a decent bottle shop right on Rt. 22 in Somerville, Super Savor Liquors. They have a lot of craft, just check bottle dates on the ones that you should. The other NJ bottle shop I always suggest is Marketplace Wines and Spirits in East Brunswick.

 

I used to live in that area about 8 years ago so take my recommendations with a grain of salt as much has changed over time

Brew Pubs - both were very good last time I was there:
http://www.harvestmoonbrewery.com/ Harvest Moon Brew Pub in New Brunswick
http://www.triumphbrewing.com down in Princeton

Bottle Shops:
Oak Tree Discount Wines & Spirits in South Plainfield - Not too far
Heard about Wine World in East Brunswick but never been there
Was at Marketplace Wine and Spirits about a year ago and it was disappointing even though it has a solid rating on BA

I'm sure others can offer more info too!

 

You're free all of Monday? I'm not personally interested in PtE, but I'm sure I, or others, would definitely be willing to trade with you for other RR or West Coast stuff.

 

Just so you know, you're coming into the general area out of the entire East Coast that gets Russian River distribution (i.e. Philly). While those aren't really consistently easy to get, they're available. That said, someone might want to take you up on them. Whip out a Beat and I bet you'll have instant luck.

 

And as always, I'm a pimp for www.pubquest.com, my travel bible for breweries / brewpubs when on the road.

 

Tapastre in Somerville is good place to eat and grab a few different beers.

Do you have any particular beers from this area that you're interested in?

 

Unfortunately Tapastre is closed on Mondays. The other suggestions are right on. I would recommend going to Triumph in Princeton. Not earth shattering beers, but a cool place and Princeton is nice to check out. The Office in Bound Brook right next to Somerville has a good beer list and if you're into football not a bad sports bar to watch the game. Nothing crazy but ok. You could check out Superbuyritwine in North Plainfield. Bottle shop with some growlers.

 

lol when isn't Tapastre closed. I like that place but they have some weird hours.

 

Nothing good in Jersey is open on Mondays

 

Stirling Hotel is great, about a 25 minute drive from Somerville. Friendly atmosphere, good rotating draft list, and excellent food. Not far from the Somerset Hills Hotel Tap Room, which always has a nice selection, although they have been undergoing renovations so I can't speak to the current atmosphere.

The Office in Bridgewater is a few minutes down the road. Good beer, but the food is lousy. Northside in Manville is only a few minutes away, usually has a pretty good draft list, neighborhood bar atmosphere.

In Somerville, since Tapastre will be closed, Verve on Main St. in Somerville across from the courthouse is probably about the only option to get a decent beer. The selection is not huge, and it is expensive, but it's a cool place.

 

Within an hour of you is Weyerbacher in Easton PA, which opens at noon on monday. Then on the way back hit up Free Bridge wine and spirits http://www.beermenus.com/places/2477-the-wardell-pub-freebridge-wine-and-spirits Always have a decent tap selection and they should have Carton Boat Beer & 077xx in cans.

In the area of somerville, Decent bottle shop is Petrocks in Hillsborough http://www.petrocksliquors.com/.
As stated before Super Saver has great selection.

Bars: The office in bridgewater Okay food and decent beer selection http://www.beermenus.com/places/8008-the-office-beer-bar-and-grill-bound-brook
Chimney Rock Inn is down the street from the Office and okay beer selection but great thin crust pizza.
Down 22 is Nik's Wunderbar Great beer selection and beer manager is awesome http://www.beermenus.com/places/12261-nik-s-wunderbar

This area is not the best but you can find what you need. Just used Beermenus.com & Untappd and should be able to find what something for the night.