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.