RED BANK, N.J. — Stoutmeister here, checking in from the East Coast of the United States, a strange, humid place, full of gray skies, bad drivers, but thankfully also a few scattered breweries. I am technically here for my cousin’s wedding, but hey, when dealing with this much extended family, to say I need some beer is a gross understatement.

So anyway, after spending much of Thursday in the air and the first half of Friday driving from West Chester, Pa., to our current locale (it’s where they film “Comic Book Men” for AMC, which airs after the far superior “The Walking Dead”, at Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, a.k.a. Kevin Smith’s comic book store). Once the bulk of the family headed out for the first of two ceremonies (long story), there were a total of three of us left (the other four were waiting for the weather to clear over the skies of Chicago). So being the good/evil older cousin, I was able to drag the youngsters over to “downtown” Red Bank in search of the one local brewpub.

After some wandering around, we found ourselves at Basil T’s Italian Restaurant and Brewery. It is an upscale place with some tasty, albeit expensive, food, but also a full on-site brewery. Like any good brewery, they had a sampler tray, so I snagged one for myself and my cousin Jason (who is 10 years younger than me and in need of a proper beer education; this was also the first time we have had beers together, but it did not make me feel too old).

On tap at this time were their staples, a red ale, pale ale, wheat, and Maxwell’s Dry Stout, their flagship beer that claimed a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival back in 2006. Also on tap were an IPA and a pumpkin ale. I was not expecting anything on the level of Il Vicino or La Cumbre here; in fact, an Italian restaurant that brews its own beer screamed “it’s all about the food, not the beer,” but I will give Basil T’s credit, they put a good effort into their beer.

By New Mexico standards, the IPA was closer to one of our pale ales, lacking the hoppy bite we have come to expect from the genre. It is certainly drinkable, fairly smooth and easy, like the kind of introductory IPA you would serve to a non-craft beer drinker. Basil T’s pale ale, in turn, has only the mildest of hop bites, instead offering up a fairly smooth, unique finish with almost creamy hints. This is far maltier than most pale ales we have out west.

The red ale offers up similar creamy hints on the back end of the palate. It is smooth, with only the slightest of bites at the outset. If there is a theme, it is that these beers are meant to complement, not overwhelm the food. The wheat beer, normally a style I shy away from, is pretty standard for the lighter end of its style. It is smooth and drinkable, a summer beer offered up even amid the cooler weather (but not that cool; did I mention it was humid here?). The pumpkin ale was fairly standard, mild fare for a fall seasonal. It offers up a fair amount of nutmeg flavor, but without the spicy kick you get in a good pumpkin.

Last, and not least, is Maxwell’s Dry Stout, the flagship beer. This is a solid stout, not too thick, but still offering up plenty of chocolate and smoked flavor. It won a gold medal at the GABF back in 2006. This is a comfort stout, the kind you can drink year-round. Smooth tops bold here, but that is fine when the odds are that the bulk of your customers are not serious craft beer aficionados.

There are few other options for local breweries in this part of New Jersey — Red Bank is in Monmouth County, south of the New York metro area and due east/northeast of Trenton, closer to the infamous Jersey Shore — but I would recommend Basil T’s as a good place to visit. And the food, well, that’s just magnificent. But bring your wallet, you’ll need it.

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While Basil T’s is the only brewery in the area, there are still some other options for East Coast beers. At the hotel bar here at the Courtyard, they just happened to have Flying Fish’s October Fish on bottle. In contrast, lunch on Saturday at the Bahr’s Landing restaurant featured Harpoon Oktoberfest on tap.

Flying Fish is based in Somerdale, N.J., which is southeast of Camden/Philadelphia. They were at the GABF, though I did not sample any of their beer. In retrospect, this was a dumb omission on my part. The October Fish is a sweet, flavorful Marzen-style beer. I would imagine it is even better on tap. With more time I might have trekked down to Somerdale to visit the brewery.

Harpoon, which was not at GABF, is based out of Vermont. Their variation on Oktoberfest was to amp up the hops, creating a more bitter, but still flavorful beer. It is rare with Marzens to find one that sports more of a hoppy bite than a sweetness, so this beer was a welcome departure.

Well, that is it for now from New Jersey. There are rumors of a keg of Dogfish Head beer at the wedding reception tonight. I will check in from that and hope to visit some breweries in the Pennsylvania area Monday before returning to New Mexico.

Oh, and it’s not nearly as humid Saturday as it was Friday and Thursday. That alone deserves a toast.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister