New Jersey Beer & Food Festival

New Jersey Beer & Food Festival

NJ Beer Fest 3The New Jersey Beer & Food Festival takes place at Crystal Springs 6/14 – 6/15. This weekend-long celebration of craft beers also coincides with Father’s Day June 16 making it the perfect destination with something for everyone: beer lovers, golfers and families, with two top US ranked spas and the Biosphere indoor/outdoor pool complex as well.

The two days of beer fest events include the “NJ Chefs & Brews” walk-around reception on Friday 6/14 (8-11pm, $95), with six chefs serving food paired with six New Jersey and New York beers. Participating chefs include Timothy Fischer and pastry chef John Sauchelli of Crystal Springs, Mike Carrino of Pig & Prince Restaurant & Gastrolounge (Montclair), John Halligan of Park Steakhouse (Park Ridge), Carlo Carbonara of Bottagra (Hawthorne) and Eric Levine of Morris Tap & Grill (Randolph).

NJ Beer Fest 9On Saturday 6/15, the ” Beer and BBQ Fest” tasting event gives attendees the opportunity to try 135 beers from 50 breweries including many craft brews from New York and New Jersey paired with delicious barbeque in a picturesque outdoor setting (3pm-7pm, $75 early bird, $85 after June 1st).

Also on Saturday 6/15 starting at 9am golfers will have the chance to participate in the “Brews & Birdies” golf tournament on the resort’s award-winning Wild Turkey and Ballyowen courses. Tastings of craft beers will be available on six holes of the course ($195 for golf and beer tastings). Other activities include a free outdoor grilling class Sat. 6/15 10-11am by Crystal Springs chefs in the resort’s lovely Chef’s Garden and free daily tours of the wine cellar, which is the deepest, most extensive collection in the Northeast US situated in over an acre of underground space and featuring some of the most prized bottles, rare vintages and perfect score 100-point wines.

All weekend, the resort’s two main restaurants, Crystal Tavern and Restaurant Latour, will each be serving special tasting menus paired with craft beers. Crystal Tavern features a three-course “Highlands” menu while Restaurant Latour offers an eight-course tasting menu in addition to a three-course prix-fixe and a five-course vegetarian Garden Menu.

On Sunday 6/16, the beer festival will wrap up with a special Father’s Day Lunch 12-4pm in the Chef’s Garden, a beautiful outdoor restaurant surrounded by a lush garden full of herbs and vegetables used in the resort’s restaurants. Three chefs will each prepare a course that will be paired with a different craft beer ($70 inclusive of food and unlimited beer; lunch menus sans beer will be offered to those under 21).

Reservations for all events can be made at www.njbeerfestival.com or by calling 973-827-5996 x 3.