Neck of the Woods Brewing 614 Lambs Road Pitman, NJ 08071
Review Date: 01/25/2020
Reported by: Pretzel
So a small contingent of the Beer Posse (Pretzel, The Stoutmeister, and The Queen of Funk) headed over to Neck of the Woods Brewing in Pitman on a windy January afternoon. We invited two guest reviewers to come along for the adventure – Sea Shell and Nitro. We met them a couple years ago at King’s Road Brewing Company in Haddonfield.
Neck of the Woods Brewing Company can be found in the Total Turf sports facility in Pitman. Total Turf is a large facility catering to indoor soccer and basketball leagues and special events, so needless to say it is full of children and their parents. You can get to Neck of the Woods quickly, by driving around to the back of the facility and entering into the brewery directly. Or you can weave your way from the front entrance for a longer and more circuitous route as Sea Shell and Nitro found out. Saturday parking was difficult due to numerous sports events and a Home Show going on at the same time.
Nitro: On our way into the Brewery we saw a sign that said “Brewery entrance around back”. When we paused, a lady behind us said we can go through the front entrance and follow the signs. Her husband added “She knows where the Brewery is, but can’t find our son’s soccer field!”
One of the great benefits of the brewery sharing this space, is The 614 Grille. A small convenience store/grill where you can grab something quickly to eat. The menus can be found on every table in the brewery, and you can have it delivered quickly to your table. They carry burgers, sandwiches, wings, nachos, Mac & Cheese, cheese steaks, just to name a few. It is quite convenient and fast!
The tasting room is a good size with bar seating, table seating, and stand-up tables. It’s got an industrial vibe, and the Growler lights are a nice touch! The room could be a little noisy, and just beware that during sporting events you will find children in the tasting room. Toddlers with Mom’s waiting for their older children to finish up practice, and Dad’s grabbing a quick beer before they head home with the kids. Although I am not a proponent of children in breweries (I’ll save that soap box for a future article/rant), it is a brilliant marketing strategy, sharing space in a sports complex.
Chris, the beertender, was very busy filling orders, but did find some time to give us a tour of the brewing area. Frank, the head brewer soon joined him and finished up the tour. Both guys were very informative. The brewing room itself was set up to use all available space very efficiently. Neck of the woods uses horizontal tanks that have been stacked 2 high. Whiskey and Tequila barrels have just been filled for a future brew. There were 15 beers on tap with a very nice variety of lagers, IPA’s, Goses, Stouts, and sours. Something for everyone. The ABV ranges from a light 3% to a strong 10%. Flights were $10 for 4 which is a little pricey, but the tasting glasses are a nice size tulip type (slightly larger than the taster glasses from other breweries).
This year, Neck of the Woods will once again be co-sponsoring the Summer Swelter Fest to be held at Total Turf. This is one of my favorite beer fests, as it’s main focus is NJ beers. Their VIP session allows VIP’s to sample and vote on the favorite beers of the festival, that are not available to the general admission ticket holders. The festival is held inside and outside in August, so if it gets a little hot outside, you can check out the inside breweries. Neck of the Woods will also be participating in the 2020 Atlantic City Beer and Music Festival in April. Stop by and check them out.
Well done Neck of the Woods. We’ll see you again very soon.
Beers on Tap:
- Lot P – Pilsner (ABV: 4.7%)
- Youse need a Runner – Helles Lager (ABV: 5.3%)
- Guess Who’s Back (Nitro) – Golden Coffee Stout (ABV: 7.6%)
- Pale vALvE – New England Pale Ale (ABV: 5.7%)
- Guess Who’s Back – Golden Stout (ABV: 7.6%)
- Gose – Sour (ABV: 4%, IBU: 4)
- Pink Guava Lime Gose – Sour (ABV: 4%, IBU: 4)
- No OJ No Straw – Sour CranOJ Milkshake (ABV: 6.4%)
- Apricot Plum – Berliner Weisse Sour (ABV: 6%)
- Apricot Plum Sour Shandy – Sweet Sour Berliner (ABV: 3.7%)
- Stay In the Car, Frank! – New England IPA (ABV: 6%, IBU: 60)
- EdSpiration – New England Double IPA (ABV: 8%)
- PTP Porter – American Porter (ABV: 7.5%, IBU: 40)
- Not the Run of the Mill – Stout (ABV: 10%)
- Coffee Chocolate Cayenne PTP (ABV: 7.5%)
Favorite Beers of the Day:
- Queen of Funk – Youse need a Runner – Helles Lager. Runner ups: EdSpiration – NE Double IPA and Stay In the Car Frank! – NE IPA.
- Pretzel – Guess Who’s Back – Golden Stout
- The Stoutmeister – Guess Who’s Back Golden Stout and EdSpiration NE DIPA
- Nitro – Stay in the Car Frank – NE IPA
- Sea Shell – Stay in the Car Frank – NE IPA
Additional Posse Comments:
- Sea Shell – Shared parking lot with Total Turf sports complex. Saturday parking is difficult.
- Nitro – The bar area is roomy with good natural lighting from high windows.
- The Stoutmeister – I may not have tried any beer that I did not like, but I intentionally avoid all beer with coffee in it! I do not like coffee in my beer.
- The Queen of Funk – The best thing this place had going for it was the lager (Youse need a Runner) and the bartender. The worst thing was that there was only one bartender and he was overloaded.
Website(s)/Social Media:
- Neck of the Woods Brewing: https://neckofthewoodsbrewing.com/index.html
- Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/NeckoftheWoodsBrewing/
- Twitter – https://twitter.com/NOWbrewery
- Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/neckofthewoodsbrewing/
- Total Turf – https://www.totalturf.net/
- 614 Grille – https://www.totalturf.net/614-grille
Overall Pretzel Score (7.82 out of 10): 
Final Scorecard (click to open): NeckoftheWoods
Picture Gallery: