Larry Scott and Ashley Harvey man a booth for Ghost Hawk Brewing Co. at the Village Beer Fest.
Hundreds came out to celebrate the first South Orange Downtown & South Orange Village Beer Fest held at the Sloan Street Parking Lot.
“It’s super exciting to be here, watching the town having fun and meeting members of the community,” said Leigh Friend, owner of South Orange Wheel House, a cheese and charcuterie shop in the Co-Lab on South Orange Avenue.
Beer Fest highlighted the best of New Jersey’s craft beer scene, featuring 21 breweries with up to 60 unique beers.
The line up included Autodidact Beer, Bradley Brew Project, Bull N Bear Brewery, Carton Brewing, Climax Brewing Co., Cypress Brewing, Departed Soles Brewing, Diamond Spring Brewing Co., Double Tap Brewing, Four City Brewing Co., Gaslight Brewery, Ghost Hawk Brewing Co., Glenbrook Brewery, Icarus Brewing, Jersey Cyclone Brewing Co., Montclair Brewery, Seven Tribesmen Brewery, Twin Elephant Brewing Co., United Brewing Co., Varitage Brew Works, and Yale Terrace Brewery.
Local food vendors included Jackie and Sons, JuiceHub, Jus’ Tacos, Medusa Greek Street Food, Miti Miti, Pandang, Soma Sweets, South Orange Wheelhouse, The Fox & Falcon by David Burke, Tito’s Burritos and Wings, and Walia Ethiopian Restaurant.
Unique retailers and activity-based businesses included Air Aerial Fitness, The Botanica Boutique, Dailygreatness, GameChanger Fitness, Gra Lifestyle, JavaFlo Aesthetics, Noble Hungers Culinary Bookstore, and Chow Town Food Tours.
The Player Agency and CannaBoy Treehouse hosted a free cooling lounge that had TVs to watch college football. Other games and activities were available. DJ Lou Smith kept the energy high with a dynamic mix of music.
Max Gray of Chow Town offered Beer Bingo, which encouraged patrons to try different beers. Winners received gift cards to breweries. There were also secret prizes. Cem Omay, manager of Tito’s Burritos was looking forward to trying some of the beers.
Todd Townsend of Double Tap Brewing in Whippany has been in business for two years. They were offering some of their beer specialties including The Boot, which is an Italian Pilsner, crisp and dry; Oktoberfest Marzen; and Bent Brim, a hazy IPA (India Pale Ale) made with stone fruit and pineapple.
Dan Soboti, owner of Gaslight Brewery, said they’ve been in South Orange since 1998. “The second oldest brewery here,” he said. The family-owned business consists of Soboti, his brother, and his father. His mother was also onboard before she passed away.
Oaxaca and Anna Schroder live in East Providence, Rhode Island. They were in town for Oaxaca’s brother’s birthday. Oaxaca said the event was “super friendly.”
Anna agreed that the event was “super.” Her favorite beer was Chuck’s Pilsner from the Twin Elephant Brewing Co.
Larry Scott, event staff for Ghost Hawk Brewing Co., said, “I love the beer and all breweries.” He enjoys classic beers, classic German lager and porter.
Ashley Harvey, event staff for Ghost Hawk Brewing Co. likes “really good IPAs.” Her favorite is New England Unit IPA.
Will Steinthal and Mallory Griffin have been living in South Orange for a year and were enjoying getting involved in the community.
“We saw neighbors,” said Griffin.
Steinthal favored the Hava Guava IPA from Montclair Brewery. He said it was “fruity and sweet.”
Griffin enjoyed the Golden Ale and Baobiere—both from Montclair Brewery.
Mark Costa, owner of Varitage Brew Works in Bloomfield, said they serve traditional style beer. But what makes them stand out is that people come to watch soccer games at the brewery.
“It’s great,” he said. “We live close to here. We’re one year in business. Events like this are valuable to meet people to get your name out there.”
Lydie Philippe, a worker at What’s on the Menu, said that they offer natural, cold-pressed homemade juices. There is no conventional sugar in them. They are sweetened with agave, honey and/or dates.
Philippe loved the vibe of the festival. “Everyone’s enjoying themselves,” she said.
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