| Baker Street Brewery's founder and head brewer Art Hannemann takes you on a journey to find the ales. Catch the train for Arty's ride to the New Jersey suburbs and beyond in search of, what else, great beer! It's going to be a fun trip as Arty reviews and rates a new stop each month as he takes the rails to the ales.....and more! |
| Take The Rails to The Ales to... Montville, Rockaway, and Jersey City ------- 381 Main Bar & Grill 381 Main St Little Falls, NJ (973) 785-3815 This place is easy to miss despite being a stand alone building. The bar is long and fairly narrow with surfing/fish decorations. It was clean and well kept with great lighting. It's a good place to watch sports since it has several large screen TVs perfectly placed behind the bar for easy viewing no matter where you might be sitting. But forget all that, you want to know about the beer. I counted a dozen taps with a decent variety of very solid craft. I had a pint of Carton SS2014, a Bolero Snort Fall Pasture, and a Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra along with one of their Beer Camp Series. As I said, a decent variety and very solid lineup. The beer was fresh but as in most places served too cold. The food was well above average bar fare. I enjoyed some pierogies and pizza which went well with the beer. Or is it the other way around? If you're in the area it's well worth stopping in however this is not yet a destination stop for a serious beer hunter. Normally I would give 381 Main a 3 1/2 star rating but I'm adding a well deserved extra half star for an intangible - it had a warm, welcoming feel to it. Credit for that has to go to the bartender and some of the friendly customers who I enjoyed talking beer with. And that must mean management cares about their customers! I rate 381 Main 4 out of 5 engines. ……………… Ricalton's Villiage Tavern 19 Valley St South Orange, NJ (973) 763-1006 This establishment has an rather snooty restaurant and bar upstairs that only makes a token gesture towards craft beer. However downstairs they have an attractive second bar (the Snug) which is far more to my liking. It has a pseudo Irish decor and smallish bar that pours an acceptable lineup of craft. I had a very fresh NJ Hudson Pale Ale, an Anderson Valley Boont Amber, a Founders All Day IPA, and finished with a Guinness. Why Guinness? Well, I've always thought that having it is a good way to see if the establishment actually cares about beer. This placed passed the test. My Guinness was correctly poured, served in the right glass, and was fresh. I didn't eat there and after checking the menu I'm glad I didn't. In a word, pricey. The friendly bartender and the pub's manager seemed to know beer, something you see less and less of these days. If ownership gave these two control of the Snug, it just might become a player in the craft beer bar game. Right now however they're not. Overall it has a solid but limited lineup of craft beer served in a nicely decorated place with very good service. The word potential comes to mind. I'll be back to see what happens. I give Ricalton's Snug 2 1/2 out of 5 engines. ------------------------------------- ============== Hope you get a chance to stop in at my new location The Northside Lounge 100 Brooks Blvd, Manville, NJ 08835 (908) 722-7712 A great menu and some of the finest craft beer anywhere! Stop in if you are in the area and look for me in the kitchen or behind the taps and please mention you read my column! =================================== *********************************** Here's some good info on planning your own Rails To Ales trip. First step go to www.njtransit.com web site. Then click on train schedules. Next click on "use our map to plan your trip." Now select your train station on the map. And next select your destination on the map. A new page appears and you want to select weekday, holiday or weekend accordingly. A new page appears with your schedule of departing times and length of travel time. Print this up and then go to the bottom of the schedule and it will say click here for return schedule--click away. Now print this page up as well and you have all the info you need to plan your trip. Remember to allow walking and drinking time. And of course if you go off the rails like I often do but sure to have a designated driver! Gotta catch my train back-- see you at my next stop! Remember to leave the car at home and......Take The Rails To The Ales !!!! Arty Hannemann |
Rails to Ales........and beyond ////////////////////////////////
by Arty Hannemann
by Arty Hannemann
 | |  |
| Arty's Ratings Five engines= the very best Four engines= excellent Three engines=good Two engines= fair One engine= bad news Zero engines=stay away |
| | |
For the complete listing of all Rails to Ales click HERE |
