Stitch and Sip at the Ale 'N' Wich

This past Thursday, my Stitch and Sip group explored a new watering hole, The Ale and Wich at 246 Hamilton Street in New Brunswick. Some group members said that as they arrived they thought, "Hmm...this isn't like where we normally meet..." but I think we all had a great time. The Ale and Wich is the quintessential pub. With a wide selection of craft beer, TVs playing everything from Iron Man competitions to Spaceballs, darts, pool, foozeball, a digital jukebox, and non-pretentious bartenders, this is pretty close to my dream bar. One note of caution I will give to anyone planning a visit: don't come hungry. Although one might believe that the "Wich" part of the bar's moniker stands for "sandwich," no food is served here. However when I asked about food, the bartender handed over a huge stack of takeout menus. We ordered Chinese, but considering that it was a Thursday evening in a Rutgers neighborhood, it took about an hour for our Chinese to arrive.

Chinese food aside, we had a fabulous time. Most of us didn't have work or school the following day, so we, (well, ok, I) stayed out a bit later and drank a bit more. There was a nice selection of seasonal brews (seriously, how could you have Sam Boston Lager but not Sam Seasonal, like some bars do??), and a new one that I enjoyed was Otter Creek Seasonal Ale. No matter what the season, I love a good blueberry beer, and luckily the A and W has Seadog Wheat Blueberry, which smelled and tasted just like blueberry muffins! I know that's not what most people look for in a beer, but blueberry beer takes me back to my college days at the BU Pub. Oh, how I love that Wachusett Blueberry! I also tried the new Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka and Firefly Lemon Tea Vodka. If you are a fan of Nantucket Nectars Half and Half or Arizona Arnold Plamer, you will love this stuff! I think it will be one of my summer party beverage staples.

If you are looking for a very casual place to sample some creative brews, definitely stop by the Ale and Wich.