CRAFT HOUSE & Beer Garden in Cherry Hill – Now Open!

Yesterday was the grand opening of the CRAFT HOUSE & Beer Garden in Cherry Hill   at the (former?) location of Top Dog.  You can check out the opening day beer menu here.  The tap list offerings are largely pedestrian (the featured beers are especially poor for a place holding itself out as a “Craft House”), but check out the list of cans they are offering:

21st Amendment Back in Black (American Black Ale) – $4.50
Founders All Day IPA (IPA) – $5.00
Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale (APA/IPA) –  $5.00
Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils (Czech Pilsner) – $5.00
Sixpoint Resin (IIPA) – $7.00
Sly Fox Helles Golden Lager (Munich Helles Lager) – $4.00
Sly Fox Phoenix Pale Ale (APA) – $4.00

The CRAFT HOUSE & Beer Garden, as its rechristened itself, did not have the best reputation in its former iterations, and it looks like the transition from Top Dog continues to hold onto several reminders of the bars former identity (to be expected, considering there’s still a sign on the side dating back to when the location was known as Taylor’s).  That being said, I look forward to seeing if the bar can reinvent itself as a classier location with better beers and better ambiance (read: less trashy waitstaff uniforms).  From what I can tell, it looks like the establishment is certainly trying, considering the themes and bottle/can offerings alone.

Once the weather gets a bit warmer, I can personally attest that this is one of the best outdoor bar spots in South Jersey.  With a combination of the aforementioned can list and the hope that the outdoor bar hasn’t changed too much, I look forward to throwing back a few cans of Sixpoint Hi-Res while playing cornhole (bean bag toss) this summer.

– Abe Tran, NJIB Craft Beer Corner