Tomatoes in beer? Only in New Jersey

People in New Jersey love their Jersey tomatoes. Some brewers are among them because they’re incorporating them into their ales.

According to New Jersey Monthly, one of these brewers is Tom Troncone the owner of Muckraker Beermaker in Franklin. His Insalata Farmhouse Ale has not only the Jersey tomato but another ingredient you might not expect: white pepper.

He likes to incorporate fruits into his brews (including local blueberries), telling the magazine, “I don’t treat tomatoes differently than any other fruit.”

According to the Muckraker website:

We feature a rotating selection of wild & spontaneous beers, most made with fresh, whole fruit from New Jersey, and always with New Jersey malt.

Since he only uses fresh tomatoes, the Insalata is only available in the summer.

I must admit, I haven’t tried one but don’t expect it to taste too tomato-y.

“People expect it to taste like a V8 tomato juice, but it’s fairly light,” he says. “After all, I’m macerating fresh tomatoes, not using tomato sauce.”

New Jersey Monthly also singles out two other craft brewers in New Jersey who incorporate the vaunted Jersey tomato: Carton Brewing in Atlantic Highlands puts them in their Panzanella and Screamin’ Hill Brewery in Cream Ridge adds tomatoes to their Heirloom ale.

Screamin’ Hill describes their Heirloom ale as:

We use farm-fresh heirloom tomatoes and basil, with a touch of sea salt. Resulting in a light and refreshing ale, we like to call Heirloom Ale. (Like the tomatoes! Get it?) Perfect for pizza, or to change your thinking about how tomatoes taste.

Hurry and try one of these quintessential Jersey brews before all the tomatoes are gone!

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle only.

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