What a relief! To finally have a home-brew shop within convenient driving distance… this is truly the stuff of fantasy. Located on the slopes of nearby Boonton, Cask & Kettle is a haven for homebrewers. Â It is the perfect spot for beginners and veterans alike. Cask & Kettle stock their shelves full of the highest quality ingredients and equipment; Â superb organization make finding what you need a breeze. Â The store is divided into three sections: a state of the art brewer’s kitchen, an ingredient section, and an equipment area.
They are constantly receiving fresh ingredients so make sure you check the board to see what’s available. Â There is a variety of whole leaf and pellet hops, as well as, both liquid and dry yeast. Â The board doesn’t tell you what grains are available so make sure you peruse that area thoroughly.
The hops and yeast are kept fresh and cool in the fridge. Â I love the plastic bottles the hops come in – they are all clearly labeled with Alpha and Beta acids along with a good description of the hop characteristics they will impart. A nice change of pace from the typical foil packs or ZipLock bags at most shops. There are a few huge buckets of base grain in the center of the ingredients area surrounded by sugars and adjuncts on one side and flanked by specialty grains on the other. Â All of the grains are clearly labeled with their name, color, and characteristics.
The kitchen is designed with two brew stations set up side by side.  Along with the two brew kettles, there is plenty of counter-space to lay out ingredients. Also featuring a cleaning and sanitation area, a bottling station, and my favorite – the automatic grain mill.  Just pour your grains in, turn a key, and walk away for a few minutes while the machine does all the hard work.
Sitting alongside a variety of sugars, extracts, and adjuncts are a bunch of Brewers Best kits (great for starting out). Â Sitting atop a ledge above all of the adjuncts is something I have never seen before – soda pop base syrups. Â They have everything from Lemon Lime to Root Beer. Â I’ll definitely be checking those out at some point.
We finally get to the last area of the store – the equipment supply section. Â It has everything imaginable from Better Bottles to cleaning supplies and even plastic tubing which can be cut to your desired length. Â Along with the supplies there are also a few books on homebrewing and clone recipes.
All in all, Cask & Kettle is a top notch homebrew store. Â Come down and check out the Grand opening with us on Saturday, November 5th and don’t forget to check them out on Facebook.
– Jared
Address
Cask & Kettle Home Brew & Wine Supplies
973-917-4340
904-B Main Streety
Boonton, New Jersey 07005
Hours
Tue-Thurs: 11:00am-7:00pm
Fri: 11:00am-9:00pm
Sat:10:00am-8:00pm