Brooks Brewery is located inside the Northside Lounge in Manville, NJ. It was the 101st brewery I'd visited in NJ. They actually vaguely have a similar set-up to Troon Brewing and the Brick Farm Tavern, in that the brewery doesn't have its own formal tasting room, and a full service bar is the exclusive tap for the brewery. Northside Lounge actually has a separate Yelp page, but it's hard to review each separately because they overlap.
You can order cocktails or other kinds of beer. They have basic food items available, too, which are inexpensive. The Brooks Brewery list is on a dry erase board, as pictured. IPA snobs won't like them. I thought that they were light, fresh, and drinkable. The Belgian cherry one was the best. They are a 1 barrel system.
It's a very modest place, and it has a dive bar atmosphere. But there's charm. Friendliness is always important to me. Every single person said hi to me, from the brewer to the bartender to all the after work patrons.
Manville is an interesting town. I thought that being in the part of NJ that it is, it would feel more upscale. It actually is a blue collar Polish town. It feels as if you're in the heartland of the country. I enjoyed the overall experience at the Brooks Brewery even if it's not the most posh brewery in NJ. read more