I can be a bit of a beer nut. I do rather enjoy seeking out new and unique brews, especially when I’m traveling. I love the idea of drinking what the locals drink – beer is apart of our culture, and while the big brands shape a sort of national conscience, it’s the local breweries that really add character to a beer community. Think about the place that Bearded Iris…Tailgate…Yazoo, just to name a few, all have in Nashville’s culture today. Those are the places I want to find when I’m out and about. I’ve had many a Cape May IPA from Cape May Brewing in my day. My wife was born and raised in Monmouth County, New Jersey, which makes it our most frequent travel destination as we regularly head up there to visit family.
I first came across Cape May IPA years ago. I love a good IPA. I carried that sentiment of ‘finding what the local options are’ into a beer store one day, picked up a sixer, and I don’t think I’ve stopped since. My memory’s a little foggy on this…but that might’ve even been the trigger all of those years ago for my wife to say, “Cape May? Oh, yes…Cape May. I’d love to take you there someday.”
Regardless, Cape May always sounded like my kind of place – quiet, beautiful, rich with history, restful. My wife often shared stories of venturing down in the summer time for nice family vacations. It was something she wanted to share with me one day. If you’re a regular SoBros reader, you already know that we finally brought that wish to fruition this holiday break. But, hey – if you’re not a regular SoBros reader, you can check out the travel blog I published yesterday chronicling one night in Cape May, my first visit to the town.
I have to admit – I didn’t know what was in store for us on that trip. We were meeting family. I think there were 10 of us total. There’s a lot in Cape May to cram in to one night, and I’m just along for the ride. But, all of those Cape May IPAs I’ve consumed were floating around in the back of my head, and I was secretly hoping that maybe we could wedge in a trip to the brewery so I could see what Cape May Brewing was all about.
Thankfully, my wife is a mind reader. Or, at the very least, she’s heard me rave about the canned beers I’ve picked up off of beer store shelves in New Jersey over the last several years and remembered my affinity for them. We were able to wedge a stop at the brewery in between watching the sun set at Sunset Beach and before we had to make it home for pizza. I had just enough time to get in three beers on draft, and then I grabbed a couple of sixers to go. So, let’s get to it – my thoughts on the five beers I tried.
Five Beers at Cape May Brewing
Beer #1: Crushin’ It (orange vanilla IPA) – In case you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m a big IPA guy. But, to dig even further into the niche, I love the occasional sweet IPA. Something that hits with the slightest bit of sweetness before the hops come in and take over. One of the best beers I’ve ever had was Tailgate’s vanilla milkshake IPA back here in Nashville. So, when I saw that Cape May Brewing had an orange vanilla offering, it wasn’t even a choice. That was going to be my launching point for the night. It’s a good IPA, leaning more towards the ‘refreshing’ side than the ‘sweet.’ The orange overpowered the vanilla, and had it leaning a little sour for my liking. But, I hate sour! So, that’s just my palate. If that’s your thing, you’ll probably love it. Grade: 2.55/5.
Beer #2: Oktoberfest – I know, I know. It’s a little late in the season to be drinking Oktoberfest. But, look – it’s my favorite beer. I want to try every Oktoberfest that I can. And, I also do what I want, so fuck the rules. Cape May’s Oktoberfest is elite, a Märzen style lager that carries the hallmark of a good Oktoberfest (rich and complex) well. What makes it stand out is how surprisingly smooth it was to be such a full-bodied beer. It immediately became one of my favorite Oktoberfests. Grade: 5/5.
Beer #3: Honey Porter – Something about a good, Earthy porter just hits right on a cold winter day. Thankfully, this beer is one of Cape May Brewing’s flagship beers, so you don’t have to worry about it being out of season. It is rich and warming, but the honey gives it the ever so slightest sweet finish that made it my favorite drinking experience of the trip. Grade: 5/5.
Beer #4: Mop Water (5-spiced ale) – I didn’t know that this was a fall seasonal before I tried it, but hot damn, the “fall” taste smacked me in the face as soon as I tried it. Nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and vanilla – that’s about as “fall” as it gets. It stirred memories of jagermeister in my head, and I can’t do jagermeister anymore after an unfortunate incident during which a friend vomited jager out the passenger side of the cab we were in only for it to blow back into the backseat, where I had my window rolled down and happened to be yawning at an extremely unfortunate moment in time. You get the picture – I’m not going to hold my own mental health issues against Cape May Brewing here. Grade: 3.5/5.
Beer #5: Coastal Evacuation (double IPA) – If I’m a sucker for an IPA, I’m a double sucker for a double IPA. They call Coastal Evacuation ‘big and bold’ on their website, but I’d say they cranked the “IPA flavor” up to 11 for it. This beer feels like the product of some sort of sorcery, though. As I found it to have an incredibly smooth finish that gave it a drinkability that a double IPA shouldn’t necessarily have. I thought to myself, “Stoney, you have to be careful with this one or it’s night night.” Grade: 4.5/5.
I feel like I got a nice little example of what this brewery is all about – creativity, yes, but not at the expense of just flat out making a damn good beer. Some breweries overthink it, and you end up with a really weird drinking experience. I feel like the folks at Cape May Brewing create without losing sight of that important fact – the beer still has to be good no matter what you do to it. And, the brewery itself made for a nice little hideaway from all the touristy stuff. If you’re in town, I highly recommend an evening at Cape May Brewing for an authentic and enjoyable true brewery experience. For more, check out their website.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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