April 03, 2023
Provided Image/Cape Beverage Distributing
Dock Street Brewing Co. will expand into the New Jersey market this spring as seven of its most popular beers arrive in stores, bars and restaurants thanks to a partnership with Cape Beverage Distributing.
Beer aficionados can rejoice as Dock Street Brewing Co. beers debut across store shelves, bars and restaurants throughout New Jersey this spring.
Philadelphia's first microbrewery has teamed up with Cape Beverage, a distribution company attached to Cape May Brewing Co., to release seven of its most popular brews to the New Jersey market. The beer will be available at retailers throughout Cape Beverage's expansive network beginning on Monday.
"Dock Street Brewing Company is thrilled to partner with Cape Beverage," said Renata Vesey, Dock Street's creative director. "As Philadelphia's first craft brewery, we have always considered New Jersey a sister state and a second home, and it feels amazing to be in such capable hands with Cape Beverage. They really understand our brand and our goals for reintroducing Dock Street to New Jersey, sharing our story, and getting our award-winning beer on draught lines, in pint glasses, and filling coolers all over the state."
This is not the first time Dock Street's beers have made their way across the Benjamin Franklin Bridge into New Jersey. At least one wholesaler distributed the brews across South Jersey in the late aughts, according to Cape Beverage's brand manager Chris Verderame.
The partnership comes as Dock Street is preparing to expand from its South Philadelphia brewery and open a new location in Fishtown on Tuesday at 4 p.m. The "moody taproom and cocktail bar" will serve light bites, elevated cocktails and a rotating list of draft beers at 1229 N. Front St. less than one year after closing shop on its West Philadelphia brewpub, which operated at a firehouse at 701 S. 50th St. It is now home to Carbon Copy's combination winery and brewery.
The team at Dock Street Brewing Co. has been sharing updates on the new space over the last several months, from construction to hints at the new taproom's design.
Opened in 1985, Dock Street Brewing Co. was one of the first post-prohibition craft breweries founded in the United States, well before the craft beer boom in subsequent decades, and became the city's first all-grain brewpub. The company draws its name from the city's seaport district, which had been the largest producer of beer in the nation during the revolutionary period.
Rosemarie Certo, a photographer, founded the brewery with husband and restauranteur Jeffrey Ware. The couple sold the company in 1998 to Poor Henry's Brewery & Restaurant and bought it back in 2002 after Poor Henry's ceased operations.
Cape Beverage will begin distributing several of Dock Street's beers to retailers across New Jersey. The distributor did not immediately respond to PhillyVoice's request for comment regarding which specific stores, restaurants and bars will offer Dock Street beer. The full list of beers is available below.
• Bohemian Pilsner
• Golden IPA
• King Juice
• Futuro Italian Pilsner
• Barracuda
• Summer Haze
• Citrahood
For more information about Dock Street events and samplings from Cape Beverage, visit the distributor's website.
