Small Brewery Sunday 2021: Where To Grab A Pint In Scotch Plains

SCOTCH PLAINS/FANWOOD, NJ — Need a suggestion for how to unwind after a Thanksgiving weekend filled with hours of cooking, mountains of dirty dishes, endless lines at retail stores, long drives home and a thousand "are we there yets"?

Head to the bar, of course — or, more specifically, a craft brewery or two in the Scotch Plains and Fanwood area.

Capping off this Thanksgiving weekend is the third annual Small Brewery Sunday on Nov. 28. Organized by the Brewers Association, a nonprofit group that works with small and independent American craft brewers, the goal of the unofficial holiday is to encourage Americans to patronize and support local breweries.

Here’s a look at the breweries closest to Scotch Plains and Fanwood that are participating in Small Brewery Sunday.

• Lions Roar Brewing Company, 517 South Ave W, Westfield (lionsroarbrewing.com)
• Yale Terrace Brewery, 26 Eastman St., Cranford (ytbrewery.com)
• Climax Brewing Co., 112 Valley Rd., Roselle Park (climaxbrewing.com)
• Trap Rock Restaurant And Brewery, 279 Springfield Ave., Berkeley Heights (traprockrestaurant.net)
• Untied Brewing Company, 140 Spring Street Unit C, New Providence (untiedbrewingco.com)
• Wet Ticket Brewing, 1435 Main St., Rahway (wetticketbrewing.com)
• Village Brewing, 34 W Main St., Somerville (villagebrewing.com)
• Brooks Brewery / Northside Lounge, 100 Brooks Blvd., Manville (northsidelounge.com)
• Ashton Brewing Company, 600 Lincoln Blvd., Middlesex (ashtonbrewing.com)
• Jersey Cyclone Brewing, 14 Worlds Fair Dr Unit J, Somerset (jerseycyclone.com)
• Flounder Brewing Co., 2 Clerico Ln Building 4, Hillsborough (flounderbrewing.com)

Interestingly, more than two-thirds of Americans who are of legal drinking age live within 10 miles of a craft brewery, according to the Brewers Association. This fact lends well to the importance of Small Brewery Sunday.

The coronavirus pandemic hit small breweries hard in 2020. Overall, U.S. craft beer sales by volume declined 9 percent in 2020. The volume of beer produced also dropped by more than 9 percent, according to statistics compiled by the Brewers Association.

Meanwhile, most brewery owners were also forced to accommodate local health restrictions, supply chain issues, and shifts in how customers sought out their products.

While craft beer sales by volume are returning to pre-pandemic levels, according to the Brewers Association, support of independent breweries is still crucial.

"Small and independent brewers have proven to be incredibly resilient, and they’ve approached recent hardships as opportunities for innovation. When faced with new challenges, they created ways to pivot their business models to continue serving their local communities and loyal customers," Bob Pease, president and CEO of the Brewers Association, said, in a news release. "With the return of on-premise visits and new breweries continuing to open, we’re confident in the recovery and future growth of the craft brewing industry."

The full list of breweries participating in Small Brewery Sunday is available online.

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