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Basil T’s, An NJ Brew Pub, Celebrates The Enormous Success Of Its Craft Beer Collaboration With Tun Tavern

February 21st, 2011

The New Jersey brewpub Basil T’s would like to give thanks to all who supported them and the Garden State Brewers Guild in their brewing collaboration with Tun Tavern. Their version of the beer, Cocoa Fuoco, was introduced on February 7. Basil T’s had a great turnout, with a good mix of Mug Clubbers, beer aficionados from around the state, guest brewers, and beer writers. Response was very positive; in fact, many people were surprised how drinkable a chocolate-chili pepper- cinnamon beer could be! By the way, it’s still on tap if you want to try some.

Also currently on tap is their traditional February seasonal, Iceboat Ale, a malty, well-hopped Scottish Ale. Don’t worry — this is the first of several batches master brewer Gretchen Schmidhausler will be brewing this winter. Alas, the Porter is gone . . . but, how would you feel about a reprise of Snow Wiesel IPA?

Tun Tavern calls it Cocoa Fuego, while the Italian Basil T’s calls it Cocoa Fuoco. In English, the new beer is Chocolate Fire. Cocoa Fuoco perfectly blends the taste of chili peppers, cinnamon and chocolate. The two versions were extremely similar but still contained slight variations of the recipe. The pubs use different numbers of barrels and different types of hops during the brewing process. Nevertheless, both Cocoa Fuego and Cocoa Fuoco can be considered the same beer by casual New Jersey beer fans. The packed crowd at Basil T’s gave their hearty approval to both unusual blends.

How NJ Brew Pubs Made Cocoa Fuoco and Cocoa Fuego

Tim Kelly of Tun Tavern says a candy bar that was made from chocolate, chili peppers and cinnamon inspired him to create Cocoa Fuego. He later pitched the idea to Gretchen Schmidhausler, head brewer of Basil T’s, at a brewer’s conference in Camden. After 6 months of toying with ingredients, they had successfully developed a perfect mix of Dutch chocolate, ancho, cinnamon, chipotle and guajillo peppers.

Visit http://www.basilt.com/ for more information on hours and specialty craft beers.

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Readers Vote Red Bank’s Basil T’s Best Beer and Brew Pub

July 28th, 2010

Praises continue to pour in for Basil T’s and its hand crafted beer as readers of New Jersey Monthly gave the brews and brew pub high notes, securing two wins for the restaurant. The results of the 27th Annual Readers’ Choice Restaurant Poll are in and the noteworthy beer of the Red Bank brewery and Italian restaurant was honored once again as it won best in Central NJ in both the Best Beer and Best Pub categories.

Basil T’s continues to impress critics and guests with its fresh Italian meals and homemade beer. The 24-year-old restaurant has become a local favorite and one of the best restaurants and bars in Red Bank. The Red Bank microbrewery features a minimum of six hand crafted ales each season.

All of the beers are brewed by Gretchen, who is only the second Head Brewer in Basil T’s history. She has been brewing beers for over 14 years and is a graduate of the American Brewers Guild’s Craftbrewers Apprenticeship Program, in Woodland, CA.

Basil T’s was recently featured in Draft Magazine’s Online Exclusive: Top 10 Beers Brewed by Women, honoring Basil T’s brewer Gretchen Schmidhausler.

Gretchen and Basil T’s have also received recognition for The Original Basil T’s Maxwell’s Dry Stout:

Gold Medal Winner, 2006 Great American Beer Festival (GABF), “Classic Dry Irish Stout”
Bronze Medal, 2003 GABF, “Coffee Flavored Beer”
Gold Medal, 2002 GABF, “Coffee Flavored Beer”

The next time you’re looking for an evening out, Basil T’s will not disappoint you. Plan an evening in Red Bank to enjoy a fresh, authentic Italian meal and a refreshing, cold, award-winning beer at one of the finest restaurants and microbreweries in New Jersey.

A Look at Italian Beer from Red Bank Microbrewery Basil T’s

April 29th, 2010

With 24 years creating delicious homemade Italian meals and 14 years brewing some of the finest hand-crafted ales, Basil T’s Brewery and Italian Grill is one of the best restaurants and bars Red Bank has to offer.

Gretchen Schmidhausler, the critically-acclaimed masterbrewer of the Red Bank microbrewery, has had a hand in the latter process since she joined Basil T’s in 1999.

Gretchen is serious about her beer. Evident enough in the award-winning selection at Basil T’s, further proof lies in her scholarly approach to the topic. She studies the subject closely and travels to breweries far and wide to learn more about her passion.

Gretchen shares the growing popularity of Italian beers and details of her trip to visit a special friend of the Basil T’s brewery:

We all know about Italy and wine. But, Italy and…beer? Yes, Italian beers are gaining popularity with the younger set as well as traveling Europeans and American tourists. You may be familiar with the large brewers of “traditional” lighter-bodied Italian lagers – such as Peroni and Moretti. In recent years, Italy has become caught up in the microbrew revolution with smaller breweries producing stouts, classic pale ales, herb-infused beers and other more unconventional styles.

Brooklyn Brewery was recently the venue for a gathering of an international cadre of professional brewers, among them several Italian craft brewers. We had a chance to taste many, many beers and compare them to our own craftbrews. It makes sense that many of these breweries are located in the northern part of Italy, close to the beer-loving countries of Belgium, Germany and Austria. Less usual, though growing in number, are craft breweries in southern Italy. One of these is Birrificio Cunegonda in Calabria, run by our friends Francesco “Frank” Barritta and his brother Pasquale who hail from the small town of Spilinga. The brothers brew a light-bodied ale in the American tradition. Some of you might remember we did a pilot brew of that beer here at Basil’s a few years ago and called it Primo Amore.

It was seven years ago that the Barrittas came in and introduced themselves to owner Vic Rallo. They wanted to learn to brew, so Vic asked me to give them a call. They’ve been honorary “Friends of the Brewery” ever since, providing physical labor in exchange for technical brewing knowledge and hands on experience, and becoming good friends in the process. Frank spends his winters in New Jersey so you may have seen him helping me out in the brewery when he’s around. Three years ago, my husband and I had the opportunity to visit the Barrittas at their brewery while on our honeymoon. The next time we go, I hope I’ll have more time to brew with them!

Make Basil T’s your next choice for a bar in Red Bank and taste the award-winning beer, learn about the process that goes into making it and become a friend one of the finest microbreweries in New Jersey.