Icarus Brewing Co in Lakewood: Review

January 16, 2017 newjerseyisntboring

On January 13th, 2017 Icarus Brewing Co opened it’s doors. They are the first brewery to be established in Lakewood, New Jersey.

I found myself at the brewery 2 days after their grand opening to come see it for myself. I could not make it on the 13th, and from what I hear it was PACKED (sometimes it’s okay to wait).

We were greeted by Head Brewer and Owner Jason Goldstein and his dog Chewie who were winding down from their first two busy days at the brewery.

Goldstein has been brewing beer professionally since college. He completed an apprenticeship at Mordue Brewery in the United Kingdom as well as other breweries in the United States, and has been homebrewing for years. It seemed only logical for him to start his own brewery which he considers a “brewer driven brewery”. The money that has been spent on the brewery has mainly gone towards brewing his beer efficiently.

So why the name Icarus Brewing? Those who are fans of Greek mythology already know the story of Icarus, the son of a craftsman who built wings to fly. Unfortunately for Icarus, he flew to close to the sun and his wax wings melted and he fell into the ocean. Since their location is based in Lakewood, they name came about due to it’s proximity near the water and Lakehurst’s famous flight tragedy.

Additionally the name was inspired from Icarus’s father, who was a famous craftsman. Icarus Brewing has been handcrafted from everything from self engineered brewing system, the bar, the flights, and the chairs just to name a few.

Why Lakewood? Goldstein managed Rinn Duin in Toms River for 2 years and enjoyed the community among other NJ breweries and brewers. Although he’s originally from Queens and has worked in the industry around New York, he found New Jersey to be the place where he’d want to start his brewery.

Now to the beer…

Icarus Brewing Co had 5 beers on tap during their opening weekend.

– Yukon Cornelius Coffee Porter 5% ABV
– Panic Pale Ale 5.5% ABV
– Valjean French Saison 6% ABV
– Beford the Devil Knows You’re Red Ale 4.7% ABV
– ChewBOCKa the Masticator Doppelbock 7% ABV

For flights you can try 4 beers plus a handcrafted soda. We tried everything but the coffee porter, and decided to try their ginger ale.

I loved all the names of the beer, including the beers that are coming soon (clearly someone is a Harry Potter fan). The brewery is built to hold up to twenty(!) beers on tap so I know I’ll be back to try more.

Their ginger ale was sweet, and served as a great pallet cleanser between beers. Their soda is free to customers, a great added bonus for families that come to visit brewery. It’s great to see a brewery that is very family friendly (and dog friendly too).

There is no doubt that Icarus Brewing Co will be welcoming lots of families in the future, especially since they’re located 1 mile from First Energy Park where the Blue Claws play.

Tours of the brewery go every 30 minutes at the brewery and they’re a lot of fun! Spence Blazak, who is also in charge of the brewery’s sales and marketing, will take you on a great tour and let you know everything he knows about the beer making process. While you’re on the tour make sure to take in their beautiful mural…