S. Jersey drive through..

If you are reading this today ..Merry Christmas!

This coming Saturday, the wife and I are looking to take a quick jaunt to S. Jersey. My intention is to grab some 4 packs from a couple of breweries, and possibly hit a bottle shop (singles preferred). I'm primarily an IPA guy (NEIPA or WC), while my wife likes Stouts, Porters and milder ales or lagers. I prefer to avoid crowlers due to the limited shelf life.

Coming from Delaware, I was looking at hitting Three 3's in Hammonton, then heading north on 30 to Tonewood in Oaklyn. I have read about those 2 breweries here at BA.. but otherwise, I'm clueless. Are there any other breweries that I should think about hitting on our little trip?

Also, any good bottle shops in the path? I'm looking for Carton (never had them before), and possibly some NEIPA's shipped from NY or Conn.

Thanks!

 

Read the post before I posted my question. Some of those posts are over a year and a half old, I have no clue as to distances, and beer stores haven't really been addressed. Figured get the jump on "newer" news, and other insights.

 

KUDOS to you all for the great info. I'll post back after drinking.. I mean 'sampling' some of these brews. Vinyl sounds interesting, as does Glasstown! It's good my wife has some recommendations to go from as well. I'm not afraid of a good porter myself. Should be a fun time! Thanks!

 

That would be too far south in both states. I live much closer to the bridge.

 

I went through the websites from gardenstatepkwy's post above.. Clayton BM selection looks promising. If Joe Canal's Lawrenceville's page is accurate.. I'm going to need a second trip to NJ, and a Brink's truck.

It's one thing to have that many beers listed.. but disheartening when you get there, only to find out the page is 8-10 month's from the last true update. At any rate, I see that JC's in Lawrenceville is not to far from Yardley, and I'm looking for a silly reason to visit Vault! TY

 

Thank you Joe.. with Rt 30 on my list..it looks like Canals Berlin, is on my list!

 

Due to the snow last Saturday, my wife and I rescheduled for Thursday (I work a lot of weekends). It snowed again. Yesterday (Friday), we ventured out. We left a little after noon, and headed to Clayton Liquors, since Three 3's didn't open until 3PM.

We arrived at Clayton, and immediately found a bunch of brews I would be interested in. Met Raj who asked how he could help. Stayed there over an hour, talking and tasting some of the crowler samples. Raj was the consummate host, extremely friendly and knowledgeable. Walked out with:
Brotherton Green Earth
Industrial Arts Power Tools
Industrial Arts Tools of the Trade
Glasstown Lunch Pale
Glasstown Danky Kong
Singlecut Charlie's Good Tonight

On to Three 3's. Arrived a little after 3. MIke was tending the taps, and was very friendly. We settled on trying a 3 flight (hey, it's Three 3's..). Mike explained the brews, and gave some nice insight into quite a few things. While enjoying the flight (Drenched, Sippy Cut and 101 IPA), he brought over a glass of Drupe. 4 brews, all very good. Wow, a really hard decision if I had to pick a favorite. Impossible on 6 ounces or less (and I was splitting with my wife). We bought a few T3 items, and 2 more 4 packs (Drenched and Bugg Juice).

After a 5 minute drive, we arrived at Vinyl. Matt and Liz holding down the fort. Went for the flight..Speed Freak, Advances in Modern Technology, DOT-Saison (wife requested) and Duplicate Keys-Oat Cream Ale. Stepped across the street for some pizza, and hustled back. Sat at the bar talking to Matt about beer and hockey for most of the visit. I was quite surprised at how much I liked Duplicate Keys.

Tonewood. This did not look like a place to talk with the workers. Packed, and bustling. My wife and I found a couple spots on the bench. I selected Fuego, while my wife wanted to try SIPA. The man and woman tending the customers handled us quickly. Fuego was good, but I think both of us were a little road weary, and possibly suffering a slight case of palate fatigue. I liked the taste, but wasn't pulling much from Fuego. We weren't there to judge, more for the experience. We both babied our beers, stayed for about 45 minutes.

From Tonewood, it was about a 45 minute drive to Yardley, where we rented a room. Quickly checked in and Uber'd over to Vault. Vault was definitely a tale of 2 vibes. Upstairs was the 'dinner' spot with a nice bar and tables, while the downstairs was a more just a bar, and about 8 tables for overflow. It was now after 8PM, and we were a little road weary, and hungry. Andrew and Richie handled us the entire time, and did a great job with beer info. We settled on a sandwich, and then some beer(s). With neither of us driving, so it was almost hammer-time. I had 5C's IPA, India Black Ale and Mosaic Imperial IPA. Unfortunately, the road won out. We got home around 11:30, and called it a night.

Afterthoughts: I know now, I put too much on our plates for a 1 day trip. With all the great breweries popping up in NJ, they'll have to be broken down into areas. For instance, Hammonton. Man, how I wish we had more time at T3's and Vinyl. The beers were very good and they were both great places to hang out. Add to that, there were even more breweries in the local area. Of course I know, that had we gotten at those places later in the evening, we never may have had the chance to talk to Mike, or Matt.. but what the hell, it would be fun!

Final thought: NJ sure has some simple rules regarding breweries. To make us 'tour' the facility, before consumption.. seems rather odd. Most 'craft' consumers know enough already .. but to do that EVERY TIME? To me, this is asinine. It's like the brewery websites asking us if we are old enough. Cheaters gonna cheat.. right?

Thanks again to everyone with your help!

 

100% agree about Clayton. Raj appears to be committed to turning his place into THE go to place in south Jersey for craft beer. When he explained to me that Clayton was originally a bar, with food, and a pool table.. I was impressed! He is doing his best at networking, which should pay off in the long run.