… And Brew
I hope everyone had a great 4th of July and a healthy fun celebration. My post today: Red, White and Brew, sharing about how I celebrated the holiday. In keeping with my site’s theme, I put my money where my mouth is and enjoyed a great red NJ wine, a terrific white NJ wine and some great brews at a newly opened brewery in Glassboro: Bonesaw Brewing Co. Truth be told, the story unfolded in reverse order (Brew, White and Red), but that title would not cut it for a Fourth of July themed post.
My 4th of July actually started with a decision to visit a brand new New Jersey brewery I have been eager to visit. They had their grand opening last week, but I previously heard they only had three beers available at that time. Subsequently I learned they now had seven beers to try and enjoy. I am so glad we visited this beautiful new brewery. It is large and very attractive and is already drawing crowds. In addition to the vast indoor tasting area, they have a huge covered, wrap-around patio. You can bring your own food or try the local food truck fare.
The venue is great, but it is the beer that will entice returning customers. Fortunately, the quality of the beers served is very good. I got to taste seven different styles (five ounce pours) with a little help from my wife (sometimes more than a little help).
Brew
- Silver Queen (Cream Ale); 4.7% ABV: A surprisingly tasty beer made with corn. If you are from NJ, I need not say more than Silver Queen Corn. For the rest of you, it is a very popular white corn, that has a bit more sweetness than it’s sibling yellow corn. This may actually have been my favorite. It is an easy drinking beer, but one with a unique and great taste.
- Le Petit Demon (Belgian-Style Blonde; 7% ABV): My runner-up (unfortunately, my wife liked this one, too). Very smooth, classic, Belgian Blonde.
- The IPA Formerly Known as Swoosh (Classically hop-heavy IPA; 7.7% ABV)
- Pummel (German Pilsner; 5% ABV): A summertime quencher.
- ALL Blacked Out (Oatmeal Stout; 5.2% ABV). A light-bodied version with a nice aroma and taste.
- Definition (West Coast IPA; 7.5% ABV): I’m not a fan of this style, but if you like West Coast IPA’s you should like this one, too.
- Black and Tan (Cream Ale with Coffee; 4.7% ABV). Not a true Black and Tan, but rather a hit of Joe with their Silver Queen. Interesting and worth trying. Fairly low alcohol content. Not “BuzzBeer”, but pretty good.
Bonesaw Brewing Co. is open Thursday and Friday from 4-10, Saturday 12-10 and Sunday from 12-8.
White
My next celebratory drink was a glass of Autumn Lake’s wonderful Albarino with a nice Caprese salad (topped with our own basil). Their Albarino is a delightful version with a great aroma and a hint of grapefruit, yet a sense of a kiss of sweetness. This wine won a couple of Silver Medals at the NJ State Wine Fair Competition and the San Francisco Wine Chronicle Wine Competition. This is a great wine any time of the year, but its light refreshing quality really shines in the summer. Especially when you pair it with fresh seafood, as we did with the remainder of the bottle on Friday night.
If you have not yet visited Autumn Lake Winery, what are you waiting for? Award-winning, reasonably priced wines in Williamstown! I have previously written about Autumn Lake Winery here: https://wp.me/p74VSa-da
Red
Finally, working backwards in our liquid celebration, I poured the 2013 Tomasello Palmaris Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve to go with a nice thick steak. While Tomasello is our second oldest winery in the state, the Palmaris label is giving the winery a boost in stature that it deserves. This Cabernet is a full-bodied, delicious red. The 2013 Tomasello Palmaris Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve won a Gold Medal and a score of 92 from Tastings.com at the World Wine Championship in 2016. I’m happy to report that it was just as good the following day with our left-overs. If you haven’t tried any of the Palmaris wines and you are a fan of traditional, classic vinifera varietals like Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot Noir, etc., you owe it to yourself to try them. You can read my previous post about my private tasting with Charlie and Jack Tomasello here: https://wp.me/p74VSa-iY
Cheers!
I hope to have my copies of New Jersey Uncorked: A Snob-Free Taste of NJ Wine in my hands in a couple of weeks, with availability to all soon after. The cost of the Paperback will be $25.99 and the cost of the e-book will be $12.99. The e-book will only be available on iOS systems (Macs, iPads, iPhones).
Coming Attractions
- Bellview Winery Summer Concert Series (July 7th)
- More updates on New Jersey Uncorked: A Snob-Free Taste of NJ Wine
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