Bonesaw Brewing Co. 570 Mullica Hill Rd Glassboro, NJ 08028
Review Date: 11/11/2018
Reported by: Pretzel
On a dreary, drizzly Sunday, the Beer Posse headed over to Bonesaw Brewing Company in Glassboro for a few tasty libations, and a formal brewery review. We’ve all been there before at various times since it is located in our neck of the woods, and is quickly becoming our go-to brewery. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of visiting this beer hall yet, let me fill you in. It is not your usual small, start-up little microbrewery. No, these guys are the epitome of the “Go Big or Go Home” mentality for designing a brewery. It’s huge, with ample parking. Most of the time, er… make that all of the times we have visited, it was crowded, but we always managed to find a parking space after some parking lot stalking. There is a nice arrangement of outside seating – picnic tables, all under a roof. In nice weather, they open the many garage doors that line the taproom, for a truly open concept. The taproom is very large, and cavernous. The decor is rustic and beautiful – log and driftwood tables, chandeliers made from industrial fan covers, wagon wheels, rope, chains, etc; a nice hearth with comfy sofa seating. There are plenty of tables and bar seating, and we’ve always been able to find a table fairly quickly after a little patron-stalking. The bar is large, and there is a cow chute for ordering your preferred beverage. The line moves pretty quickly, as the 3 bartenders were certainly busy, and earning their keep. I am amazed at some of the thoughtful details that were put into the design of this behemoth. There are USB charging ports along the underside of the bar for those of us who need to keep connected to cyberspace at all times, and the men’s room has a nice custom beer shelf above the urinals for patrons to put their beers while competing their nature calls. Unfortunately I had to rely on a photograph taken by one of the male Beer Posse members since the place was so crowded, I was not going to be able to sneak in and check it out for myself. Now here is where I go off on one of my side rants. How come, some breweries and brew pubs are so creative with their MEN’S ROOM decor? Specifically Bonesaw with their custom urinal shelf, and The Avalon Brew Pub with their exception beer-keg urinal! What about the Women’s Room? Granted we don’t have urinals, and I still don’t see why they are required. No one has them in their house! At home, we make due with a toilet! Anyway, how about some creativity for the ladies? We spend more time in the bathroom than the men! How about a custom Bonesaw shelf above the toilet (cause no one wants to put their drink directly on the toilet), and a half keg designed for a sink? Huh??? Just some suggestions. But back to Bonesaw. On one end of the room, there are windows into the brewing room. Their equipment is impressive and vast, which also accounts for them being able to support 18 beers or more on tap! When it first opened, The Stoutmeister and I met the owner Rich. Rich is an orthopedic surgeon (hence the Bonesaw reference). He mentioned that they were planning another building out back that would become their bottling/canning center. Nice! The Bonesaw motif appears in several areas of the building, including x-ray looking logo’s for both the women’s and men’s room, and the Bonesaw Brewing logo around the room, that look like x-rays. TV’s were spread throughout the room with football games showing. My other complaint or more of a pet peeve, which is not the breweries issue, is the number of children who were hanging out in the brewery. Now they were all well-behaved, but I just don’t think it’s appropriate for kids to be hanging out at breweries and bars. If both parents are drinking, they put their children at risk when they get behind the wheel. Plus at a young age, I think it sets a bad precedent. Get a babysitter! That’s what Grandma and Grandpa are for! Enough said, I will now get off of my soap box.
Just a couple of small negatives … The main negative I have about the taproom is the acoustics. They are terrible. It is very loud, so don’t expect to have an intimate conversation with your colleagues and friends. Although the clientele is friendly, everyone mostly keeps to their group except when they are in the beer chute waiting to order. The wait staff is very professional, but you don’t get a chance to chat with them about the brewery because they are too darn busy! So that is understandable. When we requested a live tour, we were told there was no one on-site to give a tour of the brewery. BUMMER! And since I didn’t notice any kind of virtual tour or documentation, this is a no-no. NJ law states that every patron must take a tour before drinking. The Stoutmeister and I did have the privilege of taking a live tour with Rich, the owner, on the first weekend they had opened. It was by far, the best and most informative tour we have had the pleasure to take. Each of us on the Beer Posse has our specialty when it comes to reviews – The Rabbit focuses on the range of offerings, The Wrangler is good for the sours, The Stoutmeister takes on the dark beers, Princess the decor, B3 and The Good Neighbor cover the IPA’s and Ales, and I’m all about the tour. I love to interface with the brewer, and get a chance to understand their point of view and creative processes. Oh, and The Tinkler is all about the bathrooms (if you couldn’t guess)!
There is usually a food truck outside (at least there was on all our visits), and the last one “Top Shelf Mobile Cuisine” allowed you to text your order over from the taproom, and they would text you back when it was ready. Sweet! Especially on a drizzly day, you aren’t hanging outside waiting for your order to be called. Love it!
With 18 beers on-tap, there is a wide assortment available for everyone’s tastes – Sours, IPAs, Cream Ales, Dunkels, Pilsners, Blondes, Pale Ale, Stouts, Lagers, Belgian Strong Ales, etc. All are tasty (and yes, I have tasted them all at one point or another, which is why I really appreciate having Princess along as our DD) and unique. They continue to press the envelope with much (but not total success). I LOVE Le Grand Démon, but was not enamored of their previously offered Michelada which seemed to be a Bloody Mary mixed with Beer (no, not my favorite, although I do appreciate them trying new ideas). Once I got my flight of beer, the Posse mentioned that the on-tap list I pulled off the internet was not complete. Now I want to have an accurate review, so I went up to the bar and added the additional offerings to my beer sheet. DUMB! I should have know better! Once I got back to the table, my entire flight was EMPTY! You’d think I’d learn by now, but NO! At least I’m not the only dumb-shit in the group. The Stoutmeister lost his entire flight when he made a run to the Men’s room. Guess he should have used their custom urinal shelf to protect his brews.
Bonesaw has quickly become my favorite neighborhood brewery. You know, when you want to pop over to the brewery on a Friday night for a quick pint preferable of Le Grande Démon. If we weren’t currently having a snow/sleet/rain storm, I might have popped over today. The other bonus, is that they are open 7 days a week! Yea! Nothing worse than wanting a beer and finding your local breweries aren’t open. See you soon Bonesaw Brewing!
Beers on Tap:
- Cascara Sour Wheat, Sour – Berliner Weisse – (ABV: 4.2%, 7 IBU)
- Silver Queen, Cream Ale – (ABV: 4.7%, 16 IBU)
- Black and Tan, Cream Ale with Coffee – (ABV: 4.7%, 16 IBU)
- Dark Tower, Munich-style Dunkel – (ABV: 4.9%, 22 IBU)
- Pummel, German Pilsner – (ABV: 5%, 25 IBU)
- Crimson Skull, Vienna Lager – (ABV: 5.8%, 21 IBU)
- Le Petit Démon, Belgian-style Blonde – (ABV: 7%, 19 IBU)
- SHWheat Deal Amarillo, Single Hop Wheat – (ABV: 7.1%, IBU: 47)
- Peach, Love, and Hoppiness, American Pale Ale – (ABV: 6.5%, 40 IBU)
- Mr Hanks, extra stout – (ABV: 8.1%, 44 IBU)
- Bonetoberfest, lager – (ABV: 5.9%, 23 IBU)
- Definition, West Coast IPA – (ABV: 7.5%, IBU: 65)
- Black Friday, Nitro Porter – (ABV: 5.8%, IBU: 25)
- The IPA Formerly known As Swoosh, Juicy IPA – (ABV: 7.1%, IBU: 53)
- Squeezins, Juicy Double IPA – (ABV: 9.0%, IBU: 57)
- Taste, New England-style Double IPA – (ABV: 9.1%, IBU: 37)
- Le Grand Démon, Belgian Golden Strong – (ABV: 10%, IBU: 12)
- Impending Storm, NE IPA – (ABV: 6.5%, IBU: 57)
Favorite Beers of the Day:
- Pretzel – Le Grand Démon
- B3 – the Next One
- The Stoutmeister – Le Grand Démon, Dark Tower
- The Wrangler – Cascara Sour Wheat
- The Rabbit – Le Grand Démon
Additional Posse Comments:
- The Rabbit – The food truck “Top Shelf Mobile Cuisine” allowed you to text in your order, and they texted back once the order was ready.
- The Wrangler – It’s nice to hang outside when the weather is comfortable.
- The Wrangler – Good design but I don’t like that there is a cattle shoot to purchase your beer.
- The Stoutmeister – Pricing is more expensive than most breweries. Best live tour (when available)
- Princess – It’s really loud.
Websites:
- Bonesaw Brewing Co. – http://bonesawbrewing.com/index.html
- Top Shelf Mobile Cuisine food truck – https://www.topshelfmobilecuisine.com/
Overall Pretzel Score (8.34 out of 10): 
Final Scorecard (Click to open): BonessawBrewingCo
Picture Gallery: