Every September this Gal heads down to beautiful Cape May, New Jersey for a fun filled weekend with the family. In recent years this annual trip has come to include a stop at Cape May Brewing and this year was no exception. However, also included was a stop at Tuckahoe Brewing Company.
Tuchahoe is set back a ways in a rural warehouse area – very easy to miss but no worries it can be found. The outside is a non-descriptive warehouse and the inside is tiny. As soon as you walk in you’re front and center in the tasting room. There’s a small bar that seats maybe 6 people to the left, a high top table for 4 and picnic bench area to the right.
On this particular day the beer offerings were slim – only 3 beers on tap. I believe there are usually more offerings but think there may have been some sort of problem with the lines this particular day. Not real sure what was going on but went for the $5 taster round of the 3 beers on tap.
Wit
Marshallville Wit 4.8% – This Gal does enjoy Wits so I was looking forward to this offering. It had the yeasty cloudy appearance I associate with a wit along with the lemon/citrus flavors hints of cloves but there was also a strange soapy taste to it as well.
Holly Beach Pumpkin Ale 7.4%
Right away there was a good hit of spices but not much pumpkin flavor. I consider this beer more a fall ale rather than a pumpkin ale. Unfortunately, there was a strange after taste on this beer as well.
Porter
Steelmartown Porter 6.5%
The woman who handed us the taster of these said, “it’s smells good but that’s all”. This beer does have a good robust roasty nose but follows it up with a pleasant coffee, cocoa & vanilla taste. The flavor matched aroma. It was the most pleasing of the three beers.
The place was hopping and people were filling growlers yet I did hear a fair amount of grumblings too. In all fairness I feel something was off on the production end and will go back to try it again another day.
A special someone surprised me with a afternoon drive and a pit stop at The Claremont Tavern in Bernardsville, NJ. It was pretty drive and the little town the Tavern is located in is down right cute. It’s plopped in the middle of a residential area and has the old tavern coziness to it with smaller rooms and lots of dark wood. To be able to walk across the street for a beer on snowy evening would make for a wonderful winter night.
The Claremont Tavern isn’t a beer destination but if you’re up that way it’s worth stopping in for a bite and a beer. It offers a nice tap list although a bit small with only seven craft beers on tap. I could see it expanding over time and there is talk about them hosting some beer dinners in the future.I decided to go for a 4 pour taster round. I was a little disappointed to find that out of the seven craft beers offered all but one was either an IPA or Pale Ale. A bit more diversity in styles would have been welcomed. (there are 5 other beers on tap as well but not crafts) That being said there were definitely going to be some hops in the taster round along with one of my favorite porters – Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. The waiter tried to discourage me from ordering the porter – stating it was a dessert beer since it had a coffee taste to it. I assured him I was fine with it accompanying my meal.
To go with the beer I ordered the Veggie and Hummus Club Sandwich which consisted of fresh summer veggies paired with roasted pepper hummus – delish and enjoyable. My companion went with the personal pizza. The menu is diverse, reasonably priced and the portions large enough that we got both had lunch and dinner out of our selections.
L to R: Kona, Great Lakes, Evil, Terrapin
Taster Round:
Castaway IPA – Kona Brewing Company, HW 6%
Pretty hoppy so much so really couldn’t taste anything else going on with the beer except the hops. Not doing it for this Gal.
Edmund Fitzgerald Porter – Great Lakes Brewing, OH 5.8%
A rich black body with a tan head. Wonderful aromas rise up from this porter and the taste doesn’t disappoint. Roasted malt with a very slight burnt/smokiness to it that compliments the roasted coffee and nuttiness that leads to a bittersweet finish. Went back for seconds and ordered a full pint of this gem.
Evil Eye IPA – Evil Genius Beer Company, PA 6%
I found this IPA enjoyable and not overly hoppy with a mix of grapefruit, pine and undertones of malts that finished very smooth. I wouldn’t hesitate to order a pint of this IPA.
Terrapin Hopsecutioner – Terrapin Beer Company, Georgia 7.3%
Fruit, malt and hops contribute to this being a well done medium body, easy drinking beer. Terrapin is working it’s way of my list of favorite breweries – they really just do it right.
Two Nights, 40 Beers sounds like a lot – it was – 40 beers of fun!
A writer for Philly Beer Scene recently posted for help in reviewing beer for an upcoming article. Of course, this gal had to try and be one of the lucky 15-20 folks to garner a spot on the panel and woohoo I was. Two nights, 40 beers!
Not only was it fun getting to try 40 different beers for FREE but being given the opportunity to hang out with some fellow craft beer lovers that I haven’t met before, hear about their beer likes/dislikes and their recommendations for different beer places to visit is always makes for a good time as well.
The tasting took place upstairs at Bottle Bar East – bonus I had never been so got to try out a different beer bar as well.
Night 1
Night 1
First thing – parking. Street parking only folks but I managed to find a spot nearby fairly quickly. (2nd night it took some time but finally snagged a spot). Once I arrived at Bottle Bar East I made my way upstairs to where the tasting would be taking place.
When one first enters Bottle Bar East your eyes are immediately drawn to the cold case displays to the left of the entrance. It’s a beautiful display of individual craft beer bottles for sale. One can take them home or drink them on premise. To right of the entrance is the cashier, straight back are the stairs (that lead to a 2nd floor seating area) followed by a long bar on the right and about 4 to 5 high top tables to the left and the “kitchen” is in back.
I made my way upstairs for the tasting where each table was set up with water and tasting forms. The first night was a blind tasting of 20 beers approximately 15 of them either IPA’s or Pale Ales. For each beer we were told the style and alcohol content but that’s it. Each person had a sheet to jot down a few tasting notes/descriptions plus a score from 1-10 with 10 being the best. For a non hops lover it was a bit of hops overload but I managed. However, towards the end my tasting notes took a nose dive eventually leading to a one word description for one of the beers – No. By this point I was pretty sure hops were sprouting from my tongue. I couldn’t wait for some malty goodness to hit my taste buds. Yards Love Stout to the rescue.
Yards Love Stout
A fellow taster and I made our way downstairs to one of the high top tables. I requested a taster of the Punk’n Harvest Pumpkin Ale – Uinta Brewing Company 4% – light body with good pumpkin flavor but my taste buds required something more full body so I treated them to a little slice of malt heaven – Yards Love Stout – Yards Brewing 5%
Oh my taste buds were so happy to be coated with malts, roasted chicory and chocolate. I enjoyed this malted beauty with the Roasted Vegetable Flatbread that was down right tasty. My taster buddy enjoyed the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich. Side note: sandwiches come with salads since fries are not served at Bottle Bar East. In fact, it would seem there is no deep fryer at all, which I find pretty cool, leading to some different bar menu options.
Roasted Vegetable Flatbread
Night 2
By this point murmurs of speculation as to what the article was about were swirling around with the tasting panel. All we knew for sure was that we really didn’t have a clue. We were told we find out the names of the beers from the blind tasting and what the article is about in a few weeks. Looking forward to both.
Night 2
For night two we were informed of the beer name and style and bottles were put out on display – no blind tasting this time. The styles varied a bit more on night two but still leaned towards hops. Food was available for purchase each night but the folks I shared a table with all agreed that we didn’t want food skewing our judgment of the beer. As we all know a beer on its own vs. paired with food could alter ones judgment of the beer.
Night 2 leaned towards “local” brews. I don’t want to say much more than that since the article hasn’t been published yet. I will say that I was happy when Weyerbacher Merry Monks made an appearance.
By around beer 14 it was obvious some of us were losing steam and short on words to describe the beers but we managed. At this point I was thankful for the wall behind me. Having a wall to lean on is so underrated. By the end of the panel tasting I found myself daydreaming about some malts; so my taster buddy and I headed downstairs to the bar.
BTW – hooks under the bar for hanging ones belongings – love it!
The experience at Bottle Bar East was a bit different on this night compared to the previous evening. Night 1 the service was excellent and very attentive, unfortunately, I can’t say the same for night 2. As a former bartender, I understand wanting to spend some time chit chatting with friends that stop in for a beer but PLEASE remember you have other customers as well. Wait on customers and then chit chat – that is the order. Grrr, pet peeve.
mac n’ cheese
At Bottle Bar East there’s a good varied selection of beer on tap to choose from plus the wonderful selection in the cold case. However, I wanted something on tap, just tried 20 beers and still had a drive home ahead of me so something not real high in alcohol content was preferred so, once again, the Yards Love Stout won. This time I paired it with the homemade Mac & Cheese with asparagus mixed in. This was a wonderful crock of stick to your ribs comfort food!
The 2 night experience was a blast. I got to taste 40 beers, meet new people and try a place I didn’t even know existed – all in all pretty cool! Plus, after 40 beers in 2 nights I was temporarily beered out. Not something that happens often, if ever.
On this particular day the beer offerings were slim – only 3 beers on tap. I believe there are usually more offerings but think there may have been some sort of problem with the lines this particular day. Not real sure what was going on but went for the $5 taster round of the 3 beers on tap.
geekybeergal 