Let us take you on a tour of three breweries in Northern New Jersey. Matt and I ventured out on St. Patrick’s Day to visit some new breweries. This was not a planned day at all. We woke up, got some things done around the house and around noon, we decided to head out to try some local breweries.
All three breweries we visited were within 23 miles from our home – some of the closest we’ve visited. If you are in the Northern NJ area (Bergen/Hudson County) this would be a perfect day trip for you.
Our first stop was New Jersey Beer Co. This is not a new brewery, as they have been operating out of North Bergen for about 8 years. It’s crazy that we’ve never paid a visit to a brewery so close to our home. We arrived and were welcomed into the warehouse set up brewery with a tasting bar off to the side. We got comfy up at the bar and started tasting.
As we chatted with the beer pouring gentleman, we soon realized he was a teacher in Matt’s hometown (a town no one really knows about in Central Jersey). He also gave us some great locations and tips about traveling to Greece (which we will be doing in early September). You just never know who will be pouring you some local, craft beers.
We enjoyed 6 pours per flight and some of our favorites were:
- Blood Orange LBIPA
- Garden State Stout
- IMP Chocolate Oatmeal Raisin Stout
If you are ever in the North Bergen area, we highly recommend checking out one of New Jersey’s oldest breweries. #brewdogsofnjbeerco
Our next stop was Jersey City. We started to get hungry so we parked and walked over to Newark Avenue where we were delighted to see an array of restaurants and open stores. The road was blocked off with outdoor seating – a nice surprise in the heart of Jersey City.
We choose to eat at Porta and LOVED our Neapolitan Pizza, olives and salads. We enjoyed two beers with our pizza, Lefthand Travelin’ Light and Revolution Anti-Hero. It was the perfect place to grab a bite to eat before heading to our next brewery.
Just a short walk around the block, we arrived at Departed Soles Brewery. The place was packed and the vibe was a lot of fun! When we ordered up our flights, we were so amazed to see that they were served on tiny little skateboards. This was the first time EVER that we saw a tasting flight like this. I will never forget Departed Soles and their skateboards.
Flights were served with 4 pours so we got two to try 8 different beers. Our favorites were:
- Mod Cup of Soles
- Rick – Rolled Oats Coffee Stout
- Zack – Double Dry Hopped Black IPA
Oh and if you have a fluffy, furry, four legged friend, they are more then welcome! I wanted to snuggle so many dogs that joined us in the tasting room.
Our last stop was on our way home (we love to go to the furthest brewery and work our way home) was Brix City Brewing Company. This was our second visit to this Little Ferry, NJ brewery and I know it won’t be our last time.
The tasting room was packed but we were lucky enough to get a seat at one of their large wooden picnic tables next to their barrels that are racked against the brewery wall! We enjoyed two flights and some of our favorites were:
- Just Another DIPA (double IPA)
- Gloria Belgian Blonde
- Porter Authority
- Get Pitted DDH DIPA (double dry hopped – double IPA)
We hope you enjoyed the first look of our MKUntapped blog series. If you happen to take this little brewery tour, please share it with us and let us know what you think! Be sure to use the hashtag #mkuntapped. If you have a brewery you think we NEED to check out, shoot us an email or message us on social media, we are always up for an adventure!