Troon Brewing

I appreciate Alex's communication. Troon is a unique and wonderful establishment and they're working hard to increase production without sacrificing quality.

 

I'd definitely concur with this start off at Kane and work your way back, to me they make the best beers around this area. Troon is very good too, I've only been twice but frustratingly the last time I went after grabbing lunch at brick farm tavern and trying their beers Troon itself was randomly closed at 2PM on a saturday. checking their instagram is paramount as others have mentioned. We went to the referend after this last trip to BFT/closed Troon and I found their beers to be incredibly disappointing. I drink sours and lambics a fair amount and found their stuff to have off flavors (think hay/barn-yardy and not in a good way) and they weren't that sour. Personally I wouldn't go back to Referend, my point: I'd prioritize Kane and Troon. Its also worth throwing out that Carton is also a bit North from Kane (about a half hour drive) and many people consider Carton and Kane be the best breweries in NJ. Hope any of that helps...

 

I think they are doing a good job with a difficult style, you do realize the beers are spontaneous fermented? They aren't meant to be "that sour" no lacto/pedio bombs etc.

I have not picked up any "off" flavors, maybe some that i haven't liked but nothing off

Referend is a unique spot that some will live, some will hate and some will love. I highly recommend if you like spontaneous beers to check them out and if not, still check them out and maybe find a new style of beer to try, nothing else like it in our general area.

 

I hear you and agree, the brewery actually had a chill vibe and was nice to hangout there, it was just a shame that I didn't really like any of the 5 beers they had on offer, I'd say 1 of them was ok. I think that's why I was so disappointed, I really like lambics and was excited to have some1 producing them nearby but I just wasn't impressed at all. Maybe my expectations were slightly too high but other lambics also do spontaneous fermentation and I love them. Maybe I just don;t like their interpretation of the style, maybe they need a little more time to age their beer? Who knows, for whatever reason I didn't like it.

Maybe its just a broader issue as well with saturation of the market, there's a ton of breweries opening up all over and you are obviously going to compare their offerings with other beers and breweries of that style that you really like. The lambics/sours I have in my fridge currently are russian river, cantillon, captain lawrence then some other stuff like saisons from HF and Tired Hands, that's what I judge and lambics or sours I have against. I also love me some Victory sour monkey as well. But more broadly we are all doing this when we go and check out a newer brewery, you're always going to compare their IPA or pale ale or whatever they have against some of your favorite beers or even regular beers that you buy and decide whether you are going to buy some of their beer to take home and if you are going to come back, or not.

 

The only bad thing about Referend is their pricing.

 

anything aged in barrels is not going to be cheap.

 

yeah they don't have other beers to offer so you pay a premium for the 4-5-6 oz pours.. i have no clue how much those glasses hold

 

Wow, communication and honesty. How refreshing.

 

I just hope they are open today since I will be in the area and it's normally an hour and fifteen minute drive.

 

I very much agree and was disappointed with my visit to Referend. Its a unique space and I'm comfortable with the pricing, but the beer was not good. The fact that the style is difficult to make does not offer a free pass to obvious off flavors.

My wife and I enjoy sours and wild ales, from very sour to mildly tart. We both agreed that they missed the mark and we did not finish our beers. There were long lines for the bottle release when we were there so obviously some people are enjoying their point of view.

Back to the topic of Troon, I was hoping to visit them during the same trip to Referend, but it was unclear what to expect with their hours or availability of the beer. I hope they sort it out because I'm interested in trying their beer. I know that smaller breweries will run into issues from time to time and good customer service can help to make up for the shortfalls, but it is poor hospitality to leave customers confused about your hours.

My post has been more negative than I would like, but NJ beer has a long way to go to creating a positive customer experience in addition to producing good beer. In some regards our local laws inhibit a positive customer experience, but that shouldn't be an excuse. I'm looking forward to the industry to continue and grow and develop within NJ, but breweries need to be held to a higher standard if they are going to flourish in the long term.

 

I think that's a little unfair. Troon's only 'issue' is that they are so popular, they cannot keep up with demand. Brick Farm has more open hours than your average brewery in NJ, if your only aim is to taste Troon beers.

Personally I don't feel like this is an issue. Breweries get constant feedback and are absolutely aware of any quality and consistency issues that arise (hello Magnify and Bolero Snort). Truly high-quality breweries like Carton and Kane pump out large quantities of extremely well-respected beer. Everybody else is still growing.

 

There has been confusion in the thread about their hours and wondering what beer will be available. I don't know if it is unfair to expect better communication in that regard. Also, maybe my aim is beyond the beers and have a peak at their space and talk to them about their beer.

This is true in some regard, but there was someone else who commented that the beer style Referend makes should be given more leeway because it is difficult to produce. I disagree with that sentiment.

Also, I think more breweries need to consider customer experience that goes beyond beer quality and some criticism is fair in that regard. For example, Carton is good about trying to avoid excessive lines at their brewery with new releases. That's good hospitality.

 

The only confusion expressed within this thread is regarding release days. There's been a few changes since the introduction of crowlers in how Alex communicates availability. A shift from instagram to the Troon web page. Not everyone has caught on or adapted yet. There's also been more interest in Troon's beer and as such they've sold out more frequently. And when that's happened there's been ample communication warning people that the brewery itself is closed.

That said if person wants to drink Troon's beer they can walk right into Brick Farm tavern most days and nights of the week as well as all weekend. Their posted hours are consistent and accurate.

Regarding wanting to see the space and talk to them, Troon is a two person operation that's only open on release days. Alex and Tom are quite amiable. But there's just no way to predict when they have time to talk. It's all dependent on the flow of customers. And it's been flowing non stop lately.

 

The point of the silent releases is to not drive up hype, and ultimately put the beer in the hands of more folks. I'm positive it will not be their business plan looking farther ahead, but it's a necessary thing for where they are right now and how much interest there is in their product.

Further, I totally understand regarding wanting to see the space, especially considering Alex is one of the most genuine, humble people I've ever met. But all they want to do is brew enough beer to keep up with demand, and as a 2 man operation they don't have time to keep hours open beyond when they're selling beer for now.

That's fair as long as your comment was based in real off flavors and not simply just not enjoying their take on the style. I haven't noticed specific brewing errors in any of the Referend beers I've tried, but I've only liked 2 or so of them.

Agreed. Although, sadly, they seem to be the exception, not the norm. I hope that changes.

 

While I don't see a new post on instagram, it does appear the "header" has been updated to confirm this weekend's hours of operation, including from 5-7PM today.

 

Must be something amazing and he is keeping it a secret!

 

I have off today and my trip was cancelled, so I think im going to try Troon out for the first time. This is exciting

The brewery accepts plastic right?

 

Yeppers

 

My only issue Troon's sporadic hours is that it makes it harder for me to plan a visit and just have whatever Brick Farm might have. It just means I'm leaving empty-handed and I'd rather at least bring a growler or two back home, especially since he's had beers at Troon that weren't on tap at Brick Farm.

I'm patient though, I can wait until he's back up to speed. But he might want to consider just being there Friday and Saturday and cutting out Sunday altogether. I'd rather have set Troon hours every week, even if it's at the cost of a Sunday, then just having to keep up every week. Sometimes you need to add by subtracting.