Road Trip

Your blogger was in Pittsburgh over the weekend, and we made the time to visit our friends at the Penn Brewery. We appreciated their hospitality, and enjoyed the afternoon of beer sampling. That led our thoughts to today's topic.

You don't have to go as far as Pittsburgh to enjoy samples from the producers of wine, craft beer or spirits. Those tasting trips give you the opportunity to try something you may have seen in our store, but weren't quite sure about. And then when you find some new favorites, you can find most of the products on our shelves.

We have some outstanding producers right here in New Jersey, so you don't even need to book an overnight hotel stay to enjoy a weekend diversion. And some of our vendor partners even have weekday tasting room hours!

This is not a comprehensive list of local producers with tasting room hours, but it's a good place to start. Consult their websites for important details like hours and addresses.

Craft Brewers

According to the Brewers Association, New Jersey has over 30 craft breweries, and the economic impact is 15th among the states.

Carton Brewing was founded by two cousins. Their brewery and tasting room are in Atlantic Highlands, NJ.

Flying Fish Brewing is the largest craft brewer in the state, and is a seven-time medal winner at the Great American Beer Festival. Visit them in Somerdale, NJ.

River Horse Brewing was taken over in 2007 by people who wanted more than just a corporate job, eventually moving the brewery from Lambertville to Ewing, NJ.

                                                                          Wineries

New Jersey remains one of the top wine making states, and the sweet fruit wines are always in demand.

Tomasello Winery has tasting room hours every day of the week. They are a third-generation, family owned winery with over 75 years of history in Hammonton, NJ.

Valenzano Winery is also a family-run project, dating to the early 1970's, in Shamong, NJ.

Distillers

Dad's Hat Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey. Sometimes, you just have to cross a bridge. Dad's Hat is in nearby Bristol, PA. Rye whiskey distilling was an important part of America from our earliest days.

Jersey Artisan Distilling was the first new distillery to open in NJ since Prohibition. Visit them in Fairfield, NJ, and get their Busted Barrel Rum at Joe Canal's.

As we noted at the top, this is not a comprehensive list of craft breweries, wineries or distillers in our area. Go out and enjoy their facilities and products, and then come back to Joe Canal's for your purchases.