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How South Jersey Is Becoming a Craft Beer Destination.
This May, Jay Rose, beer manager at Joe Canal’s in West Deptford, NJ, observed a drastic difference in some of his customers. The man who’d come in every afternoon to buy two 40’s of Colt 45, was now filling up growlers with the heftiest of imperial stouts. And, the woman with a heavy Miller Lite habit had taken to informing him that he’d better start stocking more West Coast IPAs, or else.
This uninitiated clientele was suddenly clamoring for craft beer because a New Jersey law now permitted retailers to sample beer in their stores, and this gave many a craft-beer novice their first chance to taste it. The effect was stunning and immediate. As “craft beer” becomes almost synonymous with “beer” in Philadelphia, its eastern suburbs are responding with a burgeoning number of beer-aware bars, restaurants and liquor stores. But purveyors of golden goodness posit that the craft phenomenon in Jersey is just now beginning to reach its tipping point, and the reasons for it go far beyond the sampling law.
“People drive by and see our parking lot full every night of the week,” says Chris LaPierre, head brewer at Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant in Maple Shade. This, he thinks, lures curious passersby into the restaurant or sends them elsewhere to discover what makes craft beer so popular. “(When a) McDonald’s goes up, (next) there’s a Burger King, then there’s a Taco Bell. They realize there’s a market,” says Kevin Meeker, owner of Cork Restaurant in Haddon Township. Like a fast food junkie, Jersey’s demand fattens in snowballing proportions as exposure to unique quality beer compounds consumer interest, education and purchasing. This is especially evident during the summer, when consumers return from their travels and students come home from college requesting beer they’ve tried in other states.
Yet, even those Jersey residents who venture only as far as Pennsylvania appreciate the ability to share Philly-quality beer with their Philly-phobic friends. Without leaving the comfort of their neighborhood tavern or their man cave, New Jersey beer lovers can share their passion by taking advantage of several factors that Philadelphians can’t.
Chief among those factors is money. Put simply, beer buyers in New Jersey can buy better beer for better prices. Because of Pennsylvania’s case law, it can be cost-prohibitive to take a 24-bottle risk on an unfamiliar beer, whereas New Jersey shoppers can buy a sixpack or one bottle at a time. And, the prevalence of discount stores and lower overhead in the Jersey suburbs make for price-savvy consumers and generous bar owners. Kevin Meeker, for example, says he sells his beers for $1 to $2 less at Cork than at the comparable bars he owns in the city. Figure in the slightly higher city sales tax and that’s more incentive for Jersey beer lovers to spread beer money on their own side of the bridge. “We’re not Philly yet,” Meeker says. “But is South Jersey sophisticated in its beer preferences? That’s an unqualified yes. And we’re going to keep getting bigger.”
