April & May 2019
April & May 2019 Color Issue
April & May 2019
Color Issue
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opened on the site in 2010, and the winery<br />
opened in 2012. They produce fruit wine,<br />
including apple and blueberry, and whites<br />
and reds in several varieties. “The winery is<br />
definitely moving in the right direction,” said<br />
Morrison. They offer a summer gris, which<br />
he described as light with notes of raspberry,<br />
and their Dias Creek is a best seller.<br />
His recommendation? Their Stratus, half<br />
Chambourcin, French-American hybrid that<br />
seems to thrive on the Cape, and a quarter<br />
each of Merlot and Cabernet. It’s listed at<br />
$25 a bottle.<br />
G&W Winery<br />
1034 Route 47 South, Rio Grande<br />
What to Drink: Merlot<br />
The area’s newest winery is also its smallest.<br />
“We don’t have a nice, big building. You can’t<br />
come in and buy a glass,” said Jerry Hellman,<br />
one of the three partners in the vineyard.<br />
“We are a small farm winery.” He said<br />
the winery is open on weekends, and people<br />
who come by will probably find the owners<br />
working among the vines. They can stop for<br />
a tasting, and buy a bottle, and the winery<br />
has a waiting list for its very limited release<br />
each year, 1,000 bottles all told. They’re $20,<br />
except for a blend, which is $23.<br />
Hellman, Dennis Hasson and Travis<br />
Thomas all work in the Haddonfield school<br />
district. Two are teachers and have time off<br />
in the summer. Hellman is the school psychologist,<br />
and doesn’t, but he said he’s getting<br />
close to retirement and asked to become<br />
part of the business. Hellman said the cabernet<br />
franc seems to thrive on the cape, and<br />
they offer a chardonnay and a pinot.<br />
He suggested trying the merlot. The<br />
vines have been in for six or seven years, and<br />
they’ve been making wine for three.<br />
The winery gets its name from the initials<br />
of Grace and Willow, daughters of Marie and<br />
Dennis Hasson.<br />
Breweries<br />
Cape <strong>May</strong> Brewing Company<br />
1288 Hornet Road, Cape <strong>May</strong> Airport<br />
What to Drink: Always Ready<br />
If Cape <strong>May</strong> Brewing Company’s tasting<br />
room at the Cape <strong>May</strong> Airport is open, whatever<br />
time of year, there’s almost always a<br />
crowd. There’s a good chance some in that<br />
crowd will be drinking the beloved Coastal<br />
Evacuation IPA, a bright, citrusy beer that<br />
goes down happy and hoppy. And owner<br />
Ryan Krill is proud of the numerous fruit<br />
beers on offer, including the 8 percent Apple<br />
Bomb. But when the days start heating up,<br />
the crew at Cape <strong>May</strong> Brewing Company<br />
recommends a recent addition to the extensive<br />
lineup, named in honor of the Coast<br />
Guard’s motto. Always Ready is a northeast<br />
pale ale with a relatively low alcohol by<br />
volume, coming in at 4.8 ABV. Head brewer<br />
Brian Hink said it took a few tries to zero in<br />
on the Goldilocks zone, getting feedback on<br />
the first couple batches to get the right balance<br />
of hops, flavor, feel and bitterness.<br />
MudHen Brewing Company<br />
127 W. Rio Grande Ave., Wildwood<br />
What to Drink: Pike Pole Pilsner<br />
Once upon a time, the first train to carry visitors<br />
to Wildwood was called the mud hen.<br />
The West Jersey Railroad ran from Cape<br />
<strong>May</strong> Court House to Anglesea through the<br />
marsh and over a precarious bridge. Owner<br />
Brendan Sciarra liked the sense of history<br />
and decided to take that name for his latest<br />
venture, MudHen Brewing Company, which<br />
opened its doors this spring to much fanfare.<br />
Unlike the many other breweries on this<br />
list, MudHen is a brew pub — an unusual<br />
designation in New Jersey and unique in<br />
Cape <strong>May</strong> County. Among other things, that<br />
means MudHen can offer a full menu. The<br />
other breweries can sell their beers on site<br />
but cannot by law have a kitchen. The project<br />
was in the works for about two years,<br />
according to Russ Simmons, the marketing<br />
director. The business is set for crowds this<br />
summer, with three bars, extensive seating<br />
and an outdoor area just for hanging out with<br />
friends around the firepits. The names of the<br />
beers reflect local history. It’s early days, but<br />
the 7.4 percent 1883 IPA has stood out as the<br />
mainstay for the brew pub. Simmons recommended<br />
the Captain Doug Porter, which he<br />
described as a smooth ride. For a little added<br />
history, brewmaster Tony Cunha is a descendant<br />
of Captain Doug Wilson, who sailed out<br />
of Cape <strong>May</strong> for about 20 years.<br />
Ludlam Island Brewing<br />
9 Stoney Court, Ocean View<br />
What to Drink: Harry’s Coffee Pale Ale<br />
Off the beaten track, in the same well-camexit<br />
zero 120 april-may<br />
Cold Spring Brewery<br />
7233 Seashore Road, Cold Spring<br />
What to Drink: Cold Spring Red<br />
Cold Spring Brewery started with four beers:<br />
an American wheat, a German wheat, a red<br />
ale and a porter. The brewery and tasting<br />
room is in a renovated 200-or-so-year-old<br />
barn moved from the Palermo section of<br />
Upper Township to the current site on Seashore<br />
Road, a project that started with HCSV<br />
board approval in 2014. The offerings include<br />
a rotating series of limited edition brews,<br />
along with the dark brown Dennisville Inn<br />
Porter and Cold Spring Red, the brewery’s<br />
most popular offering and our recommendation<br />
for your first pint at the brewery.<br />
7 Mile Brewery<br />
3156 Route 9, Rio Grande<br />
What to Drink: 7 Suns Double IPA<br />
On Route 9 in Rio Grande, 7 Mile Brewery is<br />
about the easiest craft brewery in the county<br />
to find, which founders Pete Beyda and Chris<br />
Collette say is not an accident. An off-season<br />
Friday evening saw the place hopping, with<br />
a thirsty and welcoming crowd and at least<br />
one friendly mixed breed dog greeting those<br />
heading to the bar. The owners say their 7<br />
Sons Double IPA is their most popular of the<br />
numerous beers on tap, and it’s easy to see<br />
why. Brewing beer is a kind of alchemy, part<br />
art, part science, part magic, and for 7 Sons,<br />
what might have been a palate-blowing<br />
hops blast comes in with a nice balance and<br />
a great bitter finish. It’s 7.5 percent alcohol,<br />
with a whopping 90 IBU, the International<br />
Bittering Units scale. For comparison, a Bud,<br />
Miller or Coors would come in about a 10.<br />
Slack Tide<br />
1072 Route 83, Clermont<br />
What to Drink: Angry Osprey IPA<br />
Slack Tide brewery was barely open when it<br />
started reeling in the beer awards, including<br />
honors at the Philadelphia Inquirer Brewvitational<br />
and a best of Craft Beer award in<br />
Bend, Oregon last year. On a brewery tour,<br />
a group of friends dug into two loaded tasting<br />
flights, the small glasses a spectrum from<br />
deep black to light amber. Some showed real<br />
love for the Knockdown Black IPA, but it was<br />
the Angry Osprey that emptied first. At 6.8<br />
percent alcohol, its goes down nicely, but the<br />
well-balanced hops call out for seconds. Or<br />
thirds, if you’ve got an Uber.