Jersey Shore Beer Tour

Kane is the best out of all of those hands down, they're probably the best overall brewery in the state.

 

We did a similar thing in October. Kane has easily the best beer. We did not find it to be a welcoming place to sit and have a beer but maybe that was just us, or an off day. Got some great beers there but mostly to go.

Icarus is a must for what you are looking for. While in that area get some food from Bacoli Pizza. The Grandma pie was out of this world.

Dark City has the styles you want but we personally did not enjoy anything in our flight. And the neighborhood, though not far from Kane or the boardwalk, definitely felt sketchy. But YMMV.

Assuming you are not doing anything south of the AC Expressway. Some good stuff there too. Ludlam Island, Mudhen and 7 Mile all worked for us, though the styles were a bit more traditional that day.

 

agreed on Kane, I'd de-empahasize or eliminate dark city... Carton would be a better choice, only problem is it is a good 30 mins from Kane and co.. so if you are looking for proximity over quality, DC makes more sense.

 

Cape May Brewing Company, if you get down that far.

 

Carton's lineup right now is a murderer's row.

 

Conclave is great, they just produce so little and a bit far from me, but are about to open a new facility and taproom would should give them a big exposure boost.

I agree the vibe in Kane's taproom is a bit lacking, better when its nice out and bay doors open. when were you last there to experience mostly Belgian styles and West Coast IPAs? Overhead is perhaps only WC type IPA I can even think of they produce...(i'm sure there are a few others that escape me, but they are rare). Even Belgian syles are rare, at least having more than 1-2 on tap at one time...

 

Haven’t been in a bit but Bradley Brew Project had some solid IPAs last time I was there.

Also just to add my 2 cents on Icarus, they are making some really good NE ipas, possibly the best out of the breweries on your list (might be controversial since Kane is highly regarded, but I’d give the edge to Icarus there.) They really don’t seem to be talked about much on here for some reason but since you mention NE ipas specifically, that place is a good choice.

 

I think Icarus has better NEIPAs, but Kane has better overall beer/selection at the brewery. The stouts at Icarus don't match, and Kane even has a coolship now if that's your thing.

 

Yeah but their stouts, in fairness, usually are sweet by standards of 2010 or what-have-you. Places like other half make much sweeter stouts comparatively, so odds are you'll be ok whatever weekend you go to have some dark beers that aren't super sweet. There's also a Wegmans right by Kane. I haven't been in that one, but in NJ they usually have large REFRIGERATED sections of NJ/NY beer, so I know people mention Carton/Cape May/Tonewood... Might be worth checking what they carry of those breweries. Cape may is more West coast IPA and tonewood is NEIPA/wcipa hybrid. Check can dates, but usually they're very good about that, and now get consistently fresh industrial arts, including torque wrench too. So depending on your budget, if you by some chance haven't had those breweries including IA wrench/torque wrench you really should, even though I know that falls outside the purvue of NJ brew tour.
Agreed with the dark City take. They have plenty of kettle sours but I wasn't really impressed by them overall so they're a conditional "go to" recommendation if kettle sours are important.

 

You're not going to hit the Jersey shore traveling West from Yardley

 

Given the styles you are looking for I would absolutely try to hit Carton, especially with what they have right now.

Kane is easily the best of the bunch. You're already hitting Icarus. I too would swap out Dark City and hit Bradley Brewing instead for a brewery that is much better and also super close to Dark City and therefore only about 10 minutes from Kane.

 

I would add that if you do go to Kane you might as well go to Jughandle. I’m not a huge fan but they’re really close and their stuff is good enough for a stop. Or not. I recommend Carton over other places as well.

 

I liked Jug Handle, but it was over two years ago that I was there. That day we hit Kane, Carton, Jug Handle and Vault. Jug Handle was my favorite beer wise.