Brotherton Brewing Company
2208 Atco Ave
Atco, NJ 08004
Review Date: 10/23/2021
Reported by: Pretzel
Reviewers: Pretzel, The Stoutmeister, Princess, B3, The Rabbit, Mole Slayer, The Queen of Funk
Let’s just say, that The Beer Posse has long been anticipating a visit to Brotherton. Brotherton was originally a production-only facility, established in 2015 in Shamong. Brotherton Brewing Co. hit our radar when we discovered their beers at the Atlantic City Beer and Music Festival and the Glassboro Beerfest. They quickly rose to the top of our favorite beer list, but for many years we had to wait for our favorite beer fests in order to get a sample. When we met co-owner Keith at the Atlantic City Beer Fest, he promised that a tasting room was in the works. And after 5 years or so of waiting for this promise to be fulfilled, we are finally blessed with a Brotherton tasting room in Atco, where they moved in 2020. Of course with the whole pandemic thing going on, I’ll give them a little leeway for the delay.
So Brotherton moved into an old firehouse, allowing them plenty of room seating and growth in the brewing room. I must say, I’ve seen many a brewery more into a small site, only to outgrow it in a year or two. I think Brotherton has found a permanent home. Given that it is a converted firehouse, there are 4 large bay doors which open up into the brewing room. The tasting room houses a large bar with bar seating available, as well as 32 tables indoor and outdoor. The décor is rustic, yet modern, and their large painted logo on the accent wall makes the large taproom seem warm, cozy, and welcoming. The bathrooms are located in the brewing room, which made it a little awkward for our team, since there was an engagement party in full swing in the brewing room. Oh well, I managed to snag a small fruit salad and a piece of cake on my way back from the restroom. Bonus! The outside area is beautiful with many tables with umbrellas, and converted barrel-tables. When Covid hit and only outdoor seating was allowed in NJ, Brotherton adapted quickly and took a good chunk of their ample parking lot behind the building to create an outdoor oasis for their patrons. The parking lot still offers a reasonable amount of parking, and there is an overflow lot across the street.
They have a nice assortment of merchandise including t-shirts, hats, glass and insulated Brotherton growlers, glassware, and snacks. I love their t-shirts, and I would like to suggest, that they hang several up and give them a little more visibility. What is particularly a bonus, is their large range of snacks available for sale – trail mix, peanuts, jerky, chips, pretzels (of course), caramel corn, and kettle corn. YUM! There’s often a food truck parked outside for those working up an appetite.
The beers were cold and plentiful (14 on tap, counting the Seltzer). McKenzie, our favorite beertender, was always right on cue to refill our ever-evaporating brews. Note: You must be careful around The Beer Posse, any unattended beer rapidly disappears, you must be constantly on alert. It was quite a change of pace to find that the majority of The Beer Posse selected dark beers – either the Oatmeal Porter or the Imperial Stout as their favorites. Only The Queen of Funk went for the lighter Oktoberfest lager, but she’s kinda different anyway. Just sayin’. I’m not a seltzer person to be sure, as they taste like flavored water to me, but the members of our crew who do like seltzers, enjoyed Welcome to Paradise Seltzer. Ok, I’m just not getting the overall concept of Seltzers, but so many of the breweries have added them to the tap list, I guess I’ll just go with the flow.
We didn’t request a brewery tour, because we deemed that it would be intrusive to the afore-mentioned engagement party in full swing in the brewing room, but co-owner Dan was available to answer any questions we had on their processing. I’ve been to Brotherton Brewing several times now, and Dan is always friendly and informative.
So we had a delightful afternoon hanging at Brotherton. Stop by and tell them Pretzel sent you! Thank you Brotherton for your hospitality and delicious libations. We’ll be back for sure!
Beers on Tap:
- Brotherton IPA (ABV: 6.6%)
- Jersey Devil DIPA (ABV: 8.4%)
- Brotherton Hefeweizen (ABV: 5.2%)
- Pine Barren Pilsner (ABV: 5.0%)
- Welcome to Paradise Seltzer (ABV: 5.0%)
- Swarthy Invader Imperial Stout (ABV: 9.6%)
- Bone Daddy Pumpkin Spice Lager (ABV: 5.3%)
- Over the Moon Barrel Aged Saison (ABV: 6.4%)
- Oatmeal Porter (ABV: 7.2%)
- Razmanian Devil Gose (ABV: 4.0%)
- Soul Meets Body Vanilla Bourbon Cream Ale (ABV: 4.7%)
- Oktoberfest Marzen Lager (ABV: 5.3%)
- Liquid Smile IPA (ABV: 6.2%)
- Black Smoke Rising – 1/2 Soul Meets Body and 1/2 Porter
Favorite Beers of the Day:
- B3 – Imperial Oatmeal Porter
- The Stoutmeister – Swarthy Invader Imperial Stout, Oatmeal Porter, Soul Meets Body
- Queen of Funk – Oktoberfest Marzen Lager
- Pretzel – Swarthy Invader Imperial Stout, Black Smoke Rising
- Mole Slayer – Oatmeal Porter, Swarthy Invader, Brotherton Hefeweizen
- The Rabbit – Swarthy Invader Imperial Stout
Additional Posse Comments:
- The Rabbit – No bathrooms in the taproom. If a private party occurs, you’ll have to crash the party.
- Mole Slayer – I like the brand. Hopefully they will install a working water wheel someday.
- The Queen of Funk – Love the industrial style of the taproom. Large bar area, and plenty of tables
- The Stoutmeister – Nice selection of snacks are available to purchase.
- Princess – Very nice facility!
- Princess – Very clean restrooms, 2 stalls for females. Toilet paper could be a little thicker.
- B3 – Lots of parking available including a dedicated and overflow lot.
Website(s):
- Dedicated Website: https://www.brothertonbrewing.com
- Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/brothertonbrew
Final Scorecard (click to open): BrothertonBrewingCo
Overall Pretzel Score (8.61 out of 10): 
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