This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

A Local Treasure Discovered in This Week's Great Escape!

J.J. Bitting Brewery Company has a new fan.

I usually like to bring you places and experiences that are a little bit out of a comfort zone, or possibly somewhere you’d not think to go. But sometimes we only have our babysitters for a short time, parents! And we stick close to home in those instances.  That’s what I chose to do for this week’s Great Escape, by having dinner at J. J. Bitting Brewing Company on Main Street.

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll say that I’ve never been there before. I think I just heard jaws drop all over town. Frankly, beer isn’t my thing. I have historically been more of a wino. (I also went through a fruity drink phase for a little bit right after college, but I don’t talk about that much.)  Lately, though, I’ve been finding that few things hit the spot after a long day of corralling children and sitting at a computer like an ice cold beer.  And that’s how J.J. Bitting ended up on my radar.

The Brewing Company opened in 1997, and has the honor of being the first brewery in Woodbridge since they got rid of that silly prohibition thing in 1933. The building was once the J.J. Bitting Coal and Feed Depot and is about 100 years old. 

Find out what's happening in Woodbridgewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Now, you figure any building that old is likely to have a few skeletons in its closet, yes? And there are rumors of it being haunted. Sitting in the brick walled main dining room, with an honest-to-goodness nickelodeon in the corner, and other various antiques displayed about, I can totally buy that. Unfortunately, I witnessed no paranormal activity on my visit, unless you count the otherworldly food.

Under the guidance of Charlie, J.J. Bitting’s manager, my husband and I chose some of the foods the restaurant is best known for. We needed his suggestions, because there was no way we could make up our minds, otherwise. Everything on the menu sounds fabulous, and after our sampling, I imagine everything is. This is one of the places that I can confidently tell you has something for everyone.

Find out what's happening in Woodbridgewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

I consider myself a bit of a hot wing connoisseur, although my husband is probably a bigger authority on the subject than I am. We both agreed that we haven’t had better wings anywhere. I can see why besthotwings.com voted them, well, the “Best Hot Wings.”  

Their ribs literally fall off the bone, and if you don’t get the fried cheesecake for dessert, you’re missing out.  One of the things that I love about their menu is that so much of the food is cooked with their beer, including those amazing wings.

I could talk about the food for the rest of my allotted space, but then we’d miss out on the real draw of J.J. Bitting Brewing Company, and that would be the brews.  We were lucky enough to get a tour of the facility with Charlie, who clearly loves where he works, and who knows enough about the brewing process to teach a class. 

All their beers are brewed in the restaurant. In fact, four of the tanks used in the fermenting process are right there in the main dining room.  There is an amazingly intricate series of pipes that push and pull the ingredients from one tank to another, and ultimately to the holding tanks, down in the basement. When the bartender pulls the tap for your beer, that’s where it’s coming from.  

The best way to find your favorite is to order their Sampler, which includes six of the beers they currently have on tap. My husband and I both agreed that the Avenel Amber was our favorite, which surprised me, because I generally run towards the lighter side when it comes to beer. I was also surprised that I enjoyed the Black Jack Oatmeal Stout immensely, since I am really not into dark beers at all. I got to try a small sample of the casked conditioned Porter, another dark beer that I was surprised to really enjoy.

The Sampler comes on a placemat with information about each beer, as well as a short primer on beer making. Once you have picked your favorite, you can bring it home in a 1/2 gallon growler, filled straight from the tap when you order it. If you can’t choose just one, do what we did and get two. When you’ve emptied your growler at home, bring it back for a refill at a discounted price.  They also have growlers available in a gift set that comes with four etched pint glasses. I can think of at least three people off the top of my head that will be getting that for birthdays and holidays from me in the near future.

If you’re really not into beer at all, don’t fret, because J.J. Bitting has a fully stocked bar, so you can order whatever your favorite drink happens to be. It’s also just a really fun place to hang out, with special events going on pretty much every night. On Monday nights, they do “Kick the Keg” where one beer is chosen to be $2 until the keg is empty. Take into account that the “keg” in question is one of the enormous tanks in the basement, and you realize that means that the chosen beer is $2 all night long. Tuesday is wing night, with $2.50 beer from 8pm to closing. Wednesdays feature a free poker tournament upstairs. And, oh my, you guys, who wants to meet me there on Sunday for karaoke? (Am I too excited about that?)

J.J. Bitting Brewery Company is located at 33 Main Street in Woodbridge. They’re open Monday through Thursday from 11:30 am to 1 am, Fridays from 11:30 am to 2 am, Saturdays 12 pm to 2 am and Sundays 3 pm to 12 am. You can find their menu, including the current beer listings on their website

I’m not kidding about the karaoke. I’ll be at the bar with wings, butterfly fries and an Avenel Amber!

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?