Morristown, NJ advice.

If you want to travel, the best brewery within an hour would be Kane down in Ocean Township but they have limited hours so you would need to check their website. The best bottle shop in the area is probably Liquor Outlet Wine Cellars in Boonton about 10 minutes north of 287 Morristown. If you want a nice beer/bar restaurant, the best ones within driving distance are Cloverleaf Tavern in Caldwell, Morris Tap and Grill in Randolph or Taphouse Grill in Wayne.

 

Liquor Outlet is good, albeit a bit overrated. You won't find anything special on the shelves. All limited releases go out the back door in that place. Bottle King Morris Plains and Livingston are rather close and good options. Cheaper than you'll find anywhere and a nice selection of bombers and 6ers. A little further would be Super Buy Rite in North Plainfield which usually has Kane and Carton on tap for growler fills and some of the best selection in North Jersey. If you had to go to one store, I'd pick that.

Agreed that Climax and Cricket Hill aren't worth the trip. Kane is open Fridays 4-7 and Saturdays 12-5. I believe Carton is the same with Sundays being 12-5 as well. Both are within 20 miles of each other and worth a trip. Carton has a better vibe but Kane has better beer (the best in NJ in fact)

 

Limited releases are definitily hit or miss at Liquor Outlet in Boonton. When they released Doom, I asked for it and they said I have to wait for the guy to put it in the system, come back later. Was told that twice. Came back early next morning and they said it was sold out. But for other stuff like Parabola, they sent out a tweet and it was first come first serve, just had to ask for it. They have a great selection of bombers but not much for mix six packs.

I've hit Bottle Kings in Wayne (OK), Parsipanny (Bad), Randolph (Horrible) but never hit the ones in Morris Plains or Livington. Super Buy rite is a bit of a hike from Morristown. I went to Oak Tree down in Plainfield once based on reviews on here and didn't understand why that place is rated so high. They had very little domestic but pretty nice import section. I've had good luck scoring limited release bottles at Gary's in Wayne (Kane Morning Bell, Captain Lawrence Rosso, w00tstout most recently) but once again, getting a little farther away from Morristown. I believe there is a Gary's in Madison, but haven't been there.

Another brewery probably 90 minutes from Morristown that I am hearing good things about but haven't tried is Peekskill in NY. Heard they have a nice atmospher and some really good beer. A real up and comer from what I've read on the forums.

 

I've been there twice now and love it. Hit there and Rushing Duck this past Saturday. It was an awesome weekend.

 

I got a growler of Rushing Duck War Elephant at Cable Bev in NY and thought it was pretty damn good. Heard of other good stuff by them as well. Wasn't sure where the actual brewery was located, never looked it up.

 

A 20-minute drive will put you in Springfield. Wine Library is one of the best bottle shops in this part of New Jersey (along with Bottle King in Livingston and Super Buy Rite in North Plainfield) with regard to selection. Also, Trap Rock Restaurant & Brewery is nearby in Berkeley Heights. You should definitely sample some of Charlie & Brett's brews!

 

It's about 35 - 40 minutes from Cable up in Orange County (Chester, NY)

 

Maybe I am missing something, but dont they only have 1 small aisle of bottles?
Somerville supersaver has atleast 5 times the amount of good beer as wine library (again, unless I am missing 2 or 3 aisles at Wine Library)

 

There's a wall-stack below the large whiteboard and the end-shelves directly across from there. Two coolers are in the "large bottles" aisle. Another six coolers (or more) line the back corner of the store with end-shelves containing import "small bottles" and a few random stacks across from the coolers.

 

ok, thanks, I saw those but always thought their selection was tiny.

 

There are definitely other bottle shops in the area with much larger selections, but Wine Library definitely goes with "quality over quantity", IMHO.

 

Having to good to Morristown several times a year for doctor visits, I would also recommend Liquor Outlet in Boonton. Another advantage is that it's an easy off and on for Route 287. Further up the highway, Cable would be a good destination if you also wanted to try a NY shop. If you do that, stop at High Point/Ramstein along the way for a growler of one of their draft only lagers ( though Octoberfest isn't usually available to September).

Or you could take 287 South down to Sommerville SuperSaver.

 

Sadly, Morristown has practically no decent options. I'll give you a couple options depending on what your priorities are. Being as you're from Texas, I don't know what kind of transportation you'll have.

If you need to go somewhere as close to Morristown as possible,
1. Bottle King Morris Plains (probably 8-10 min from center of Morristown)
2. Gary's Madison (probably 10-12 min from center of Morristown)

If proximity to Morristown isn't an issue, there's really only 1 option - Liquor Outlet in Boonton. It'll probably take you ~18 minutes from Morristown, but is well worth it.

Lastly, if you need something within walking distance of where you're staying, here's a few options for places you can definitely find a decent bottle or two. Walking distance from the Hyatt: In the Burger King and Panera strip mall by the train station is a little store Midtown Wine Merchant. They by no means are a craft beer store, but they definitely have some quality stuff (you might even be able to find a recent stone collab). If you're staying at the Best Western or Westin, there's a little store on South Street called the Grapeful Palate. They obviously focus on wine but have a VERY small beer selection usually including some decent bottles. Was there midweek last week and saw RuinTen.

If you're staying somewhere else, then you're out of luck bc I've had enough of recommending places for today. Enjoy yourself bud.

 

Anyone heard anything about grapeful palate? They get the Kane bottled offerings but I've never heard anything else about them.

 

No one has really mentioned the closest option for a bottle shop by Morristown which is Gary's in Madison. Their selection is pretty solid and there is not a terrible amount of traffic that hits it so I have found some releases tend to hang around there a bit longer. They do keep limited stuff in the back so you have to ask but I have always had good luck with just asking what (if anything) they have hanging in the back. Last time I was there I got Kane ANTEAD a week or two after its release. Other than that I second Liquor Outlet in Boonton and the recommendation to avoid Cricket Hill...

 

Hey! Small world- I'll be there this weekend as well, visiting family at Fairview Lake about a hour or so north of Morristown. Thanks for getting this thread started so I can get some idea where I can go. Probably will hit Peekskill.

 

Carton and Kane both worth the trip,world class . There are 2 terrific beer stores on RT 18 in East Brunswick( Wine World and Marketplace Wine and liquors on opposite sides of the Highway-Marketplace was supposed to be like the second or third best beer store in the state,no more,very sloppy with there selections and Wine World although not excellant will be so eventually because they are passionate about beer.Joe Canals in Woodbridge is the best store in the state now along with their other outlets.I prefer Wine World.The beer guys love their job.