Something’s always brewing at the Tun Tavern
Nov, 23-2009 12:31 pm
By SHAUN SMITH
Staff Writer
ATLANTIC CITY – The Tun Tavern is known for many great firsts in history. The first brew house built in Philadelphia in 1685 took its name from the tun, which is a large cask used for brewing beer.
In 1732 the first Grand Masonic Lodge was born, with Benjamin Franklin later becoming a grand master. He went on to use the tavern as a place to recruit soldiers. On Nov. 10, 1775 the Continental Congress passed a resolution creating “The Continental Marines,” better known today as the United States Marines Corps.
This is where the Tun Tavern’s President and Chief Executive Officer Montgomery Dahm comes in.
A U.S. Marine from 1984 to 1989, Dahm established the Tun Tavern Brewing Company in 1994 and later the Tun Tavern Brewery and Restaurant in 1998 across from the Atlantic City Convention Center. “Great water makes great beer,” Dahm said Tuesday, Nov. 17. “This is Atlantic City’s first brewery.”
Dahm combines a casual gourmet dining experience with a fully functioning brewery that houses 1,500 gallons of beer ranging from the Tun Light to Leather-Neck Stout and everything in between.
Brewmaster Timothy Kelly of Collingswood is in charge of mixing that great Atlantic City water with natural ingredients to make a range of handcrafted brews.
“It’s easy to make beer. It’s hard to make good beer,” said Kelly, who was a physics major.
He begins the process with malted barley and grains that are mixed with hot water to create mash, which is strained and pumped into a brew kettle, where hops are added and the mixture is boiled. Later yeast is added and the fermentation process begins. After that the beer is chilled, filtered and transferred to serving tanks, where it goes directly to the taps.
Kelly said ales are fermented for two weeks, while lagers can take up to six.
“It’s a great job. I love what I do – and if I get stressed, I have a beer,” he said.
As the seasons change, so do the beers.
Pumpkin Ale is the specialty beer of the current season. Kelly described it as more of a lager that doesn’t have a lot of spice and has a clean delicate taste of pumpkin.
An example of a winter specialty beer is the Belgian-style Tun Noel.
“The goal is to make something enjoyable, drinkable and balanced between bitter or hoppy and malty – to make something delicious,” Kelly said. “It’s a range that appeals to beer pilgrims that want to come to a brew pub.”
For those less adventurous, he recommended “something that’s not too in your face, like the Tun Light.”
Just as the restaurant and brewery work together seamlessly, so do good beer and good food.
Executive chef Antonio Esposito of Egg Harbor Township said he likes to incorporate the Tun’s craft brews into his entrées: for example, the pumpkin beer risotto or the braised pulled pork made with the Leather-Neck Stout.
The kitchen is open, and when Esposito is not in the back preparing ingredients, he is out front seeing every plate as it comes off the line.
On a recent day he was preparing a sweet corn chowder for the afternoon’s specials menu.
“I have a passion for my work and an eye for detail. I feel people eat with their eyes first,” he said.
He said one of his favorite items to cook and eat are smoked St. Louis ribs.
“They are so tender; moist and smoky but spiked and cooked from scratch,” Esposito said.
Dahm said his favorite special is the black-and-blue cowboy – a bone-in 20-ounce rib eye with crabmeat and crumbled bleu cheese served with garlic mashed potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower au gratin.
But the Tun Tavern is not just about the food and beer. Now there is a new wine bar, Dahm said.
With a selection of 80 bottles and 40 wines by the glass, there is something for everyone, he said. A new wine menu will be premiered at Fashion Fusion 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10. The event will feature hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Admission is $15, with proceeds benefiting the Marines’ Toys for Tots campaign.
There are daily specials such as $8 pitchers and 35-cent wings Wednesdays featuring live entertainment.
And like Ben Franklin said, and as quoted on the Tun Tavern T-shirt: “Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
To comment on this story email Shaun.Smith@shorenewstoday.com.
If You Go
Tun Tavern Brewery and Restaurant
2 Miss America Way
Atlantic City – attached to the Sheraton
(609) 347-7800
www.tuntavern.com
Open every day at 11:30 a.m. Closes at midnight Sunday through Tuesday and 2 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Dinner is served until 11 p.m.; last call for late-night menu is 1 a.m.
Major credit cards accepted
Food and beer are available for takeout. A growler filled with beer is $18; refills are $10.
Free parking for four hours validated with $10 purchase.
Customer favorites
Cream of Crab Soup ($5.99 cup, $7.99 bowl) Creamy blend of sweet jumbo crabmeat with roasted garlic, vegetables and sherry.
One Tun Burger ($12.99) A pound of beef with bacon and cheddar cheese on a roll.
P.H.D. - Piled High and Deep ($8.99) Tender turkey breast, cheddar cheese, bacon, lettuce and tomato on a roll served with honey mustard.
Porterhouse ($31.99) The 20-ounce porterhouse steak provides two great tastes: one side the tenderness of filet mignon and the flavor of a strip steak.
Chicken and Shrimp Marsala ($21.99) Sautéed breast of chicken with jumbo shrimp, garlic, shallots and mushrooms, deglazed with a Marsala demi and served over linguini.
