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By latest count, New Jersey has 50 craft breweries (with more on the way). Most come with appendages called taprooms. Unlike a brewpub (a restaurant that brews its own beer) or an actual bar, a taproom is a utilitarian space where people can sample, for a modest sum, the beverages the brewery makes—and only those beverages. “I get this way too often: ‘Do you have Miller Lite?’” says Kate Sweeney, a taproom manager who lives in Mount Holly.
Visiting a taproom is a fun way to educate yourself on the creativity and diversity of craft beer. Before you pick a destination, here are a few things to know:
- State law requires you to take a tour of the brewery before you can partake of its products. As a sign at Angry Erik Brewing in Lafayette puts it, “Don’t Make Erik Angry: Tour First, Beer Second!”
- The beers on offer any given day will be printed on a sheet or posted on a board behind the bar. Feel free to ask questions, but if the taproom is busy, be courteous to those behind you and don’t monopolize the server’s attention.
- Most servers will give you a free sip of one or two brews you’re curious about. But then buy a sample (usually 4 ounces), a flight of samples or a full glass.
- Jersey taprooms are not allowed to serve food, but you can bring it in. Since there’s no waitstaff, clean up after yourself. Bringing in alcohol is not permitted.
- While Jersey taprooms are kid-friendly, Tanya Shaw, a server at Flying Fish in Somerdale, advises parents, “Don’t let them run around the brewery and make a mess of everything.”
- Don’t wear perfume or aftershave, which interfere with evaluating aromas.
- Don’t overdo it. “Ours is a tasting room, not a drinking room,” says Augie Carton, head of Carton Brewing in Atlantic Highlands.
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