From One Brew to Another
The idea that beer and coffee are a perfect pair has led to the rise of alcohol-infused coffee houses popping up nationwide, especially on the West Coast. Now, Chuck Garrity and Dan Natkin have taken the plunge to bring the brewery and coffeehouse concept to the Garden State with Death of the Fox Brewing Company, which opened in Clarksboro in late August.
“I was traveling four; five days a week [for work]; there was always something missing,” says Garrity, a former healthcare technology executive. “I started home brewing and saw all this innovation happening on the West Coast and it got me thinking, ‘Why aren’t we doing that here?’” Garrity left the corporate world and now brews full time. “I thought, ‘If I’m going to do it, then I’m going to do it now. And right.’” Natkin, who is vice president and brew chef, is a more limited partner; he still works full time in the flooring industry.
These brew partners loved the sensory experience of a coffeehouse—the music, the smells, the whole feel. Garrity saw a correlation between passion and excitement in those who loved craft coffee beverages and those who loved craft beers, and wanted to bring them together.
The brewery will balance the am/pm beverages by having more of a coffeehouse feel in the morning with a brewery feel in the afternoon and evening. The brewery will be open daily from 6am-10pm to accommodate early morning coffee sippers and late-night brew drinkers.
Photo courtesy of Death of the Fox Brewing
“We really just want to make it a great experience. So much went into the front of house—a rustic feel and couches to give it a coffee vibe, but also a 20-seat bar with locally sourced wood,” Garrity says. “People tend to compartmentalize. ‘What half is coffee? What half is beer?’ No—we are bringing it all together.”
Death of the Fox offers brewery tours and 16 taps, eight of which are flagships, plus eight seasonal, funky or eclectic beers that will constantly rotate. The brewery tries to balance taste and alcohol content by keeping all beers between 4.5% and 7% alcohol to cater to regular customers and not just the “beer geek” market. Garrity’s personal favorite, No. 1 Pale Ale— named for the first beer he ever brewed—will be a flagship tap.
A brewery and coffeehouse calls for the inevitable combination of coffee-infused beers. The brew, No Grounds, is a coffee pale ale steeped with Honduras beans. A partnership with Crescent Moon Coffee & Tea in Mullica Hill will provide roasted coffee beans to the brewery. “Everyone working on this project is from the area, and we locally source as much as possible. Plus, it’s small businesses helping each other out.”
—Julia Mullaney
DEATH OF THE FOX BREWING COMPANY
119 Berkley Road, Clarksboro
deathofthefoxbrewing.com
