A few weeks ago, we hit up our Culinary Ops & Soda Guru JP Thomas to come up with a recipe using our flagship IPA, and he didn’t disappoint. He came up with a great Crab Mac and Cheese recipe with IPA.
It sounded so good, the marketing department decided to gather after work this week and give it a whirl.
“A pint of Jump the Jetty, please.”
These are words you’ll never say, and for good reason. However, had history been a little different, had some butterfly in China flapped its wings one more time and sent a ripple effect throughout the cosmos, the beer you’ve come to know and love as Cape May IPA might never have come to be.
At CMBC, we’re known for our friendly Beertenders, and it’s tough to find anyone as friendly as Danielle Brasch.
After high school at Cardinal O’Hara in Upper Darby, she headed to Temple University in Philly, where she cheered on the Owls basketball team as a cheerleader. Since getting her degree in Elementary and Special Education, she’s been teaching sixth grade at Sandman Consolidated School in Cape May.
She’s been with CMBC for a year, and, between her smile and her bright eyes, Danielle has a way of making everyone feel at home — as if she’s just invited you into her kitchen for a beer. And once you’re there, you won’t want to leave.
So, without further ado… meet Danielle Brasch!
At CMBC, we’ve got a soft spot in our heart for Cabanas Beach Bar and Grill at 429 Beach Avenue in Cape May. Not only is it rated one of the best spots in town (four stars on Google), not only do they have a great beer selection, not only is their menu amazing, but they were the very first bar in town to sign on with us.
“It wasn’t even a question for us,” says Payton Bowman of Cabanas. “We were like, ‘We’re in!’”
There are a few things that we pride ourselves on at CMBC. We’re making top-notch brews. We’re constantly trying new things and pushing the envelope. We’ve got a great team of highly-educated and passionate people making it all happen.
However, if we’re not keeping a constant watch on quality control, it’s all for naught.
That’s where Invisible Sentinel comes in.
Following the Monday morning department meeting, Jimmy gathered eight members of the Brew Crew in our fancy new conference room to learn all about off-flavors.
It’s an important task. When someone says, “something’s wrong with the beer,” we need to be able to figure out what that thing is, relying only on our taste buds.
Now, it’s not something we run into on a regular basis. For the most part, we churn out good stuff. But, as you probably know, beer is created by numerous chemical reactions and the biology of a living microorganism. Much of what we do is out of our hands.
But things happen. And it’s important for us to be able to recognize what’s wrong with the brew before it gets to the point where one of our customers says, “Something’s wrong with the beer.”
You know what’s awesome?
Cape May in the summertime: awesome.
Brian Hink’s beard: tremendously awesome.
The Topsail: COLOSSALLY AWESOME.
But don’t take our word for it, take the fact that it’s our highest-rated beer at BeerConnoisseur.com. Take the fact that it’s been flying off the shelves — we’ve already sold 2/3rds of our inventory.
Take the fact that it just won a Gold Medal in the US Open Beer Championships!
We’ve got a new Brewtique team member, and you guys are going to love Ashley Worley.
“I’ve been called ‘obnoxiously upbeat’ multiple times throughout my life,” she tells us.
And, yeah. That’s Ashley.
We’ve got a new barback in the Tasting Room, and, if his plans come to fruition, it sounds like he won’t be there for long. Anthony Zappaunbulso —
“Let me spell that for you.”
“Yes, please.” —
started as a barback a few weeks ago, and he’s really loving it so far.
Anthony was born in Washington Township, but moved to Bel Air, Maryland, when he was 12. He graduated from high school in Maryland and moved back, now spending his time between Mantua and Wildwood.
And it sounds like brewing is in his blood.
“My dad owns a brewery in Mantua,” he tells us, “so I was always in the business.”
His life plans had always been to go into the Air Force, but he was recently disqualified for health reasons. Now, his goal is to be a brewer, so coming to CMBC seemed to make sense for him.
It’s one of our most popular brands. It’s beloved by fans, it’s sought after high and low, and minstrels have written ballads singing its praises.
(Okay, maybe that last part isn’t true. Yet.)
Either way, its sheer popularity is why we needed to can our flagship Double IPA, Coastal Evacuation.
We’ve been brewing Coastal Evacuation since 2014, but its origins go back much further.
