Beer from the takeout menu

Jersey's brewpubs are neighborhood bars for the folks lucky enough to live that close (imagine being so spoiled as to live within walking distance to one).

For others, especially the traveling beer geeks among us, the brewpubs are a destination, a planned trip, with maybe some local things to do: The Tun Tavern puts you within a couple of blocks of Atlantic City's casinos; the Ship Inn, near the Delaware River in Milford, is a nice weekend afternoon excursion, as is Krogh's in Sparta and Long Valley, which is located in that portion of Washington Township in Morris County that lends a name to the brewpub.

Elsewhere, JJ Bitting is an oasis in the middle of the state, not even a half block from the NJ Transit train platform in Woodbridge, while Triumph feels like a natural fit in Princeton, like some form of it was there when tricorn hats were in fashion in New Jersey.

So yeah, the brewpub experience in Jersey can translate into some distance traversed. Which ususally means justifying the trip by taking home a growler or two of beer. Which means, in this not so happy economy, you might want to know what that jug is going to set you back before you set out on the beer trail.

What follows is handy chart of current growler prices, cobbled together by calling around to the pubs this week. (Double-click the chart to open it larger in another page.)

Cheers.