RIO GRANDE, NEW JERSEY

Right between Cape May Brewing and Coho Brewing Company just a few miles down Route 9, Rio Grande’s 7 MILE BREWERY resided at a basic rust-bricked mini-mall (opened 2016, but closing 2023). Its light Industrial furnishings, quaint wood highlights, wood-barreled front entrance, concrete floor and simple drop ceiling offered casual atmosphere.

7 Mile’s two tap stations contain ten handles each. The high-ceiling back space stores tall brewing tanks, a canning line and storage space.

During my May ’20 stopover, tried four durably balanced offerings with wife and dog in tow.

7 Mile’s Skinny Dipper Blonde let its tangy orange-tangerine punch gain a wheat-floured sugar rush to contrast lemony orange-seeded bittering.

Sharp and sessionable India Pale Ale, 7 MIPA, retained a piney citrus thrust to soak up its light herbal reminder and delicate pale malt backbone.

Musky pine-lacquered lemony grapefruit bittering secured tightly integrated Seven Suns Double IPA, a dry pale-malted medium body with cologne-perfumed herbal tones.

“Velvet smooth” Irish-styled dry stout, Black Velvet Black Stout, maintained Black Patent-malted dark chocolate bittering with a black licorice smidge, minor dark coffee roast, subtle hazelnut-creamed walnut char, teasing cola nuttiness and deferred dark toffee sweetness.