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Port 44 Brew Pub is OPEN!!!


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Beer Trails: Port 44 Brewery Exemplifies Newark’s Revitalization

Article for the beer geeks here. About the brewers and the type of beers they have.

Thanks for the article! Goldfinch sounds good and so does Siren's Wheat, even though that is still a work in progress.

I have only once been impressed by a Red and that was at Long Valley (the worst was at Harvest Moon), so I would like to see how Devil's Red is going to be there.

The Catskill Hop Harvest sounds interesting and would like to try it, but not so sure about whether or not I would like it.

I have never ever liked Stouts and probably never will, but I will still try the stout here just to sample everything they have:)

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Those ARE breweries... and we were amicably working to understand each other - save outrage for another thread :P

Ooohhh wait :doh1: sorry - you meant YOUR post which contributed zero to the topic! Do you have another good brewery to suggest?

:rolleyes:

My contribution to your side discussion: Everyone is an idiot!! I don't drive places!! Random sentences of confusion and rambling!! Long Valley!! EAST WEST NORTH!!

My contribution to the real discussion: Port 44 needs to improve the kitchen to something closer to Triumph.. The food was decent at best, and certainly the beer should be (and is) the main attraction, but I don't live on beer.. A bigger menu would also be better.. But, understandably, they are trying to get the beer right first..

Any other people have thoughts on Port 44's food?

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:rolleyes:

My contribution to your side discussion: Everyone is an idiot!! I don't drive places!! Random sentences of confusion and rambling!! Long Valley!! EAST WEST NORTH!!

My contribution to the real discussion: Port 44 needs to improve the kitchen to something closer to Triumph.. The food was decent at best, and certainly the beer should be (and is) the main attraction, but I don't live on beer.. A bigger menu would also be better.. But, understandably, they are trying to get the beer right first..

Any other people have thoughts on Port 44's food?

Any listing or copy of the menu for Port 44 that is online yet? Their website is not up and their FB does not reveal much.

I hope they will be closer to Triumph of New Hope than Princeton. Triumph of Princeton as good food, but a lot of it is pretencious, overpriced stuff that is nonsense. I have had entrees at Triumph in Princeton, but still the best thing on their menu for the best price is the Triumph Burger. (Triumph of New Hope has the Brewhouse burger that is a burger with cheddar, smoked bacon, a fried onion ring, lettuce, tomato, and ipa barbecue sauce. Princeton should get that)

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Any listing or copy of the menu for Port 44 that is online yet? Their website is not up and their FB does not reveal much.

I hope they will be closer to Triumph of New Hope than Princeton. Triumph of Princeton as good food, but a lot of it is pretencious, overpriced stuff that is nonsense. I have had entrees at Triumph in Princeton, but still the best thing on their menu for the best price is the Triumph Burger. (Triumph of New Hope has the Brewhouse burger that is a burger with cheddar, smoked bacon, a fried onion ring, lettuce, tomato, and ipa barbecue sauce. Princeton should get that)

Yeah Port 44 doesn't seem to understand the value of web marketing.. A cool website will go a long way when competing with other restaurants in the area for business.. Nothing I hate more than going to a bad restaurant when I had options, so I like to go to a place's website and scope it out beforehand.. I think their menu isn't online because they kind of just make it up week by week.. I mean it's printed on computer paper (probably so it can be altered daily if needed)

I've only been to Princeton but I really want to go to New Hope.. I get what you mean about their menu haha thought the same thing, but the food I got was good.. My gf and I went for the sandwiches because, like you said, the entrees are overpriced for what you get...

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Yeah Port 44 doesn't seem to understand the value of web marketing.. A cool website will go a long way when competing with other restaurants in the area for business.. Nothing I hate more than going to a bad restaurant when I had options, so I like to go to a place's website and scope it out beforehand.. I think their menu isn't online because they kind of just make it up week by week.. I mean it's printed on computer paper (probably so it can be altered daily if needed)

I've only been to Princeton but I really want to go to New Hope.. I get what you mean about their menu haha thought the same thing, but the food I got was good.. My gf and I went for the sandwiches because, like you said, the entrees are overpriced for what you get...

Ah that sucks, they better get their asses on creating the website then. They have a link already on their FB, but it just leads to nowhere.

Yeah the Princeton location has better beers, but New Hope has a better and more reasonably priced menu. New Hope's menu is more sandwich and traditional food based but made real well rather than trying to go overboard with jazzing it up like at Princeton.

The only other issue I have with the Princeton location are the other patrons. I guess this is the product of putting a bar across the street from one of the top universities in the entire world. I really hate those d!cks who decide to camp out at the bar for 2 hours, have 1 glass of beer while having both their Macbook and physics homework on there as well, so he is taking up at least 2 bar spaces. Please go home sir or go find a starbucks lol.

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Port 44's menu is basic bar food, if I remember properly. We looked at it when we went but I kind of forget what was on it most. When I was there Wings seemed to be the item of choice for the people eating. I'm gonna guess since it's close to the arena the prices will be a little above average.

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Port 44's menu is basic bar food, if I remember properly. We looked at it when we went but I kind of forget what was on it most. When I was there Wings seemed to be the item of choice for the people eating. I'm gonna guess since it's close to the arena the prices will be a little above average.

Good thing I love wings lol. I figured it would be standard bar and burger-type food. To me, it seems as though it is becoming more like JJ Bittings and Harvest Moon rather than Triumph, Long Valley, or Trap Rock.

I can just taste the beer now. This is just another stop in my quest to visit every brewpub in NJ.

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Made it to Port 44 before that abortion against the Bruins. Here's what I thought.

Small menu. I got the Port 44 burger and thought it was great. My dad and his old Navy buddy both got the steak sandwiches and there were no complaints. My mom got the nachos and they were kinda weak. Their fries are bangin. My mom ordered a side of onion rings, but they were having trouble getting them to cook right, so they offered us a side of anything we wanted on the house. We got the sweet potato fries. Those generally aren't my thing, but everyone else seemed to enjoy them.

OK, now onto the main attraction: The Beer. I tried all but the Siren Wheat (I'm not a wheat beer fan) and liked them all. Here they are in the order in which I sampled them, along with what my fuzzy memory recalls as their alcohol content.

Devil's Red (6%): To me it seemed like the hoppiest of the bunch, which was a surprise because their seasonal brew was labeled as a hop harvest. It was a little bitter and definitely had that grapefruit aftertaste that all the writeups were talking about.

Longey's Stout (6.5%): Very rich, very flavorful. There's definitely some kind of roasted something going on there as it's the predominant feature on this one.

Goldfinch Ale (5.8%): The safe choice. For a lighter brew, it still brought a lot more flavor to the table than your typical "light" fare. This was the first beer I ordered more than one of until I finally tried ...

Catskill Hop Harvest (7.5%): Hot damn, that's a good beer! I don't typically like overly-hoppy beers (Brooklyn? No thank you.) but this one was perfect. Get it while you can.

I may have fudged some of the numbers, so any Port 44 regulars please feel free to correct me. Also, IIRC, the Siren Wheat was 4.8%.

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Thanks for the review, DiG! Despite the mixed reactions to the food, next time I'm at the Rock for a game, I think I'll give it a go, despite the mixed food reviews. As long as the beer is tip notch, I can deal with standard bar fare.

By the way, I was running late for the home opener and stopped in BCB&G for a drink while waiting for a friend and they wanted $11 for a Makers on the rocks. That's whiskey poured over ice in a glass. $11?!?! Their prices have been jacked up since last season and although they have a good food selection, especially for people who needs someplace close to the arena and want more than pub fare, that's insane! I live in Manhattan and wouldn't pay that much for standard whiskey. Now if that was a single malt scotch, OK, but those are Meatpacking district prices!

Maybe Port 44 will be my new pre game spot!

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Thanks for the review, DiG! Despite the mixed reactions to the food, next time I'm at the Rock for a game, I think I'll give it a go, despite the mixed food reviews. As long as the beer is tip notch, I can deal with standard bar fare.

By the way, I was running late for the home opener and stopped in BCB&G for a drink while waiting for a friend and they wanted $11 for a Makers on the rocks. That's whiskey poured over ice in a glass. $11?!?! Their prices have been jacked up since last season and although they have a good food selection, especially for people who needs someplace close to the arena and want more than pub fare, that's insane! I live in Manhattan and wouldn't pay that much for standard whiskey. Now if that was a single malt scotch, OK, but those are Meatpacking district prices!

Maybe Port 44 will be my new pre game spot!

I was in Brick City Bar and Grill last year and thought the prices were way over-inflated. First and last time I am going there.

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JJ Bittings in Woodbridge is not bad. Beer is pretty good and the food is quite good and easier on the wallet than other brewpubs. It is right next to the woodbridge train station, so before or after the game it is easy to hop on the train to and from the game.

Yea I really like that place mostly because I grew up in nearby Iselin and work right up the street from it. None of their beers have ever truly astounded me but all have been good. I think my favorites of what I've had are the winter warmer and the scotch ale.

I have never ever liked Stouts and probably never will, but I will still try the stout here just to sample everything they have:)

Their stout was by far my favorite, but I love stouts. The first time I was there a couple sat down near me and the girl tried the stout and hated it, said it tasted too much like coffee. The owner was sitting next to them and basically said to her, "Well yea, that's how most stouts are." They didn't really seem like the brewpub type though, first thing they asked the bartender when they sat down was, "What do you have that is similar to Coors light?"

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Yea I really like that place mostly because I grew up in nearby Iselin and work right up the street from it. None of their beers have ever truly astounded me but all have been good. I think my favorites of what I've had are the winter warmer and the scotch ale.

Their stout was by far my favorite, but I love stouts. The first time I was there a couple sat down near me and the girl tried the stout and hated it, said it tasted too much like coffee. The owner was sitting next to them and basically said to her, "Well yea, that's how most stouts are." They didn't really seem like the brewpub type though, first thing they asked the bartender when they sat down was, "What do you have that is similar to Coors light?"

Yeah totally agree with you about JJ Bittings. They have solid beers, but nothing really amazing. Food there is always at least decent.

Yeah I am not too high on stouts. I have a German heritage (parents came over from there back in the 1950's) and so I am more used to Lagers and Pilsners, but I do like most ales too. I tend to like the amber ales and specialty beers that come out from these brewpubs. I was at Triumph in Princeton on Monday and loved the Rauchbier (smoke beer) and Gose (kinda likea fruitier wheat beer).

lol that is a pet peeve of mine. I was once at Triumph and a couple came up (they looked like the "Jersey Shore" type) and asked for a corona. When they were told they dont have bottles and only serve their own beer, they asked for a Bud. They were then further told about how they are a brewpub and only serve their own beer. They then asked what was close to those and the bartender said Honey Blonde and they both drank about 1/2 of their glasses before leaving.

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