BAKES BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

BELMAR, NEW JERSEY

Occupying a former military telecommunications center, Belmar’s BAKES BREWING COMPANY began operations December 30, 2023. Taking up a substantial corner lot less than one mile from the beach, Bakes white brick exterior and metal-benched pergi porch mark the spot (just a few blocks from famed Bar Anticipation). Named after garage-brewing founder, Jeff Baker, a lifelong Wall Township baseball enthusiast, his expansive pub makes some of the best India Pale Ales ever crafted – and the rest ain’t bad either.

Bakes’ white-walled, tile-floored main bar features a gorgeous marble-topped, blue-based serving station, leather couched right side parlor, electric fireplace and several TV’s. Behind the bar lies a metal-furnished Sportszone (with four large screen TV’s). A large backroom bar area to the left has seating near the stacked brewtanks.

Trying to create “a refined tasting room experience” with well-polished small-batch brews, Bakes has crafted over 75 recipes in its first 36 months.

My wife and I settled in on a sunny Saturday, July ’26, to enjoy eight tidy suds before hitting the beach.

Lo-cal Fruity Pebbles-like Light Lager let corn syrupy sugaring contrast dry husked maize astringency while dry Mexican-styled lager, Baker Veza, plied lemony agave to dusted herbal spicing over crusty breading.

Brisk lemon soured herbage fronted crushable Bob Keller, a musky pilsner-malted kellerbier with dry mineral graining and rustic cellar mustiness.

Part of Bakes’ core quadruple IPA line, hazy chartreuse glowed Ch’ip 16 balanced zesty white grapefruit sugaring with lemon meringue tartness, salted mango-guava tanginess, dank cannabis resin and dark floral daubs above fluffy oated wheat creaming.

Soft-toned, heavily hazed, Citra-Nelson-Motueka-hopped Gettin’ Higgy Wit It (with disguised 9% ABV) let crayon-waxed tropical fruiting receive light herbal spicing as lemon zest, salty pineapple, bitter grapefruit and mandarin orange merge atop mildly creamed oats base.

On the dark side, dry nutty coffee roast led nitrogenated Irish Stout, leaving dark roast hop char.

Even more robust, milk-sugared coffee serenaded 11.5% ABV ‘house coffee’ stout, Triple 71, picking up bitter espresso kick contrasting sweet hazelnut glaze.

For dessert, sweet pastry stout, Bakes Batch: S’mores retained marshmallow fluff for caramelized toffee, creamy vanilla and brown chocolate sashay.

ERRATIC FERMENTATIONS

United States Brewpubs,

BRADLEY BEACH, NEW JERSEY

Despite its wanderingly wavering namesake, ERRATIC FERMENTATIONS seems quite consistent crafting constantly evolving experimental elixirs. Inside a stately white brick Main Street shop, Erratic’s black-lettered signage leads patrons straight to the art deco-like pub.

Opened April ’26 in the space formerly occupied by Bradley Brew Project (proprietors of nearby Tall Oaks Brewing), Erratic’s free-spirited nature informs each tasteful treat. Able to showcase both sides of the spectrum, its delicate India Pale Ales perfectly contrast the thick robustness of its porter-stouts on hand this Thursday afternoon, July ’26.

There are 12-plus draught handles at the black formica-topped, eight-seat bar. A central elongated bark table, walled booths and overhead doored tables fill out the wood-floored interior. Exquisitely designed brew tanks, leftover from Bradley Brew, are in the rear behind the newly acquired Lukr oak vat.

Proprietary brewer, Dave Toia, a former homebrewer, wants to stay close to his roots by creating a true small-scale operation, not a regional powerhouse.

Utilizing the lagering foeder, a trio of Lukr poured ales whet my appetite first.

Sharply brusque Czech pale lager, Svetle, retained mossy earthen musk grounding lemon-dried Saaz hop herbage and light spicing.

Traditional unpasteurized German kellerbier, Some Cellar, brought light vanilla creaming to dry wood tones over French bread crusting.

Putting robust porter, Noble Runnings, thru the Lukr system reinforced its bold full-bodied pungency, spreading tarry wood-charred black coffee bittering all over peaty moss, unsweetened black chocolate and mild anise licks.

There were four delightful easygoing India Pale Ales to soothe softer thirts.

Tropical fruited New England IPA, Vigorous Adaptions, slid subtle grapefruit, orange and pineapple bittering into lightly pined herbal musk.

One of Erratic’s most popular brews, Citra-hopped Fluffy Clouds regaled sugary vanilla creaming for swift grapefruit rind, lemon peel and orange pith bittering coalesced with spiced-up peachy tangerine tanginess contrasting dried wood parch.

Another fine Imperial IPA, Wasp’s Nest (an Oakflower collab) used tartly white wined Nelson hops to scatter tannic yellow and white grape esters alongside lemony grapefruit seeded bittering, salty pineapple-guava tropicalia and modest mandarin orange sweetness given mild white peppering and distant pine resin.

Sessionable summertime IPA, Order No. 3: We’re Late, combined Citra-hopped yellow grapefruit, navel orange and pineapple briskness with Riwaka-hopped guava-mango salting over delicate oated wheat base.

Dry-hopped saison, Hopeful Intentions, delivered musky lemon herbage to chamomile, black tea, black pepper and perfumed spices topping millet grained barnyard oats.

On the dark side, dark-roasted brown ale, Wait For All This To Blow Over, let its coffee-burnt nut char drape coal-singed blackened hops.

Espresso-enriched collab with Steady Hand, Nightmare Fuel, a robust 14% ABV Russian Imperial Stout, stayed dry as black coffee, dark cocoa, smoked chocolate and treacly molasses consumed the nutty hop-charred espresso finish.

Decadent pastry stout, Looking For Pancake, draped maple syrup atop vanilla bean and cinnamon adjuncts as pancake battered chocolate sweetness picked up tertiary milk-sugared coffee, dark cherry, bourbon and cocoa-dusted truffle illusions.

LOKAL BREWING CO.

United States Brewpubs,

POINT PLEASANT, NEW JERSEY

Inside the renovated small mall space previously occupied by defunct Frye Brewing, Point Pleasant’s community friendly LOKAL BREWING CO. came to fruition October 2024. A small-batch, family-run, five-barrel brewery, Lokal is just a few miles from the ocean.

Its rustic cement-floored, steel columned barroom features a wood top serving station with steampipe draught board, metal-wood tables, couched tables and exposed ceiling pipes. There are two TV’s surrounding the chalked beer menu.

Former Last Wave head brewer, Nick Kolb, works the kitchen-bound back brew tanks. His traditional fare will please easygoing thirsts as well as more critical tongues.

My wife and I closed the place up on a Sunday evening July ’26, downing all nine nifty suds as the night fell.

Clover honeyed toasted wheat anchored Queen Bee Honey Blonde, utilizing lager yeast and crystal malts.

Dry Scotch-licked orange oiled American lager, Seven Degrees, picked up dewy truffle earthiness.

Fruited sour ale, Open Horizon, knocked off blueberry lemonade with its bittersweet blueberry frontage given mild blackberry, boysenberry and cranberry tartness, light citric acidity and salty lemon liming.

Spritzy lemon fizz prickled subtle banana-clove sweetness of Solara Hefeweizen, leaving mild sourdough breading.

Hazy pale ale, Flag Island, splattered moderate lemony grapefruit bittering onto light herbal spicing atop delicate oats creaming.

Easygoing Citra-Mosaic-hopped IPA, New Drift, sank lemon-oiled grapefruit, navel orange and pineapple musk into light pine resin.

Traditional West Coast IPA, Coastal Rise, spread dry cannabis resin all over mild grapefruit and orange rind bittering, musky lemon oiling and perfume-spiced herbs.

Tropical fruited New England IPA, Harbor Lights, matched sunshiny lemony grapefruit bittering to salted guava-yuzu zesting and orange-tangerine tanginess over soft oated wheat creaming.

Semi-rich dark ale, Bridge Avenue Chocolate Porter, retained dry dark chocolate and espresso bittering, Blackstrap molasses treacle and mossy peat in dark roast hop setting.

WILD AIR BEERWORKS

United States Brewpubs,

ASBURY PARK, NEW JERSEY

A lively community centered small batch brewery, WILD AIR BEERWORKS opened in downtown Asbury Park during September ’22. A tawny broken-down VW bus welcomes patrons to the rustic black tint-windowed pub from the wood plank-enclosed patio (with three plastic community tables).

A beautiful green epoxy resin bar top enhances the ten-stooled L-shaped bar. Filling out the barroom are two side benches, three round steel tables and two couch-cushioned chairs below the back-walled TV. Large book shelving adds a provincial touch.

Besides having a traditional tap station, there are also four brass-handled Lukr draughts available. Rear brew tanks contain the liquid foundation.

Wild Air supports local artists and has become one of Asbury’s finest music venues.

On my July ’26 Thursday afternoon visit, Wild Air’s sessionable pale bodied suds dominates the menu. I sank all eleven beers (skipping both hard seltzers).

There were three India Pale Ale-derived pilsners on my summery stopover.

Mellow dry-hopped Italian pilsner, Fortuna, let floral-spiced citrus sweetness reach saltine cracker base.

New Zealand pilsner, Quickbeam, plied Nelson Sauvin/ Motueka-hopped limey white grapefruit, pink guava and white grape musk to mild pine tones contrasting even milder oats creaming.

Vibrant West Coast pilsner, Wild Uproar, stayed softer and less aggressive than most IPA-designed pilsners, spreading lemony grapefruit zest alongside briny passionfruit, guava and mandarin orange tropicalia atop crisp mineral graining.

Utilizing Nelson Sauvin hops, Japanese Rice Lager, Wind-Up Bird, stayed crisply dry as mildly creamed oats-flaked rice sweetness settles softly below floral-spiced passionfruit, gooseberry and dragonfruit tartness.

Dry Mexican lager, Cuento, stayed smooth as honeyed orange blossom sweetness and agave-like herbal hops obtained a distant rye sway.

Nondescript summer ale, Dippy Conqueror Caribbean Lager, scattered musty raw-honeyed lemon dryness above pallid pale malts.

‘Straightforward’ American lager, Inherent Vice, retained mild lemony orange salting, wispy floral herbage and muted wildflower honey over delicate Scotch-like barley malts.

Slightly offbeat witbier, White Moonlight, coiled champagne-sparkled white wining and musky herbal spicing around stylish orange-peeled coriander expectancy.

Variant West Coast IPA, Paradiso, recalled a Pina Colada, retaining pineapple, white peach and grapefruit tanginess as well as rummy coconut sugaring given sappy pine lacquering.

On the sour side, easygoing Berliner Weiss, Beautiful Little Fool, possessed salted mango tartness and guava-passionfruit tropicalia given lactobacillus white wheat whither

The only dark ale on draught, Czech dark lager, Power, swept dewy peat inside mild coffee-burnt dark chocolate bittering, caramel-toasted pumpernickel restraint and latent fennel herbage.