Breweries of Monmouth County: Belford Brewing Review

A review of our visit to the new Belford Brewery in Middletown NJ. Open in 2014, this new craft brewery offers a variety of beers for tasting, including porters, ales, lager, rye beers and even a Belgian tripel. If you're looking for a Monmouth County brewery on a weekend, it's worth stopping by Belford Brewing.

Last weekend, we went on a tour of Monmouth County breweries and after Kane and Carton we finally made it to Belford, but I wasn’t in a position to give an accurate opinion of this new outfit. You can read that review here, basically from the 6 beers on tap I only tasted the Dunkel lager and Pro Multis tripel.

So as I needed some emergency supplies before the overhyped snowpocalypse of 2015 (the blizzard that wasn’t), I went back to the relatively new Belford Brewery. It was opened in the Belford junction of Middletown NJ in the summer of 2014, by Mike and Kevin Enny. They’ve been adding more and more beers through the end of the year, and as I said there were six options when I went there:

Jackalope (4.8%): an easy, nicely flavored porter, which was my favorite and I ended up filling my growler with this, to help me through the snowstorm
Red Hill Rye (5%): Rye ale, it was OK
Wares Creek (5.8%): A very hoppy yet light pale ale, my friend loved it but it’s not my type of beer
Lobster Pot (6%): Heavily flavored nutbrown ale with a reddish hue, it was very good, a beer made to be tasted and enjoyed slowly. It was my 2nd favorite, but it’s not the kind of beer you can just keep drinking glass after glass while watching the snow outside
Dunkel (5%): Munich-style lager, darker and quite flavored yet easy-to-drink
Pro Multis (9.4%): I only had this the previous time. Flavorful, hoppy Belgian tripel, good but maybe a bit strong for my taste.

I’m glad to have this new brewery in my town. It has a nice, cozy ambiance, like a neighborhood bar. I’ll be waiting to see how often they change their offerings, and of course follow-up with new reviews.

The tasting room is open Friday evening 6:30-8:30 and Saturdays 1-5pm. You can taste a full school for $10, order a pint for $4-5, or fill your growler with your favorite. They also do tours of the brewing area, which is right next to bar. You can get updates about their opening hours and beer offerings from the Belford Brewing Facebook page.

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